how much did you lose already?

[Tsup2 0]

I sold my house in August 2007 without a loss as the housing market started to decline. I now rent and have no plans to buy another house. Then I transferred my 401K to government bonds as soon as Obama got the nomination but before the financial meltdown. I could see that he was gaining momentum and would likely be President. We are in for a rough 4 years with tax and spend liberals in charge of all branches of government. Hope and change we can all believe in!!!

[mawilson 2,133]

We are in for a rough 4 years with tax and spend liberals in charge of all branches of government.

"Tax and spend"?

As opposed to the "borrow and spend" policy of the previous administration?

[Ban Hammer 13,336]

Nothing so far - well, not in the US, not sure what's going on in the UK at the moment but I don't intend pulling anything out of that anyway, it's in for the long haul.

I am just about to start a 401k though. Wish me luck

[Mononoke28 135]

Yup. It's called dollar-cost averaging. There are some bargins out there. Don't get scared and miss out on a company match.

I haven't lost anything because I'm looking at long term investing.

Same here. My 401k is based on my retirement age which is more than 30 years from now. I've lost about 30% of it but I have another 30 years to make up for it. If it's long term then you're ok for now.

Diana

[amiquechu 0]

Have you all stopped contributing to your 401K's? I'm wondering if I should. I seem to be losing about $100 a week, so I'm pretty much replacing what I'm losing.

I started putting in more. For example, if you were contributing a $1000 monthly @ $20/share that bought 50 shares a year ago....and you up to a $1200 monthly contribution now @ a current $12/share price, you get 100 shares. In 10 years when the stock market has hopefully recovered all its losses and then some....say the share price goes to $25...here's what you've got:

$1000 contribution a year ago turns into $1250 (25% return)

$1200 contribution today turns into $2500 (108% return)

[Mononoke28 135]

Dude, if I invest $1200 monthly I'd have no money left for food or shelter.

Diana

[NickD 202]

I lost my job and my life savings. But go ahead and worry about your mutual funds and stocks.

Hey when you put some of your hard earned money in so you can look forward to retiring and instead of making a couple of bucks, you on paper at least lost over 36% percent of it, and this is what you paid in, you do kind of get concerned. With money, there are just too many ways to get suckered into buying something you really do not need and they sure make it easy to go deep in debt, not a good situation is you or your spouse suddenly loose their jobs due to no fault of theirs. Never know when illness or an accident can change your life style.

Some of us have been through hard times before, I certainly had my share, but unlike some other countries, can say, always had a roof over my kids heads, and something to eat at the table, have to be thankful for that.

Mom lived during the great depression, could never stop talking about it, but seems like you will be in a real good position if you have a couple of bucks and are debt free. Do not feel we are in that bad shape yet, not really seeing any great bargains. Financial adviser tells me to live that 401K plan alone and keep my cash in CD's. But we are debating whether we should keep on contributing to the 401K plan. But screwed either way, without it, would put us in a higher tax bracket taking away big bucks forever, with it, not sure what's going on.

With the automobile and now the financial crisis, they have us where they want us, just bend over and take it like a man.

[mrsartis 10]

we dont have that alot of money to lose our investmetns.. let lone buy more..

but im kinda interest with what you mean that its really is time to buy now that the share prices of the companies are low.. but should i trust US companies?

[PlatyPius 5]

Dude, if I invest $1200 monthly I'd have no money left for food or shelter.

Diana

That's what I was thinking. That's 100% of monthly income for some people.

[amiquechu 0]

Dude, if I invest $1200 monthly I'd have no money left for food or shelter.

Diana

That's what I was thinking. That's 100% of monthly income for some people.

I just picked two random round numbers to make my point more clear. Next time I'll use $5.83 vs. $6.99

[natty bumppo 297]

Dude, if I invest $1200 monthly I'd have no money left for food or shelter.

Diana

That's what I was thinking. That's 100% of (or more than a) monthly income for some people.

edited ^

[Jenn! 918]

Have you all stopped contributing to your 401K's? I'm wondering if I should. I seem to be losing about $100 a week, so I'm pretty much replacing what I'm losing.

I started putting in more. For example, if you were contributing a $1000 monthly @ $20/share that bought 50 shares a year ago....and you up to a $1200 monthly contribution now @ a current $12/share price, you get 100 shares. In 10 years when the stock market has hopefully recovered all its losses and then some....say the share price goes to $25...here's what you've got:

$1000 contribution a year ago turns into $1250 (25% return)

$1200 contribution today turns into $2500 (108% return)

Thanks.

But it's the bolded bit that I'm hung up on.

Edited November 13, 2008 by Jenn!

[PlatyPius 5]

This is why I prefer to think of a house as a place to live as opposed to an investment (I think AJ and I had this discussion earlier this year). My house has lost probably about 50% it's value. I don't care. It's a place to live, not an investment. If it's worth less, I pay less in property taxes.

People who have INVESTED money as a means of providing for your retirement.... You DO realize that investments have risks, yes? If I put my money in a savings account, I earn a tiny amount of interest on it. If the bank fails, FDIC covers my savings. The increase is small, but the security is high. I just can't imagine trusting my future to the shuffling of papers, stocks, funds, etc.

[sereia 0]

I am kicking myself for not cashing out all my stocks when I thought of it. If I weren't so lazy at the time I would have made out great. Now I've lost over 50%.

[amiquechu 0]

Have you all stopped contributing to your 401K's? I'm wondering if I should. I seem to be losing about $100 a week, so I'm pretty much replacing what I'm losing.

I started putting in more. For example, if you were contributing a $1000 monthly @ $20/share that bought 50 shares a year ago....and you up to a $1200 monthly contribution now @ a current $12/share price, you get 100 shares. In 10 years when the stock market has hopefully recovered all its losses and then some....say the share price goes to $25...here's what you've got:

$1000 contribution a year ago turns into $1250 (25% return)

$1200 contribution today turns into $2500 (108% return)

Thanks.

But it's the bolded bit that I'm hung up on.

I've got probably 25-30 years....so I'll take the chance. It definitely could take more than 10 to come back from this goatf*cked market.