So, How much have you lost?

[Mike 03]

Poll question: So, How much have you lost?

I'm sitting here at my computer listening to a talk show on the radio about how to shield one's self from the current bear market.

But it's just more bad, idiotic advice, IMO. Way too little, years too late. Everyone has an opinion, and I don't buy any of them anymore. I just rely on my own research.

Others have been hurt worse than I have, but I've been hurt too. How about you? How are you weathering this storm?

[daninthemoon]

1. I lost my money long before this mess.

[GoCubsGo]

16. I lost at least ten times more in income and savings....

My 403b took a hit, but it was nothing compared to being out of work for over a year and watching my savings account evaporate.

[tularetom]

2. After a couple months of sitting and watching I finally acted to stop the hemorraging

but not before a shitload of my dollars simply evaporated. I preserved about 2/3 of my capital but there won't be many frills in our life for the next few years.

[Warpy]

8. What I lost was net worth

but not income, which actually went up last year. I fully expect it to take a serious dive this year, but I'm well prepared for it.

Since I wasn't planning to use my net worth to leverage debt, it's not that big a deal to me right now.

However, I had hoped to leave Doctors Without Borders a bigger chunk o change when I finally croak.

[begin_within]

3. I'd like to know how much of these "trillion-dollar losses" was actual money lost, rather than

a loss of imaginary, speculative profits based on constantly changing number schemes, derivatives and theoretical gains.

[napi21]

17. I don't think you can look at it that way. Let's say you had 1,000 shares

of GM 8 months ago, and it was selling at $45.00/share. You decided to sell it, and you got $45,000 cash. Now let's assume you decided t hold onto your shares and ride out the storm. If you sold your 1,000 shares yesterday, you would have received $2,250. Wether you believe GM was worth $45/share or not, that's still a REAL LOSS!

You can apply that same analgy to everyone's 401K accounts (shich are mostly stock & bonds). Whatever the value is on any given day is the amount you can convert to cash, and right now, you'd be hard pressed to find any stocks that have risen, or for that metter stayed even!

[hfojvt]

23. that is not a real loss

it depends what you paid for the shares and if you borrowed against any of the supposed gains. Suppose you paid $5,000 for those shares (I don't know, thirty years ago or something - and if that was the case, you'd have your money back in dividends wouldn't you?) Anyway, it is not real to say "I lost $43,000 in GM" when your real loss is only $2,750.

Back when I had a 401K, it annoyed me that there were not any funds that were not mutual funds. I could not put my money in T-Bills or tax free munis. Instead I had to buy a mutual fund that was buying those things, but for some reason paid no dividends.

[whoneedstickets]

4. Nothing....it's all on paper for now.

...if your time horizon is long enough you can be pretty sure that the US economy will bounce back and erase these losses. Home values will also come back in 5+ years. I feel for folks who have had to lock in their losses.

[natrat]

46. it took 30 years for the dow to recover after 1930

buy and hold is for extremely stupid sheep; and sadly poor sheep

[eridani]

61. Not really. It depends on what year those sheep were born in n/t

[whoneedstickets]

67. I've got 25+ years to retirement...

and in fact in my career folks often slowly 'phase' out into their late 60's. So I'm prepared to play sheep. Why lock in the losses now?

I suspect with the money we are printing and huge deficit government spending that we are in for some serious inflation (it may be the only way out of this mess). Interest bearing investments won't be worth much if real interest rates are squeezed by inflation. Assets though, will rise in value.

[midnight]

5. I received a call from a friend who said she lost 50.000 last

year. She lost an additonal 1200 this past month. Her home lost half it's value.

[NRaleighLiberal]

6. One point - the gains are all paper gains until cashed in.

Sure, I've lost about half of my gains of my retirement account, but won't be able to tap into them for 7 or so years....at that time, who knows? We all have the same number of shares....just that they are worth much less. Will they ever come back? Who knows....can't worry about it now, there is too much else to worry about (like my recent layoff)

[uppityperson]

7. I had no investments, but my 80+yr old parent has lost 1/2+ retirement funds.

Was hoping to not have to use them, holding onto them "in case" had to go to a facility, etc. Now has less than half what had a couple yrs ago.

