Degree of concern now vs 2000-2002

[W2R]

Some people remember being just as concerned during the market woes of (roughly) 2000-2002 as they are right now. Some were more concerned, some less.

The purpose of this poll is to compare your degree of concern during these two periods of market decline.

The reasons for your concern are not part of the poll. Some had few to no investments in 2000-2002, some are ER'd now with no income, some are more experienced investors and calmer about these things now than they were then, and so on. None of this matters to your poll response.

Thanks to NW-Bound, whose post to Tangomonster gave me the idea for this poll!

 

[REWahoo]

I voted 'more concerned' based on being employed then and retired, living solely on my investments now. Big difference.

 

[CuppaJoe]

4 to 0 so for in favor of more concern. "These are the times that try (wo)men's souls"?

 

[VaCollector]

Voted "more concerned" as I was still gainfully employed then and had not even given serious consideration to RE.....yeah....what REW said!

 

[WilliamG]

About the same. I remember having an uptick in concern in 2002. 3 years seemed a long time for things not to be leveling out. This time may be different (ie., worse) in which case come 2011 I may go over to the dark side.

 

[al_bundy]

back then there was no risk to the banking system. some banks got bought out, but we didn't have this cleaning process like we just had where so many household names have been wiped away

 

[NW-Bound]

I voted for the same concern as the last recession.

I'll admit that the overall systemic risk is higher than the past recession. But do you remember the despair and anger after 9/11? There were talks of world trade being disrupted, that the US would stop trading with Muslim countries, such as Pakistan and Indonesia. It was a pretty rough time too.

Additionally, the dot com burst also indirectly affected myself a lot more, being employed in the high tech world. I have clawed back from that episode, and want to keep my eyes open for investment opportunities to crawl out of the current sink hole, as I did the last time.

 

[dex]

I could understand what and why the internet bubble burst - I was in 100% cash at the time.

I thought this housing issue was simply an oversupply issue - I bought a new house in Nov. 2006 thinking I made a good deal. I don't fully understand all the ramifications of this situation.
A little story.
When I was 17 and working in a supermarket; I had a robber pointed a gun at me - I told him; "the bullets are in isle 6"; He told me "you're a wise guy; sit down". I wasn't scared because I was too young to understand what could happen.

I'm not scared yet for two reasons
1. 50% of my money is in cash.
2. My house is paid for in full
3. I have a budget and computed various scenarios projecting my net worth until I reach 85
4. I'm retired and made my decision

++++
If I knew now what I didn't know then.
1. I wouldn't have bought a house in 2006
2. I would have stayed in cash

++++
Now I would be doing to do the following
1. Cautiously begin to average into the market
2. Look to buy two small houses - 1 in the city and 1 in the mountains somewhere.

 

[Jake46]

I am much more concerned now. Like other posters, I was employed then -- retired now. More significantly, I viewed the 2000-2002 downturn as a natural response to the irrational exuberance of the tech/dot com sector. Today's situation is much more of a broad-based, systemic problem. I think it will take much longer to recover.

 

[Bestwifeever]

In 2000-2002 everyone rushed into real estate. What can we rush into now? Nada.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

In 2000-2002 everyone rushed into real estate. What can we rush into now? Nada.

Guns and Ammo.

 

[kumquat]

I am much more concerned now. Like other posters, I was employed then -- retired now.

I'm less concerned. Back then I had a j*b I could loose, not now. Back then I would require a 10% WR, not now. Back then I had many years to live, 6 fewer now. Back then I couldn't get CPP (Cdn SS), not now.

 

[unclemick]

In 2000-2002 everyone rushed into real estate. What can we rush into now? Nada.

Dividends?

Ahem, ahem - down but not out - pssst Wellesley .

Like buying the sports package for cable or satelite tv - we can over watch world financial markets to the frequency/level of detail that I sometimes get the urge to upchuck. .

Now retired - a long drift of P/E's down/ dividends up until a paradigm shift(1965 -1982) would not be in catagory of fun.

heh heh heh -

 

[FIREd]

I voted "not as concerned as 2000-2002" at least for now.

In March 2002 we bought our first home with a sizable mortgage, then 2 months later my wife totaled her old car so we had to use a good chunk of our emergency fund to buy a new (used) car mostly out of pocket and then less than a month later I lost my job. Add to it the post 9/11 paranoia plus a falling stock market and 2002 was incredibly gloomy and stressful.

This time around we have more to lose in the stock market, but our mortgage and fixed expenses are quite small, we have a good amount of savings (several years worth of living expenses), we still have jobs, and our asset allocation is a lot more conservative.

