|
|
01-08-2018, 12:54 PM
|
#41
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Portland
Posts: 1,708
|
Wasn't really investing as i think I had a tiny bit in a stock mutual fund (Vanguard) a few shares in my neighbors company and a bit in money markets. This was right before the '87 crash. Since I did not have much in stocks it was not a big hit. I remember my GF freaking out. I was a bit nervous but held the course.
Got serius about investing when my boy was born and my company started throwing off some cash. That was '96. In 2000 I was a speaker at a conference in Denver when tech stocks started crashing. Wasn't much I could do as internet was in the early stages. So held on by default
Don't remember '03 much. Then the big one. We are a construction company so it was a double whammy. No work & investments were down. We spit balled it and did it day by day. Lower salary, stopped auto investments (company cash flow) and borrowed a little bit on the house LOC. A small inheritance also helped. Mrs Scrapr was unbelievable in doing more with less. We had bought a vacation house a few years before. I was adamant about selling it. She was adamant about not selling. I gave in...she made it work. (LOL)
|
|
|
|
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!
Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!
|
01-08-2018, 12:59 PM
|
#42
|
Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 176
|
Started investing during the mid 90s (first 401k).
Didn't understand it until 2013 tho. Literally had no clue how investments or the market in general worked until then.
__________________
FIRE as of spring 2015!
|
|
|
01-08-2018, 01:00 PM
|
#43
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: The Bay Area
Posts: 2,736
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Walt34
I think it was mid 1990's. With my divorce in 1983-84 I had to start over pretty much from scratch and I didn't have anything left over to invest. We were finally getting stable and even had furniture in the living room! (I have a photo somewhere of DW sitting on the floor reading a book under a pole lamp.) So we finally started putting money into 457 and TSP accounts, me in a target date fund since I had no idea what else to do, and her in conservative TSP funds.
|
A bit off topic but, this reminds me of our (me & GF/DW) first apartment out of college. Our “coffee table” was a used Strohs beer case under a naugahyde covered piece of plywood. Ahhhh, the good old days!
__________________
You may be whatever you resolve to be.
100% x 10% > 10% x 100%
Small pensions & SS cover essentials
|
|
|
01-08-2018, 01:03 PM
|
#44
|
Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 459
|
Since 1995. Was a bad boy! Played with margin, all in individual stocks, lost about 1M around 2001(still burning that loss), changed investment strategy to mutual funds in 2003 but never panicked and sold anything. Worked out well in the end and retired on 12/1/2016
__________________
Retired at age 52 on 12/1/2016
|
|
|
01-08-2018, 01:11 PM
|
#45
|
Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 621
|
In 1994 - With Fidelity Contra Fund
|
|
|
01-08-2018, 01:51 PM
|
#46
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 3,679
|
Opened my first Vanguard acct (Roth IRA) in 2010. Up until then we only had CDs and savings accounts. I still like CDs and cash but I have learned to like mutual funds. DHs state pension funds were always invested in the markets and that was enough risk for us.
__________________
Married, both 69. DH retired June, 2010. I have a pleasant little part time job.
|
|
|
01-08-2018, 02:31 PM
|
#47
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Syracuse
Posts: 3,501
|
Well. 1981 ? I lost a bundle chasing Philippine Long Distance Telephone on its way up. Turned out it was how Marcos was getting a payout while leaving for exile. Why then? