Is the sky falling? Dow is way down any hope

[Andy R]

Brat, I know what you mean. It is definately disconcerting for people who watch the market on a daily basis (even though we all know it's a long term game). To me the scariest factors are macroeconomic issues. Although I don't loose sleep thinking about "the perfect storm" needed to knock the market way down, we have to plan for the worst and hope for the best. Diversification and time are our allies.

[Brat]

Oh I have my handy-dandy bucket 1 so this chop is not a major concern, actually.

I have been watching the dry shipper that Cramer fell in love with and the stock went way up. Then after interviewing the CEO who communicated that there is no heaven on earth Cramer let it know that he wasn't so confident and the stock came down big time Monday. Then up a large % yesterday (kicking myself for not buying the day before). That volatility presents the opportunity for bargain shopping, and what woman doesn't appreciate a bargain. Frankly I would love it if some of the hot money got cold feet for that stock.

The heavy seas in financials is bothersome. I lived through the banking mess of the 70s and it wasn't pretty. I need to go out and spread some money around today.

[Andy R]

I think the term bargain shopping is dangerous. I recently was working on some planning research and read an article in a financial planning magazine that had advice from many greats including Warren Buffet. Here is a summary of important things I wrote down:

Quote:

Do not touch stocks on a regular basis. (those who trade least earn on average 7% more per year). Asset allocation is the way to increase returns. Re-allocate once a year. Only invest in Index Funds (low cost funds) Emergency Fund = 6-12 months expenses in interest bearing savings (or money market) Make sure to have sufficient International Financial Planning - Set Goals, Commit to reach goals by date or suffer penalty American Academy of Estate Planning Attorney's - Good resource for wills ($1,500) How to divide emotional-laden personal belongings check out yellowpieplate.umn.edu More money does not equal more happiness. People who say they value money highly report that they are less happy in life then those who care more about love and friends. After covering the basics being much richer does not make you much happier.

I will post the credits to the articles when I return home. I wonder where they got the "those who trade least earn on average 7% more per year"? I would like to see that study. I have always bought my own stocks but from now on I am going to be disciplined and follow the above guidelines. I might keep a small percentage of my assets (under 5%) to bet with by buying individual stocks but even then I know I might as well go on a random walk down Wall Street.

[FinallyRetired]

Just checked with the 2012 people and they say the Dow is moving right along one of their predictions, but they didn't say which one.

[Brat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brat The heavy seas in financials is bothersome. I lived through the banking mess of the 70s and it wasn't pretty. I need to go out and spread some money around today.

By spreading my money around I meant that I want to spread money in a savings account around several lenders so that none are over $100T. It is an estate, not my money. Not an investment.

[jazz4cash]

Well this is pretty easy since OP did not specify Christmas 2007 so the answer is absolutely positively YES!!