Blue Collar Guy
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Here is one of my many stories. In 2007 i knew i was packing it in(retiring). I kept hearing on the radio about markets go up/ markets go down, why take the risk . Sleep better at night, get bonds. I believe the rate quoted was 8.25 %. Mind you, this was the summer of 2007. I discuss this with the bride. i said we have enough , why risk it. lets go get these bonds. She said o.k. I go with my checkbook im going to make this happen. I arrive at the place in long island early for my appointment. Get a free cup of coffee. The representative (salesman), comes in and i tell him i want this bonds. We discuss how much im going to invest, my net worth, etc. I dont remember the maturity dates ,maybe 25 years out, maybe more. He tries to build up a relationship with me by telling me he was a retired cop too, since i have these assests i should buy these Apple Reits. That im basically giving away a 18 % return vs the 8.50 % that i want. Reits? I never heard of this before. 18 % returns? He shows me charts and brochures and all sorts of things. So what do i do? I hear 18 % and everything else is blah blah blah. I manage to remember that the bride has authorized me to get these 8.50 % bonds. Not some wacky 18 % reit that i just learned the definition of. So i come home empty handed, except for the brochures for this lock 18 %.
yeah, so now im all goofed up, i wanted the bonds, but he threw a monkey wrench into the equation. Do i get the bonds? Why should we pass up on this 18 %. So what do i do? Nothing, thats right, the money stays in the checkbook. I know 18 % sounded too good to be true. It was what the first people got when they invested in this REIT years earlier. But this is me, im usually the loser in these get rich schemes. Then the market plummets for the next 2 years. My 8.5 % bonds that i missed out on, when i would think about them, i would want to beat that salesman up. The reits ? hahaha they were garbage. tons of lawsuits. They really were worth about 3 dollars a share. People were only allowed to cash out i think 5% of them a year, so it will take 20 years to unload these dogs. In the 2 years that the market was in a melt down, i started reading about investing instead of listening to salesmen on the radio. If i would have gotten the bonds i would have been happy and our asset allocation would have been about 80% 8.5 % bonds for 25-30 years.
Thats my story,
yeah, so now im all goofed up, i wanted the bonds, but he threw a monkey wrench into the equation. Do i get the bonds? Why should we pass up on this 18 %. So what do i do? Nothing, thats right, the money stays in the checkbook. I know 18 % sounded too good to be true. It was what the first people got when they invested in this REIT years earlier. But this is me, im usually the loser in these get rich schemes. Then the market plummets for the next 2 years. My 8.5 % bonds that i missed out on, when i would think about them, i would want to beat that salesman up. The reits ? hahaha they were garbage. tons of lawsuits. They really were worth about 3 dollars a share. People were only allowed to cash out i think 5% of them a year, so it will take 20 years to unload these dogs. In the 2 years that the market was in a melt down, i started reading about investing instead of listening to salesmen on the radio. If i would have gotten the bonds i would have been happy and our asset allocation would have been about 80% 8.5 % bonds for 25-30 years.
Thats my story,