[FirstLight]

9. Yeah, I have alwyas thought the stupid advice is just WAAAAY disconnected

The reality is that you are either doing shitty, or worse than desperate.

But I am grateful we still have a roof overhead and food in the fridge when all is said and done...at least for now

[inna]

10. can anyone say "FRAUD"??

imo, what's taking place right now is one of the most colossal FRAUDS, ever.

people losing their pensions is BEYOND outrageous.


:banghead:

:banghead:

:banghead:

[SoCalDem]

29. just Part II of the "no more penisons" plan starting rom the 80's

stockpile "untouchable" funds EVERY WEEK, for some hotshot gamblers to play with..and when the "suckers" approach "drawing-out" phase..take the money and run..

are we surprised?? really??

[Jeep789]

11. Nothing I told my family and friends to take it out the day * stole

the election. Unfortunately, most of them didn't listen.

[nini]

13. same here.

I knew what a few more years of those assholes would do :-(

[nini]

12. I moved my money from stocks to slow growth retirement savings plan

I made money - I knew this was going to happen after the 2004 election. It was the smartest thing I ever did and was told I was being stupid by many.

phew

[enough]

14. After a couple of years of reading DU's Stock Market Watch, and the links found there,

I saw what was coming in advance and convinced my elderly father that he needed to make some serious changes in his holdings. He did so and because of that he has lost nothing. I myself have never had any stock market holdings (or any other kind of holdings except our house and land).

Of course the story is not yet over.

[natrat]

48. good for you,,,it's encouraging to see smart families

[tangent90]

15. I cashed out everything last August. My brother and sister wouldn't listen to me

and they've dropped almost half of their investment equity. :cry:

[DeschutesRiver]

19. I cashed out all but one fund in August 2007

dh was dragging his feet on the whole deal of going to cash, and wore me down on that one fund, because he wanted to wait until distribution time (it was a small portion of our retirement, so I gave in and let him have his way). He did finally cash that one out but lost a chunk of it by waiting and missing that deadline, and finally selling during the first half of January, during which time the fund started tanking severely. It has since gone from that bad to much much worse. It is better to admit that your timing usually sucks and just sell and move on rather than pretend that you're a timing genius.

We made around 4% +/- in 2008; I don't think we will make more than 1-2% this year, but am thankful that we didn't lose our shirts as we are in the group that doesn't have a meaningful 30+ years left in which to make up any big losses. We lost so much during the tech bust that I didn't want to repeat that so soon.

[janx]

30. At this point, I'm too broke to have lost anything.

I was never a fan of the stock market, and while I owned some stocks, I got rid of them years ago to invest in real estate. I'm barely hanging on, but I haven't been affected much by this since I got out of stocks years ago, and I'm not going back. ;-)

Owning stocks used to be a luxury. That kind of investment was something that you were supposed to put away for generations, not something that you were supposed to earn instant money on.

[tangent90]

64. The stocks I sold were inherited from my mom who died last spring.

I would trade them all back for another year...or a month with her but that's not an option. I don't apologize for accepting it, though, because I helped to accumulate them decades ago working out in the west Texas oil fields for no pay.

[sandnsea]

18. I loaned what money I had to my kids

So I didn't lose anything. They'll pay it back when the economy improves, so it's a win, win. I was a little annoyed because I was going to invest it, now I'm glad because I clearly would have just lost it all anyway.

[seabeyond]

20. i cant answer cause i dont look, lol lol. ah well. n/t

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

21. I saw that train a'comin' and got off the tracks about a year ago.

Moved our IRA's from a Growth & Income fund to a Money Market fund.

2 lost wars we're still fighting and our house doubling in "value" - something smelled really, really, bad.

In this situation, not making much is a helluva lot better than losing a lot.

[blues90]

22. when I lost my 12 year long job in 2004 oct

I cashed in my 401K because we needed to live and there were no jobs. I have also sold everything I had that was worth selling and that was mostly guitars I built and tube amps I built and a few other assorted items.

