I feel like a deer caught in the crosshairs

[canadianteddy]

I've been laying low lately, trying to avoid the business channels & stock markets. But I feel like a deer caught in the crosshairs. Totally immobilized. Had a coffee after dinner tonight, therefore I have insomnia right now and am overthinking every (financial) decision I've ever made.

Am I the only one, or are there others out there that feel the same? (Maybe just the caffeine?)

We attended a seminar hosted by our financial advisers this evening. A large group of investors with very ruffled feathers in attendance. They (the grand poobah of advisors) talked about trends & the positive & blah, blah, blah. It was the spin doctors putting on a show. (According to the Grand Poobah "The stock market has had an upward trend - as illustrated by this graph - for the LAST HUNDRED YEARS"- Oh gee when I'm 150 yrs old, I'll be laughing all the way to the bank) I left there feeling less positive than when I went in.

Well, thanks for listening, sometimes u just gotta vent.

 

[RonBoyd]

 

[W2R]

I've been laying low lately, trying to avoid the business channels & stock markets. But I feel like a deer caught in the crosshairs. Totally immobilized. Had a coffee after dinner tonight, therefore I have insomnia right now and am overthinking every (financial) decision I've ever made.

It is only natural to think and overthink about financial decisions in the middle of a worldwide partial economic collapse. I know that I would really love to figure out some way to keep my money absolutely secure and yet experience more substantial yields on my investments. Oh well.

A deer caught in the headlights doesn't move. Being a "buy and hold"er at heart, I tend to think that when I have doubts, doing nothing is generally the right choice.

Am I the only one, or are there others out there that feel the same? (Maybe just the caffeine?)

Probably not. For the past few months I have been drinking just one cup of half decaf and no other caffeine each day. I worried. This week I am on vacation and have been drinking full strength coffee, but haven't been worrying as much. Maybe it is the vacation, or maybe I have just decided that the best tactic for me is to do nothing and wait until the market rebounds. OK, I have to admit that when the market dropped around 250 points on Monday I was talking like a survivalist, but just as a tactic for dealing with the inevitable and not experiencing worry.

We attended a seminar hosted by our financial advisers this evening. A large group of investors with very ruffled feathers in attendance. They (the grand poobah of advisors) talked about trends & the positive & blah, blah, blah. It was the spin doctors putting on a show. (According to the Grand Poobah "The stock market has had an upward trend - as illustrated by this graph - for the LAST HUNDRED YEARS"- Oh gee when I'm 150 yrs old, I'll be laughing all the way to the bank) I left there feeling less positive than when I went in.

I am a do-it-yourself investor, with Vanguard, and to tell the truth, I have never had a financial advisor. Vanguard would provide me with a free financial plan if desired, so maybe someday I will take them up on that. It has got to be difficult to trust any financial advisor during times like these. It seems like losses have been pretty much across the board.

Investments with reasonably high yield are risky, by nature. Sometimes we forget that when the market is doing well, but during times like these the risks that we take are illustrated in every day's market news. I can't tell you that the market will recover any time soon. All I know is that selling low is not profitable and I am waiting for happier economic times.

 

[canadianteddy]

Thanks guys

Love the cartoon.

I am feeling slightly more rational now that daylight has come. That's always the way.

 

[cashbalancetrouble]

A day does not go by that I think I want to get all out of equities and bonds, and riets. DW was going to retire in November but now we are not sure. FA said yesterday that the numbers still look good, just down close to 7 fidgets now. He always has that attitude that it will come back starting six months out.

Last year our discussion was just how much the market hated the unknown and how that would play out after the election. We moved some more into cash last August but that was way too little.

I see this as a spiral of illogical thinking, again. Everyone should have a house. The government will buy electric vehicles to save the auto industry. Don't drill for oil, put up solar panels, zero efficiency at night, wind turbines for running the AC on those hot windless days of summer.

I soon expect to be proposed a high speed rail track around the earth at the equator to move the solar panels around the earth following the sun. Perhaps I should file for another patent.

This weeks DW employer stopped 401K match, require one week off w/o pay in 1st quarter, and not allowed to do any work while off and when you get back make up your missed work. No bonus, no merit pay increase. The stock dividend will go probably Friday.

It is bad and getting worse. The housing loan market has been a joke for years. A guy down the streeet went to prison for mortgage fraud. His alien family still lived their while he went to prison.

Corruption runs rampant in my state and probably yours. Some of the largest public corruption here involved real estate. Everytime a new public project, jail, ball park, or other land use project, the politicians or their friends would buy up the property before anyone else knew of the need. this made them millions.

And the stimulus package, stop I just can't stand this anymore. Take all the money from the wealthy, be done with it, just grind all forward motion to a halt, the wheels have come off...

 

[dex]

A day does not go by that I think I want to get all out of equities and bonds, and riets. .

I think you have expressed what many feel. And they will take action - selling at various levels of the market - muting any rallies.

I some times think I would like to sell my house and buy that retreat in Arkansas and stock it with food, generators etc.

 

[RonBoyd]

I some times think I would like to sell my house and buy that retreat in Arkansas and stock it with food, generators etc.

Missouri is not that far away. This one might be just what you are looking for:

Cave House for Sale in Festus, MO | Zillow® Blog

 

[cashbalancetrouble]

I saw that also. I drove by this years ago when I worked in power plants in that area. I am opting to relocate after DW retires to somewhere south of Ohio to a 24/7 gated community. The most recent execution robberies here are just too much. Only the local news covered these ghastly murders that have been occuring here. Eough to rock our hall of fame ceromony next month.

