Thirty-Six Years Today Stock Market Crash

[sroby2020]

no money, no job

October 1987 - I had been laid off from Big Oil the previous year and had gone back to school to get a degree in Computer Science. I was about 2 months away from graduation, so no job, living off of a wish and a prayer. So October 1987 didn't affect me financially. I was already pretty close to rock bottom. I got a job in January 1988 paying about 30% less than what I had made with Big Oil, but it was a great stepping stone to greater things.

 

[Exchme]

We made our first investment in the stock market that August. We had no idea what we were doing and our first purchases were Fidelity Magellan and Puritan funds. I recall someone telling me mid-day that the market was way down and watched the news that night. I seem to recall the news anchor saying something intended to be comforting like "the sun will come up tomorrow and your kids and your dog will still love you".

As I recall, that downturn wasn't just that first day, it totaled 35% to the bottom. We held on through that and came out OK, though eventually switched funds several times, essentially chasing performance and paying hefty fees for the privilege.

 

[GaryInCO]

I was in Switzerland working an international trade show for a new Megacorp product. Our division manager came over to see how the money was being spent, and the first morning he was there he told us the Dow had dropped over 500 points (22.6%) the day before. We laughed. We thought he was joking. He wasn't.

 

[GLM]

green investor then.

I was in my late 20's at the time , a stay at home mom. We had just begun to invest in this new thing called a 401K, that my parents and financially savvy in-laws had never heard of.


I found a Money magazine at the grocery store that explained it and what it would do to pensions long term.I then talked DH into joining the 401k to get the company match. It was a stretch but before he had the 401k job things were even tighter.(found out later we would have qualified for food stamps)

Watched our balance go down then up. Probably a good beginner lesson in not panicking.

 

[Artiscara]

October 19th, 1987 a 22.6% drop in one day. I believe it was the largest drop in a single day of the markets.
I really don't remember it but sure I was aware of the event at the time. I was very busy with life at that time frame and ER wasn't even a thought on my mind.
https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/stock-market-crash-of-1987

Noted as Black Monday.

I was very young working at Lockheed with many that were close to Retirement and to see their faces was shattering. Good people ready to exit now worked for at least 2 more years to cover their losses. So sad!

 

[a60dan]

It was my second year out of college at the company I retired from 36 years later.

I had no idea what was happening.

That day my broker called me, did not mention what was happening, and sold me some penny stock.

When I figured it out the next day, I called him back and got my money back. ��*

It was a big deal.

The “circuit breakers” that stop trading were implemented after this event.

 

[street]

Interesting how many remember it like it was yesterday.

 

[ERD50]

I was very young working at Lockheed with many that were close to Retirement and to see their faces was shattering. Good people ready to exit now worked for at least 2 more years to cover their losses. So sad!

Wait a minute! The stock market was UP for the year (2.03%)! It was only down a short time. If one stayed in the market (which is pretty much the default for retirement plans at that time - you didn't day trade them), you were still in good shape. Two more years (another 12.4% gain in 1988!) meant 2 more years of salary, the market already rebounded within months.

It was my second year out of college at the company I retired from 36 years later.

I had no idea what was happening.

That day my broker called me, did not mention what was happening, and sold me some penny stock.

When I figured it out the next day, I called him back and got my money back. ��*

It was a big deal.

The “circuit breakers” that stop trading were implemented after this event.

Wait another minute! Buying stock on a down day is a good thing! You could have made a quick profit on the recovery (but penny stocks were probably not a good idea regardless).

See my post #8 below -

https://www.early-retirement.org/fo...ay-stock-market-crash-119638.html#post3002190


-ERD50

 

[ERD50]

Interesting how many remember it like it was yesterday.

And interesting how many DIS-remember it (see my previous post)!

-ERD50

 

[maestro]

Remember it, and believe we could see another any day. That is what unnerves us in the equity markets. We know what lead up to 2008, but what was it in 1987? It was: "Heightened hostilities in the Persian Gulf, a fear of higher interest rates, a five-year bull market without a significant correction, and the introduction of computerized trading have all been named as potential causes of the crash." (Investopedia). Sounds kind of familiar in today's market.

Another 23% sudden crash is definitely a gut punch for those of us who experienced it, but hey, we're still breathing. Keep your dry powder ready. Peace.

 

[dmpi]

I was a new investor for 1.5 years before this happened. Lost about 1/4 of my money in a day. I remember it as pretty darn depressing.