I have disability to live on which just gets us by , my wife and I and there is no money for any extras.

I was happy working 60 hours a week for 50,000 a year now I am hanging on by a thread and I am 60 part of the doomed generation who still cares about people.

[NewtonsAve]

24. Ground-level assessment of a non-investor, caught in a rock and a hard place.

But here I sit, the computer the only real comfort aside from my lovely fiancee, on a broken wooden chair with a half-torn cushion to stop my arse from getting sore. We're discussing the merits of adding hot dogs to the soup we've been adding to, and eating from, for the past three weeks, since we just don't have enough money for an actual meal.

Former "Conservative" here, who shamefully comes before y'all at the moment, figuring this is the best place to make my first post, considering it seems to be the most applicable to the current situation in my life.

I used my first vote to vote Bush in 2000, and cheered when the "Crybaby" Dems wouldn't get over a "legitimate" loss. I followed it up in 2004, holding my nose, mostly due to (for lack of a better term, propaganda) set out by the generalized media, and truth be told, a lot of the motivation for my voting Bush 04 came from here, on DU. I saw the outrage, the anger, the (hatred?) to Bush, and it irked me, because hell. That was the guy I voted for. My battle lines had been drawn down the political alley.


So. Eight years after my first time voting. Here I sit, in Boston, Mass, with no job, no income whatsoever, twenty three thousand dollars in debt creeping up behind me, attempting to support my fiancee in our $800 a month Studio apartment. Our refrigerator consists of six hot dogs, four tubs of butter, and a pot of soup that never decreases, really, but never increases, and always tastes different. Every now and then, when my fiancee isn't paying attention, I slip out to the local grocery store and go through their discards of produce and meat for the day, and scrounge something from there. Never anything too rotten, but neither is it ever fresh. When I make my fiancee dinner, I take a significantly lesser portion and supplement it with cat kibble, so she can have more.

Six months ago, I would have been classified as middle class, with a decent job, considered a "happy suburbanite." Now I, and my family (kitten included) eat out of a dumpster to save money so my fiancee can continue going to school, and so I can afford gas to continue my job search.

So. While investment didn't kill me, something sure as hell did.

I could be a prick and blame it on Obama, irrationally, like I would have a month ago, because of nearsighted irrationality. Now I realize that I've had no one to blame but myself, for voting in someone like Bush, not once, but twice, both out of ignorance.

Suppose some of y'all on here would say I'm getting what I deserve, and aye, maybe I am. More than likely, I am. I sat by while my country not only condoned but actively practiced torture, I sat by during Katrina and laughed, not out of racism, but out of the fervent cries of racism from here at the DU, of all places. I sat by while my government slowly started to break apart the foundation of the country right underneath my feat, and I laughed, because "We" were in power. So yeah. I guess I am getting what I deserve.

So yeah. I didn't invest, but to those of us with nothing to invest, the problem comes straight to the home. If anything is going to convince America, for good, that the country needs to be run by people like President Obama, this economic crisis will do it.

Didn't mean to hijack, but I've... been... feeling the need to tell someone. Anyone. Someone needs to hear it from the ground level, and while there are likely dozens, if not hundreds, of threads like this out there already... well... doesn't matter, I guess. I just felt the need to let it be known.

Thank y'all for listening.

Pardon my threadjacking, y'all have a nice night, and God(s)-bless.

[renate]

25. I'm sorry you're having such a hard time

Welcome to DU, and thank you for your honesty and for your willingness to share your story (and admit your mistake :) ).

I hope things look better for you soon. :hug:

[NewtonsAve]

37. Pleasure's mine, mate.

Made some mistakes with Bush, that's for sure. Things will get better, as all things do. She and I look forward to a long life together, with an actual home and more than a meal every day or two. It's the one thing that really gets us both by; our future. Thanks for the sentiments, truly. You and yours stay safe and stay happy, too.

