Has the Past Eight Years Been Bad for You?

[sasquatch]

That's not exactly representative of the market as a whole and does not change the fact that most investors have lost money as of late.

Nobody I know recommends investing "in the market as a whole". With good advice, there are literally hundreds of stocks, indexes, ETFs and mutual funds which are up substantially (100% - 700%) over the past eight years.

If you bought stocks 8 years ago which were brilliant investment ideas then and are down now, buy more.

 

[Playboypenguin]

Nobody I know recommends investing "in the market as a whole". With good advice, there are literally hundreds of stocks, indexes, ETFs and mutual funds which are up substantially (100% - 700%) over the past eight years.

If you bought stocks 8 years ago which were brilliant investment ideas then and are down now, buy more.

Once again, that is not indicative of the market as a whole or relevant to the original posters remarks. Are you trying to say tha majority of stocks and mutual funds are up these days or that the average is even up?

 

[sasquatch]

Are you trying to say tha majority of stocks and mutual funds are up these days or that the average is even up?

RIF. What I said was......."With good advice, there are literally hundreds of stocks, indexes, ETFs and mutual funds which are up substantially (100% - 700%) over the past eight years".

 

[Playboypenguin]

RIF. What I said was......."With good advice, there are literally hundreds of stocks, indexes, ETFs and mutual funds which are up substantially (100% - 700%) over the past eight years".

And what investment companies were giving this good advice? I seem to remember them all being slammed for continuing to recommend bad stocks just recently. I do assume that you are now mega wealthy based on your experiences with these great stocks.

 

[sasquatch]

And what investment companies were giving this good advice? I seem to remember them all being slammed for continuing to recommend bad stocks just recently. I do assume that you are now mega wealthy based on your experiences with these great stocks.

For whatever it is worth, I have dealt with Merrill Lynch for the past 8 years, and have been given very good advice on retirement investing. Hardly "mega wealthy", but retirement isn't all that far away, hopefully. Yep........I am putting every dollar I can into those energy stocks.

 

[209]

The past eight years haven't been too bad. Yes, gas and heating oil is up. Food costs more and ammo is up.

But even with the poor economy and raising prices, I have:
paid off all of my vehicle loans;
cleared my credit card debt;
paid off a 15 yr second mortage in 2 years;
paid a lot extra on my principal mortage to reduce it;
managed to make maximum payments to both my IRA and my wife's IRA.

Along the way I've managed to:
pick up a few more guns;
buy three new horses;
still go out to eat several times a month.
make some good investments;
remodel about 75% of my house.

Of course, even before the last eight years, I usually tried to live well within my means. That way I don't lose things (like my house) when the economy tanks.

 

[johnbt]

"Anyone with an established account which was built over the last decade will be playing catch up for some time to come just to get even."

That all depends on what they bought, now doesn't it?

I wish I'd bought more Apple when it was dirt cheap. And more James River Coal a year ago. Oh well, nobody gets it all right, even Mr. Buffett.

The market has always had winners and losers - something I think a majority of folks forgot, or never learned, during the past 15 or so years. All they saw was everything going up, up, up.

Wise investmenting, and a little luck, results in a net gain.

Meanwhile, I'll just keep doing what I've done for the past 30 years or so - invest a little out of every paycheck. Sometimes I'm buying at top dollar and sometimes I'm buying at bottom dollar, but it all adds up because the overall market has never gone and stayed down.

John

 

[Intune]

It's not 8 years but I went out on what I thought was a limb and purchased a bunch of NATUS MEDICAL INC (BABY) in August of '02 for $3.38. It closed at about $25.00 the other day. I think I found my acorn, snort...

 

[wingman]

Outsourcing
loss of manufacturing
poor trade agreements
trade deficits
Bleeding money to oil rich countries
uncontrolled immigrations
prolonged wars/nation building
Poor public schools.

This is how America is doing and overall I'm more concerned about that,
if your liabilities outweigh your assets your not doing great and I suspect
most average families of 4 are in that boat.

 

[Sixer]

my suits on, so have at it.

No need for a suit! I'm buying one of those shirts TODAY

 

[ConfuseUs]

The past 8 years haven't been bad for me. Not great but not bad.

I've got more guns and some of those guns would have been illegal 8years ago. So that's good. Unfortunately ammo prices have been going up and now I've got reloading equipment.

I've bought a condo which lost 14k of value, but I'm able to easily make the payments because a) I bought it to live in instead of as a get rich quick plan, b) I figured out my budget before buying it, and c) I got a fixed mortgage.

My car is a total POS. OTOH, I don't believe in spending lots of money on cars or financing them because a car steadily grows worthless over time. Plus, my vehicle has decent gas mileage so gas prices didn't smack me very hard. It's those idiots driving around SUVs who can barely make the payments, keep a roof over their heads, and food on the table who get smacked by gas prices.

I finished school and I have no debt. I paid cash all the way through.

I haven't found a better job than what I was doing to get through school so that's a wash. I have found 2nd jobs that supplement my cash though.

I've kept my credit card paid off and I have no long term debt outside of my mortgage. What's really making people suffer in this economy is poor debt coverage ratios. The people complaining the loudest and most bitterly about how Bush screwed up the economy tend to have too much debt, no understanding of monthly budgeting, and no savings.

 

[wncchester]

"Has the Past Eight Years Been Bad for You?"

Economically, yes. But none of it is due to anything the gov. did, it's the results of some bad decisions I made for myself.

OH, if only we could get Obammy in office!

He and Reid and Palosi, et al, can make my life decisions for me and they would surely make everything all better within three months and my car can have a windmill on the roof so it won't need gas. Or at least they can ruin the rich so they can see how bad it is to live at the bottom of the totem pole. Bet all them TV/movie stars and Geo. Sarros and Ted Kennedy and Katie Coric and Oprah will feel our pain then!

 

[Joe Gunns]

Overall doin' better. Stock market hasn't been kind, but I haven't been "killed." Real estate has been very nice. Used wisdom in buying and financing my properties. Have been able to pick up a very nice piece at a great price just this Spring. Don't like the Patriot Act, but cannot say that I have experienced its bad side. Am greatly disappointed by the overall Bush and Republican performance, but I am scared to death of the alternatives offered every election. Gas prices are a bother, but not a stopper. I anticipate that they will be going down for a while.