Holy cr@p, the sky is falling...

V

vickko

Dryer sheet aficionado
Joined
Aug 30, 2008
Messages
30
Location
Ottawa Canada
...my FIRE depends on the TSE and it fell another 500 points today.

I now need to die 3 years earlier :-(

Best to hunker down, enjoy my classes, and hobbies, until brighter skies. I can't add to the camera collection, but I can shot more of my stockpile of film.

How are you weathering this?

Vick
 
vickko said:
How are you weathering this?
Click to expand...
Not very well. I am now in the middle of my second major cold/flu this summer, and much of it can be traced to the stress of watching our early retirement dreams go out the window.

The one positive is that I switched us to a very conservative 20/80 two months ago. So, rather than suffer through massive bleeding on any one day, we are just going through the pain of a thousand paper cuts.
 
vickko said:
I now need to die 3 years earlier :-(
Click to expand...
We can help with this. See the bacon threads. Also, be sure to put heavy cream on most everything that is not bacon. :)

Ha
 
vickko said:
How are you weathering this?
Click to expand...

Just fine, my income stream has been unaffected (actually it has gone up in the last 3 months as companies announce dividend increases).
I just wish I had more cash available to DCA in a bit more than I am.
 
Try to remember this feeling next year at this time.

I predict when the market rebounds, you won't remember the pain unless you really try.
 
retire@40 said:
Try to remember this feeling next year at this time.

I predict when the market rebounds, you won't remember the pain unless you really try.
Click to expand...

What is going to cause it to rebound? More government bailouts?
 
reasons...

....consumers settle down and regain confidence
....new gov't in both Canada and USA restore optimism
....real estate values settle down. Not up, not down, just right, whatever that is
....people get back to the business of "get on with it", instead of pessimistic panic

That should bring order back to things.
 
Don't know, could be alternative energy stocks, could be the weeding out of a bunch of weaker companies/stocks, a more solid fiscal environment.
If I knew exactly what was going to cause it to rebound I would be incredibly wealthy;)
Perhaps retire@40 does know;)
 
I see no reason to hold the heavy cream ON the bacon. Even though it drives Ladelfina nuts, my Carbonara recipe includes bacon, cheese, cream, and so forth. They go deliciously with each other.

If you're an accumulator that hasnt retired yet, this is all good news. If you have cash, bueno. Next month everything bounces back.

If you're an early retiree and this is driving you batshit, you didnt implement a portfolio consistent with your risk tolerance...so after next month when things return to normal, fix that before we revisit this scenario in 3-5 more years.

In the meanwhile, everyone have a cocktail and watch something fun on tv this evening, then have a round of massive, screaming sex, and forget about this BS for about 30-45 days.
 
vickko said:
....consumers settle down and regain confidence
....new gov't in both Canada and USA restore optimism
....real estate values settle down. Not up, not down, just right, whatever that is
....people get back to the business of "get on with it", instead of pessimistic panic

That should bring order back to things.
Click to expand...

Or
...... Consumers, so deep in debt realize they can't continue spending at previous levels. Confidence fades.
.....New governments with the same old spend and borrow programs make things even worse. They made too many promises they can not keep.
..... Real estate values plummet due to the millions of foreclosures, interest rates resetting, and surplus of homes on the market
.....people get on with it and do the best they can with ever increasing health care costs, energy prices, inflation, layoffs, downsizing, reduction in wages and benifits.......
I do believe it will get worse before it gets better. Not a pessimist, just a realist. I hope I am wrong.
 
Hey, yesterday it went up, and today it went down - - it will all balance out in the long run.

Don't forget to smell the roses along the way (or watch the squirrels). 8)
 
I hear roses grow great in bone meal. So something had to die for them to do well ;)
 
We are weathering this by taking advantage of a lower stock/RE market. Our net income is up more than $8K from last year, yet we are slashing our expenses. Last year we spent about $69K for the entire year, this year I project the final number to be between $61K and $63K. So it gives us an extra $14K-$16K to invest. My wife didn't even noticed I had made some budget cuts, so me think that I could probably tighten the belt a little bit more, heh heh heh >:D
 
cute fuzzy bunny said:
Next month everything bounces back.
<SNIP>
forget about this BS for about 30-45 days.
Click to expand...

What is the thought process behind 30-45 days? Are you basing this solely on seasonal trends - e.g., is it just that the historically worst month of the year will be over and then the usual xmas rally starts to kick in?

Thanks
 
TSE, thanks that's my new word for today. Maybe you could change it to TSP, add sugar, cook with bacon wrapped in chocolate with a side of mac and cheese. Lemon custard pie for dessert.

One day games are for Monopoly on holidays. Forget the railroads, put up all the hotels you can.

I got my financial advice today on a balloon at WaMu, must have been left over from the '80s: Don't worry, be happy. Really, with a big :D
 
I'm not even for the year

I feel that my post several months ago stateing I was even for the year caused this downdraft. I would now like the Wall Street god to accept my penance and end this unholy drop. I confess my offense to the WS god. :angel:

Oh well, I've lived through worse. I do find myself calculating how long I can live on my fixed income/cash portion of my portfolio. Also, I calculate how much I can spend if I want to make it to 85 without touching my equities. What's scary is how much I can spend over the next 28 years if only my LTC will depend only on my equities.

For the record I used to dream about having as much as my portfolio fell today. I'm down 9.1% YTD and that's over 2 years of living expenses. The good news is my family doesn't have a great longevity. :D
 
slouch said:
What is the thought process behind 30-45 days? Are you basing this solely on seasonal trends - e.g., is it just that the historically worst month of the year will be over and then the usual xmas rally starts to kick in?

Thanks
Click to expand...

{Moderator edit}
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Huh? The Dow is down 280, after going up 290 the day before. So the two-day net is +10. And this is bad because...?

Added: Oops, not the Dow, the TSX. Well, is it still higher than it was two years ago...

(Reading for comprehension: -10 points.)
 
International/EM is getting creamed! But that's all right, I can ride the roller coaster. Besides, I'm still accumulating for a few more months so it's great!

My biggest problem is staying disciplined enough to not put too much money in without regard for my "bucket" plan.

Even with all that said it is kind of gut wrenching sometimes, ain't it?
 
Hmmm, I wonder what's in Ziggy's portfolio to trigger any further downturns :)
 
vickko said:
How are you weathering this?
Click to expand...
What Leonidas said.

Those with less than two years on the board (or less than two decades' investing experience) could search previous threads for the keywords "sky", "falling", "doom", "gloom", and "Chicken Little"-- where these sentiments have all been thoroughly beaten to death.
 
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