[janx]

26. God bless you too, man--

and no--you do not and did not deserve that, no matter whom you voted for. ;-) :hi:


And welcome!

[NewtonsAve]

38. Thanks for the welcome!

It's weird to see myself here, truth be told, but... I guess it's weird, instead of being on the lurking, mocking side, to be on the other side, needing (and getting) valuable support. It's... liberating. Feels like I've stopped being someone I'm not, and just started to be me. So thanks, truly, for the welcome.

[janx]

45. There are many sides (not just two, as our media/culture would lead us to believe)

and I hope you enjoy your stay here. There are many arguments and beliefs here too. I was not a Dem until 2004 and cannot promise to be a one again for the rest of my life. I'm a moderate and always have been.

There are more than any two sides to any given situation. I teach my students this: It's not either/or--politicians would have you believe this, but it's not true.

WELCOME, again.

[Lyric]

27. Try the local food banks. They don't discriminate based on

past income, and you can at least get some clean, decent food.

We're all in this together. I'm glad that you're one of "Us." Not DU'ers, either. Just Americans who care and who are brave enough to see things for what they are. It's hard to look at a boulder rolling down the hill toward your house and face it, but face it we must, even if we can't stop it. We can at least stick together, so that when the damage is done, we aren't re-building alone.

Seriously--look into the food banks.

:hug:

[NewtonsAve]

39. For the best of America. Aye.

Something I, personally, have been staunchly ignoring, and what a fair bit of America needs to wake up to. Everyone can be armchair warriors, in both a war manner and in a political manner, but sometimes it takes more than that.

If ya ask me, folk like y'all are really America's Army. The ones looking out for our own folks day in, day out, fighting for the betterment of our society as a whole. I guess you could say I've kind of enlisted in that army, though originally unwillingly.

I'll check the food banks, don't know why I didn't think of that sooner. I suppose it's the "hunter and gatherer" in me. Heh. Thanks for the advice, mate.

[Liberal_in_LA]

69. I second that. Get to a food bank...please!

[Muttocracy]

31. Welcome to DU and I hope things get better for your family

:hi:

[NewtonsAve]

40. Thanks much, Mutt. From the bottom of my heart. N/T

[DeschutesRiver]

35. Seriously, dude, you are eating the cat's kibble or did I read that wrong?

I second the person who asked if you'd checked out any local food pantries?

Even back in the dark ages, when I was starving trying to pay for college myself, working full time days and weekends to pay for night school, I ate an enormous quantity of rice, cooked right on the stove whenever my roommates weren't hogging it. Rice with broth, rice with soy sauce, rice with whatever veggies I could scrounge, and rice rice more rice.

Even with the rise in prices, I think you can find 25-50# sacks out there for 10-12 bucks, which could be the basis for any number of toppings that you can scrounge or sale stuff you can add to it. Millions of people in the bigger world around us eat rice daily, no big deal.

And lose that chair - if you know how to dumpster dive, and are willing to do such things, you know that somewhere in your city there is free used furniture for the taking. Craigslist? Freecycle list? Put out on the street for garbage day? There is unbroken furniture out there if you can scrounge it - don't despair on that account either!

When I have had dark times, I forced myself to count my blessings, like having a cool dh, still having a roof over my head, being able to spend a dime so thin that it returns dollars, and finding free things that others stupidly discard because they need "new" things. Good luck to you and your finance, and keep your eyes and mind open, and ask the universe to point you in the right direction to find what you need - hope things start looking up for you.


BTW, what Bush did to this country goes beyond probably what anyone who voted for him thought it would. And it started 30 years earlier - Bush just kicked it into overdrive in the home stretch, so do not beat yourself up over your vote, k? Bush or any president's lack of morals and utter disregard for their country is the crime, not the fact that they covered it up so well that the average voter with certain beliefs bought the con job they were selling.

[NewtonsAve]

42. Yeah, kibble. Got it right.

Rice, though cheap, costs money we don't really have. I found two small bags on my scrounging, that I am ashamed to say I think fell out of someone's shopping bag or somesuch. We've been stretching that through the Everfull Soup as much as we can, and it's supplementing nicely.