 

[Moemg]

I'm slightly more concerned than then because I've had a taste of freedom and do not want to return to the work a day world . Plus in 2000 -2002 there were still some safe areas this time nothing is safe .In 2001 I bought my present house and even though it is down from the market highs it is still worth $200,000 more than I paid .

 

[Bestwifeever]

Guns and ammo vs. dividends--flipping a coin here over what to invest in (what about tulips or beanie babies?).

This time I'm more concerned with the economy in general rather than our personal situation.

Says a lot about today's mindset when closer-to-death-now goes in the positive column :

I'm less concerned (snip).... Back then I had many years to live, 6 fewer now.

 

[Animorph]

I was just starting to actively invest in 2000 after receiving a large amount of company stock. Trial by fire. I was much better prepared this time, though my results from 2000-2002 were fine because I stuck it out in stocks and diversified while prices were low. This time I converted some equities to cash before the bear market and have been able to reinvest it as the market dropped.

 

[yakers]

I voted 'more concerned' based on being employed then and retired, living solely on my investments now. Big difference.

X2, ditto, dubble ditto, yeah me too

 

[Gardnr]

A lot more concerned now because I didn't really have that much at risk in the market back then and the this time everything's in the tank and it's worldwide. The systemic financial problems in the banking system are very disconcerting and the deleveraging of the consumer is looking like it's going to be worse than I thought.

 

[Nords]

I voted 'more concerned' based on being employed then and retired, living solely on my investments now. Big difference.

Oddly enough we were much more concerned in 2002 because spouse had given up her full-time job and I was getting ready to ER. We weren't sure that the portfolio was going to be enough and that we'd be able to handle the transition. Oh, yeah, and our ER portfolio had hit rock bottom after 9/11 with losses of 40%, and hit it again in Oct 2002.

Remember how people were dying from anthrax & car-trunk assassins? And how there was going to be war with Iraq?

This time we're both ER'd but we have six years of experience behind us. We have two years' expenses in cash and some cash flow from a rental property. We've seen how bad it can get and we made the deliberate decision to keep our asset allocation because we can handle the volatility. Maybe in future decades we'll ease up on our high-equity portfolio... or maybe not.

BTW our portfolio has hit -40% off its all-time high and may reach -45%.

Ironically both spouse and I [-]were offered[/-] turned down full-time jobs last week.

 

[Bimmerbill]

Less concerned for me. I was laid off back then, but now am pretty stable working for the fed gov't.

 

[grumpy]

I wasn't sure how to answer this one. On the one hand I am more concerned. I think this time may be much worse and last much longer than the earlier bubble bursting. On the other hand, I had worked and planned for years to be able to survive a worst case scenario like what may be coming. We are retired, with no debt of any kind (no mortgage, car payment or credit card debt), have a Cola'd gov't pensions that covers all basic living costs, excellent gov't subsidized health insurance, and investments in high dividend paying stocks that throw off a nice income stream to supplement pensions. DW will start collecting social security in one year. So from that perspective its as Alfred E. Newman used to say - "What, me worry"? I do worry for my children, however. My son will be getting married in two weeks and hopefully starting a family soon. So far his job with a software company is secure, but who knows what will happen? My daughter works in a Broadway theater. The show she works on is closing in January. Will the downturn cause the theater business to seriously contract?

For most people I think the next few years will not be pretty

 

[DangerMouse]

BTW our portfolio has hit -40% off its all-time high and may reach -45%.

Ironically both spouse and I were offered full-time jobs last week.

Well I guess if we hear that either you or Mrs Nords has accepted said position will be a clear indication that there is no hope for this market and we should all be looking for jobs. If the Nords capitulate it must be really bad.

That said I am probably more anxious this time around because we are closer to FIRE. I am still consulting for my former employer and funnily enough, it is in the workplace that I am most anxious about this economy. When I am at home I just ignore it, I am too busy enjoying life, don't have time to think about what is going on. As soon as I am in the office looking at the numbers all I can think about is when will the next round of layoffs be which immediately leads me to the internet and my job search starts.

 

[DblDoc]

I was out of the market in 2000-2002. Just got out of residency and was paying off CC debt, student loans etc. The whole dot com bust was barely noticeable noise in my world at that time.

DD

 

[Bikerdude]

I retired in 2000 but was mostly out of the market and invested in MM. I went into this downturn 50/50 so I'm more concerned now than then. Adding to my concern, former Mega-Corp employer is looking shaky so health care may go bye bye and pension may be taken over by the Govmint.

I will take SS next year so I can now envision (worst case) being totally dependent on the Govmint, even though it was never my intent.