Stock Market Musings...........

[FinanceDude]

What do folks say?

The OPTMIST: "Markets go up and down all the time, it's a great buying opportunity".........

The PESSIMIST: "The Dow is going to 7,000. The world sucks, the sky is black, my dog hates me"..........

The MASOCHIST: "My portfolio is down 40% and I LOVE IT"!!!

The NARCOLEPTIC: "I'm going to go sleep on it"..........

The DAYTRADER: "Cool, I only lost $25,000 today.....because I forgot to unwind my short positions"..........

[DeborahB]

Hmmm. I sold most of my stock mutual funds the other day - I like buying individual stocks - I realize I am an anomoly here. I just haven't seen much growth in mutual funds lately and I'm making a lot on dividend stocks. Anyhow, I decided that as the market went down, and then down, and then down (and okay, up now) it was "the death of a thousand cuts" and it was making me nuts. I'll buy back in when things calm down. Not sure WHAT I'll buy.

I still have most of my money invested in a variety of dividend stocks, bond funds I inherited (paying well so far), ST bonds, a few growth stocks. A lot of the dividend stocks have a significant capital gain but I'm holding them for the dividends.

So - having said all that - I see the market as rocky for a while. I want a little more peace of mind. I swore that around 9600 I'd sell mutual funds that weren't showing much movement (these were not dividend paying). And I did - I just didn't wait quite that long.

Can't wait for things to get better - I have to MAKE my money work. Or at least not drop much more. July 2 is RE day... 25 more work daze.

[IBWino]

I think I fall into the "narcoleptic" category. I'm ignoring the market as best I can and I'm not making any significant changes other than accumulating a little bit of cash in case a great buying opportunity arises (assuming I'll recognize one if/when it happens).

[brewer12345]

Actually I used the downdraft to rejigger things a bit. I sold off some stuff that held its value pretty well, but which I had been thinking about parting with (for months). I put the proceeds into things offered at silly discounts (like FTF, which was suddenly on sale at better than a 10% discount to NAV after recently trading above NAV) and into something I have been wanting to build a position in for a while (CHK). I am about where my target allocation suggests, so I will sit tight for now.

[DblDoc]

Another narcoleptic I guess. I wake up once a month, see whats lagging the most in my AA and invest in that.

DD

[ESRwannabe]

A few days ago I sold off my value index at a small capital gain and put roughly 50% of the money into my europe index, 25% into individual stocks and 25% into cash.

What prompted me to sell the value index was that my emergency cash was not where I wanted it to be for months, but I had a good capital gain in the value index. So, I was just letting it ride. Due to the decline I was losing my cushion of capital gains and had to sell. So, that I could get my emergency cash where I wanted it. I didn't want to wait any longer and end up in a situation where if I sold the value index I would have a capital loss.

Of course I didn't have to sell off all of the value index, but I am glad I did. I think I got a good deal out of it. My emergency cash is now where I want it (one year's living expenses) and I was able to increase my overall dividend yield. I hope the market stays where it is so I can keep buying cheap.

[Moemg]

I am a slight Pessimist . I just get more frugal as the Dow drops . Just like gambling I am a great winner but a sore loser !

[traineeinvestor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moemg I am a slight Pessimist . I just get more frugal as the Dow drops . Just like gambling I am a great winner but a sore loser !

That's consistent with the studies by Kahneman & Tversky - for most of us the pain of loss is greater than the joy of gain.

[DblDoc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by traineeinvestor That's consistent with the studies by Kahneman & Tversky - for most of us the pain of loss is greater than the joy of gain.

And thus fortunes are lost...

DD

[Tadpole]

I kind of got tired of worrying and decided to retire and just take the knocks if they come.

Think about it. If there is any way a person is supposed to get fixed income, the threated risk is huge and no one really knows anything about what will actually occur.

If I say that a hurricane will sweep across my home in the future then I will be right at least once or twice. If I say it won't I will be right most of the time.

I still think that if they keep saying that you cannot win then you might as well decide to enjoy your life anyway.

I realized this when I made those perfect market moves to cash at just the right time and didn't lose anything. But, wait, that cash isn't worth a confederate down the road. So I'll go to bond. But wait, those bonds also aren't worth a continental down the road.

No problem I have my pension and SS. But wait....

Be happy!

[Steve O]

Shorts are paying good today

[REWahoo]

Those three billy goats must be walking across the bridge again...