I'm actually quite new to dumpster-diving. I'm afraid I'm horridly inefficient, and with the suburbs the way they are around here, finding something on garbage day is lucky at best. There was a couch out there about a month ago, but it was far too big for the apartment, unfortunately.

What's a DH? And aye, been keeping a keen eye to the future, to the advancement of our country as a whole, and in a personal way, as well. Thanks for the sympathies, though. They're appreciated more than I can articulate.

Well, what pisses me off the most about my vote is that I like to think I'm a reasonably intelligent person. Reasonably high IQ, blew through almost every class in college without even attending lecture with B+ being my lowest grade. I think I was just taken aback by the sheer tenacity that the Bush administration performed their deeds, at the end. I blinded myself, because... I mean... "How could they get away with it if that's what they were doing, really? Doesn't make sense." I guess I still believed in an honest, forthright government. Or at least, dreamed of it.


Anyways, thankye for the words and encouragement, and good luck to you in the future.

[Lyric]

47. DH = Dear husband, I believe.

Please do stick around. We aren't the grudge-holding types, for the most part, and most of us understand (at least to some extent) what you're going through. I know I do--not the political part, but the hunger part. I spent the first 6 weeks of my pregnancy eating only once a day, if that, and I wound up so sick and anemic that it was a miracle my son was born healthy. I was only twenty then, and I didn't understand about things like welfare, Food Stamps, and Medicaid. When I finally found out about those things, I was too grateful to be ashamed.

Don't be ashamed of asking for help. You might not qualify for welfare because you haven't mentioned any children, but if you have no income, you can probably get at least 3 months of limited Food Stamps (better than nothing) plus other temporary emergency help. Massachusetts has a pretty generous social services policy, from what I understand. It's worth looking into. If nothing else, the social services offices will definitely have a list of non-government resources for you.

Also, consider calling the offices of some of the local churches (especially the Catholic ones, as they consider charity to be a sacrament.) We've done that when things were hard, and they've given us gift cards for grocery stores and occasionally even a little money.

:hug:

[NewtonsAve]

50. Thank you very much, Lyric.

I gave thought to the social services stuff... but... I guess until recently, I had too much pride. Didn't want to acknowledge that I'd fallen that far. I don't have a choice now, though. That's on my list of things to do for Monday, then.

It's good to hear that your son was born healthy, especially in conditions like that. He's a testament to the strength and perseverence of his mother, to be sure.

I've thought about the churches, but I didn't know if they still did that sort of thing, and if they didn't, calling up and essentially going "Yo, looking for handouts" would... well, that sounds like general asshattery. But then again, I suppose they get that fairly often, so it's foolish to have thought to begin with.

If I could figure out the smilies, I'd send a few hugs back your way. The support and anecdote are both heavily appreciated, and the advice sincerely taken to heart.

Take care, and stay safe.

[DeschutesRiver]

52. yep, lyric has it right - dear husband of 29 years now

One last thought on the cat kibble - I'm an old person, the kind you typically think might hit a bad patch and resort to catfood, but do the math and I think it can be avoided. My WAG estimate (wild-ass'xx guess:) on kibble vs. rice (looking at petfooddirect for prices): a Whiskas 15# bag is about a buck per pound; the 3.3# bag is about $1.81/pound. Compare that to a 50# bag of rice at $15 is .30 a pound or even if you could only find 25# for $15, it would be just .60 per pound. Even if the rice was $20, it is only .40 per pound for a 50# bag. So if you find the bigger quantities, the rice is far cheaper than inexpensive cat food. I only buy big bags, so I don't know the prices/math on the smaller typical grocery store prices to compare. We have a store called Cash and Carry, open to the public restaurant supply store, no membership required for purchase, and that kind of store is the best place to find larger quantities (some are deals; others are not - you gotta take a calculator to make sure!). The cat kibble sounds like something my dh would do, at least until I caught him and whipped out a calculator:) I'll stop with the rice thing now, I promise, lol...

