My sentiments exactly
I am a hands off stock owner. My belief is that a system that has been working for…well…a really, really long time will go through it’s ups and downs. And it’s easy to underestimate media reports and the sense that whatever is going down on Wall Street right now will, at any given time, subside and all will be right with the world. That all went out the window this morning when I logged onto my bank’s website to check my savings and checking accounts.
I don’t know about you, but I get my financial statements via snail mail. It makes it easier for me to track what has happened in a year’s time when it comes time to pay the tax man in April (which I do every year and ALWAYS on time!). So I received my IRA statement a few days ago for the month of August 30 – September 30. As you can probably imagine, I had lost some money. It hurts to see that what I put away for last year had pretty much disappeared, never to be seen again. But THAT realization wasn’t even HALF the hurt I felt when I logged on today! Imagine the drop in my stomach when I glanced at the bottom of the website at the total remaining in my IRA account and discovered that it was now (October 17, 18 days since the bank statement total!) $11 grand LESS than what it was when I got this statement!!! HOLY SHIT! is all I can think to say…
And now…what do I do?
I guess I continue to gamble it all away…because to pull it out now would be defeating the purpose…right? Yes…I know all the arguments…
- I’m YOUNG.
- I have TIME.
- At least I’m not ready to RETIRE.
Ya know what…FUCK THAT! I’m NOT young. I DON’T have time. NOW is the time for me to be saving! For my kids. For myself. For my life when I AM ready to retire. I’m tired of everyone telling me that I have TIME. Because time is slipping into the future and soon enough I’m gonna be fucking broke! So once again I ask…what do I do? Or, let’s put it in better context…what do WE do? Can we do anything?
Scary shit for Halloween, my friends. Scary shit.
A Round World Through Square Glasses 
Shy away when everyone else is hot on the market and buy like hell when everyone else is scared. This is Warren Buffett’s philosophy which has made him a multi kazillionaire.
I thought Buffett’s philosophy was to invest in businesses that he had an understanding of, and that had solid fundamentals. But, you are saying it is ‘don’t buy high and don’t sell low’?
Got it.
Maybe I better read another book.
I feel ya…I got my quarterly statements this week…basically a third of it is gone. If I were just looking to retirement…still 30 plus years away…I wouldnt sweat it–I feel like maybe Im buying low and will make bucks when things get back to normal. But my more immediate fear is…what if Im unemployed and need that money to keep the house??
Hang tight big brother, it will all be okay. The market was way overvalued, now it has corrected itself. The speculators aren’t going to let reality get in the way of making money though, so trust that your IRA will be soaring again long before you are ready to retire. And money that you NEED to SURVIVE (including emergency funds) should never be kept in the stock market in the first place. Remember, there is a big difference between “savings” and “investments.”
Ah…a voice of reason. Thanks sis! It is especiall ynice hearing it from you, considering how good you are with the numbers!
Got my quarterly statements, and I about fell over. It scares the shit out of me.
Yep…it’s pretty bad!