 

[Leonidas]

Missouri is not that far away. This one might be just what you are looking for:

Cave House for Sale in Festus, MO | Zillow® Blog

Bah, too close to St. Louis. You would go through most of your ammo in the first month of the end-of-the-world dealing with them streaming out of the city looting for food.

On a more serious note - the cave house looks kind of interesting. I wonder what the utility bills are on a 17,000 square feet cave home.

 

[harley]

They said they were about the same as for their 800 SF starter home. They don't have heating or AC, using geothermal and sun power. Sounds a little chilly, but definitely livable.

 

[Orchidflower]

That cave house, RonBoyd, was on Extreme Homes on HGTV once. Very beautiful. And really interesting hearing how the owner built it, too.

 

[HFWR]

Do they throw in a Flintstone mobile?

 

[TromboneAl]

It really isn't fun, is it?

Here's a video I watch when my fears get out of hand. It's actually good advice. Watch the whole thing.

YouTube - Mad TV Bob Newhart Skit - Mo Collins - Stop it

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

I wonder it the cave house has radon in the air. Lung cancer is the occupational hazard of troglodytes.

 

[Bimmerbill]

Anyone else remember them selling the old missle silos out west? I'd love to hunker down in one of those puppies, but fear my SAD would get to me.

 

[Dawg52]

I've been laying low lately, trying to avoid the business channels & stock markets. But I feel like a deer caught in the crosshairs. Totally immobilized. Had a coffee after dinner tonight, therefore I have insomnia right now and am overthinking every (financial) decision I've ever made.

Am I the only one, or are there others out there that feel the same? (Maybe just the caffeine?)

Actually I was more like this a few months back. Wondering why didn't I just put everything in CD's when I retired. I do sleep well now, but not because I'm confident of the future. Just numb to it all.

 

[ziggy29]

Actually I was more like this a few months back. Wondering why didn't I just put everything in CD's when I retired. I do sleep well now, but not because I'm confident of the future. Just numb to it all.

That's actually the sad thing. I've lost enough in my stock allocation that I'm pretty much desensitized to further losses in it. At this point, I'm all in with what I put into stocks. I ain't selling now, but I'm not in any hurry to throw good money after bad. I've decided equanimity is healthier.

 

[canadianteddy]

Actually I was more like this a few months back. Wondering why didn't I just put everything in CD's when I retired. I do sleep well now, but not because I'm confident of the future. Just numb to it all.

Numb sums up what I feel.

Ironically my youngest is reading the Great Gatsby for english, or rather I am reading and explaining it to him. Just FYI I do love that book. Era, 1920's pre crash, Nick is selling bonds. Alot of shady goings on-how did he make his money? (shades of Madoff- even back then they weren't that corrupt)- Sorry- I digress- The more things change - the more they remain the same.

 

[Zoocat]

I saw that also. I drove by this years ago when I worked in power plants in that area. I am opting to relocate after DW retires to somewhere south of Ohio to a 24/7 gated community. The most recent execution robberies here are just too much. Only the local news covered these ghastly murders that have been occuring here. Eough to rock our hall of fame ceromony next month.

You live in Ohio, Cash? Where? And do you have a link for those "ghastly murders"?

 

[Texarkandy]

....
I some times think I would like to sell my house and buy that retreat in Arkansas and stock it with food, generators etc.

How's your Spanish?

 

[Sue J]

You live in Ohio, Cash? Where? And do you have a link for those "ghastly murders"?

My guess is that he means this incident which occurred Sunday night.

One Clinic worker dead, another wounded in 'execution-style' shooting in downtown Cleveland - Metro - cleveland.com

The survivor was not expected to recover but today they said he's awake and communicating.

Downtown Cleveland shooting victim is awake, making 'remarkable progress' - Metro - cleveland.com

 

[haha]

My guess is that he means this incident which occurred Sunday night.

One Clinic worker dead, another wounded in 'execution-style' shooting in downtown Cleveland - Metro - cleveland.com

The survivor was not expected to recover but today they said he's awake and communicating.

Downtown Cleveland shooting victim is awake, making 'remarkable progress' - Metro - cleveland.com

I wonder what they mean by"execution style"? From the description, it sounds like either a robbery or a bar fight taken outside.

Was this a gay club? Is there suspicion that these attacks targeted these men for some lifestyle or ethnicity reason?

A lot of crap happens out on the street at 2 AM. A week or so ago a gay man was badly beaten as he came out of an IHop on First Hill In Seattle. No robbery, a pure lifestyle targeting.

Ha

 

[Leonidas]

I wonder what they mean by"execution style"? From the description, it sounds like either a robbery or a bar fight taken outside.

"He shot him in the head," the distraught caller said of the gunman. "He made him get down on his knees like you know whatever, gang-style. I don't know what to say. This is like crazy to me."

Was this a gay club? Is there suspicion that these attacks targeted these men for some lifestyle or ethnicity reason?

Sounds like a straight up robbery. There may have been an attempt to buy/sell a little weed in the bar between some of the suspects and complainants inside the bar earlier. Then the bad guys lured them outside, where the last suspect was waiting, to rob them.

The newest story is just full of [-]lies [/-]denials on the part of the defendants from attorney and family members.

Coleman King, who is the brother of three of the suspects and the cousin of the fourth, said he was told the victims tried to buy marijuana inside Scorchers bar on the night of the shooting.

King, 27, said his relatives had nothing to do with the shootings. He said the victims were in the bar with two other men.

"My family, they don't sell drugs," King said.

Court records show, however, that one of the adult suspects has two drug convictions and all of the suspects have criminal records. King has several drug convictions as well.

Jory Aebly able to talk and move after shooting in Ralph Perk Plaza in Cleveland - Metro - cleveland.com