I read your other response and want to add encourage you to strike out there and use some of the resources that we as a country set aside just for situations like the one you find yourself in. Think of them as safety nets to use temporarily until you are again in a position to pay it forward. It is less a reflection of how far you've fallen, rather than a statement of your drive to survive until you can find a job and get back on your feet.

Never forget that this could happen to any of us, that it has already has happened to some of us, and that right now you are in the same boat with many others. It happened to me when I was much younger; I am no longer there, but I do pay it forward still. Remember, my paying it forward doesn't do any good unless someone in a bad patch, like you, steps up and uses it - don't feel bad, this is the reason food pantries, good works, food stamps, etc exist.

P.S. I don't know if grocery stores still sell soup bones at a reasonable price? I get mine from my own cows when we slaughter them, so I haven't kept up. I roast them first, then make a broth with them - usually on the bones I get there is a tremendous amount of meat that I pick off and toss back in the pot with veggies to finish the soup. Roasting bones first in an oven at 425 for a couple of hours will make your soup even more flavorful!

[eridani]

62. Actually, cat kibble may be better in some ways than rice

True story. When I was in grad school, one of the regulars in the weight room was a tiny pocket Hercules who was working on being an Olympic contender in one of the lower weight divisions. He was less than 5" tall, and was 130 lbs of mostly bone and muscle. He could bench more than 200 lb, and I once saw him do a set of 50 handstand pushups, with feet lightly touching the wall. His main snack food was cat kibble, because it was the cheapest protein source he could find. He said it didn't taste any odder than a lot of prepared snack foods, and was way cheaper and a lot healthier.

[EvolveOrConvolve]

58. Welcome Newton, your story sounds similar to mine

Not economically, but politically. I'm also a former Bush voter (in 2000), but I was able to pull myself together in time to vote against Bush in '04.

Seriously man, go get some help. Welfare may be a bad word in conservative circles, but it's not a bad thing. It's there to help anyone, and no one here at DU is going to begrudge you getting a decent meal or help with your rent.

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[SoCalDem]

28. $26,400.00 on 101-k..about 250K of "vapor equity"..

:(

[Muttocracy]

32. I don't know for sure, but I'm shoveling money into the hole I guess

My employer requires one of several retirement plans, and I picked TIAA-CREF so I keep putting money into that. On top of it being required, my employer's match provides a big increase in my overall income -- provided that money is accessible some day.

I set up my portfolio WAY more conservatively than recommended for someone my age. I took out a loan from it to pay off credit card debt a few years ago, which is nice because they're lower interest loans and don't even show up on my credit report because it's a loan from myself with my own collateral held against it until I repay. Because of the loan, even more had to be held in the conservative funds (more like in a regular savings account).

For the smaller part that's in stocks, the losses are balanced out by my payroll contributions, so it's holding steady, but what I'm getting is a bunch of cheaper new shares and losing value on old shares. If things go up later that's good, I'll have bought when the market's low and recover the value in the others, but the "wisdom" that someone in their 30s should be investing in real estate and stocks because those are the two best earning oppportunities, well....

Hope you're doing OK, Mike, I know from reading on DU, less frequently than I used to, that life was throwing you a lot of curveballs.

:hug:

[hay rick]

33. Hole in the poll.

You don't cover losses between 20 and 30% in the poll. I'm using that as an excuse to not do the math.

[gblady]

34. freedom's

just another word for nothing left to lose.

[sendero]

36. What about..

... I made money in 2008. Because with the miracle of UltraShort ETFs, it was easy. :)

[Lost in CT]

41. Over 40%...

on edit I havn't sold anything so all I lost were unrealized gains which honestly means squat.

[littlebit]

43. Thanks to the way I was raised I have lost almost nothing.

My grandfather taught me years ago to never trust the stock market. I put most of my money in treasuries. I haven't made enough off of it to get rich. But I haven't lost half of what I invested either. That old man use to get on my nerves but damn he was right about the stock market.

[Mari333]

44. I wont look at my statement til 2011. nt

[Silver Swan]

49. I lost about 36 percent on my stock holdings.

But fortunately, stock holdings were less than one-half of one percent of my total monetary assets.

My former spouse always laughed at me because I didn't trust the stock market.

[dysfunctional press]

51. we lost some value on the house we purchased in 2006...

about 6% drop- but we still have tons of equity, and no plans to move anytime soon...so, what? :shrug:

[RadicalTexan]

53. At 30, have never been able to afford to "invest"

Also, I have major ethical/political issues with the "stock market" and so wouldn't invest in that, anyway. I resent the fact that my mandatory retirement account at work is invested in dubious enterprises, and I have no control over it.

[Historic NY]

54. one stock went from $100 a share to $16.60.........did know it was tanking.

[scarletwoman]

55. I've lost nothing. I would never in a million years have anything to do with the stock market.

I'm an economic Luddite, I guess. I stay as far away from capitalism as I can manage. I work for wages, I put some money by in my local credit union savings account. I've never used credit cards, I only buy what I can pay for when I'm buying it. I own my little house and 10 acres outright, it's the third house I've bought on contract for deed over the years, all with 10% down that I saved to accumulate.

I try to stay as uninvolved in the System as possible. I live very simply and I'm quite content. My basic needs -- food, shelter, health -- are met.

sw

[RushIsRot]

56. I lost about 50% of my savings before I called my broker to sell me

out. I got my checks that are now safely residing in my credit union account.

[Control-Z]

57. I'd been meaning to invest

for years. But with kids, and every penny spent before even counting it, I just never had a good enough sum to invest properly. I NEVER thought that my lack of money would actually protect me somewhat.

[Irish Girl]

59. Just went over my portfolio this weekend - gained a bit and lost nothing, was surprised to find

My heart breaks for some of the posts in this thread and my prayers are with those families struggling to stay afloat right now. It makes me so damn mad to see decent folks suffering while fat cats walk away with their exorbitant bonuses.

:mad: :puke: :puke: :mad:

I just reviewed my portfolio this weekend and a few of my investments gained a slight bit from last year. The majority traded sideways though, meaning I didn't really gain or lose anything (which I'm still thankful for considering the current market).

[eridani]

60. Where's the choice for "gained slightly"?

About a half of a percent. Would have been a little better except I kept forgetting to transfer the company matching stock to the Stable Value fund with sufficient frequency. The Vanguard chart sez that someone who is 62 should be holding 45% stocks and 55% bonds. I've never come anywhere near close to "age approriate" investments at any time in my life. I'd sooner invest in the First National Bank of Sealy Posturpedic. This has meant gains that have not been particularly large during boom years, but no loss of principal, ever.

My profile was more like 55% cash (CDs) and 45% bond heavy Stable Value Fund in my 401k. I rolled 40% of the CD funds into a 7-year annuity, and the 401k into a 10 year IRA annuity. Though annuity gains are capped, there is no loss of principle.

[cliffordu]

63. I got sick, we lost everything and now embrace the horror that is

living without financial security.




....Losing my place in line for the Middle Class Lifestyle Retirement Funhouse has been

about the best thing that could have happened. I got nothing left to fear.

[Earth_First]

65. Aside from what we may have lost in our property value...

Not a whole lot.

We are young and just starting out. Our 401(k)s are relatively small, so the hits we did take are nothing in the scope of what are parents and colleagues have experienced.

[Buns_of_Fire]

66. "When you ain't got nothing, you got nothing to lose." -- Bob Dylan

[leftofthedial]

68. I haven't had anything to invest since 2005 or so

and very little from 2002 until 2005,

so technically, I haven't lost anything in "this storm."

Since the Coup of 2000, though, I lost over 90%.

[Kip Humphrey]

70. I got out of the stock market in July 2007 and have about tripled my investments since then...

I began with European government bonds primarily as a play on the Euro in 2007. In Qtr 1 of 2008 I sold the bonds making 42% and began buying gemstones. My gemstones have gained in value about 252% to date. I expect them to further double in value over the next 6 months if the economy stays on course.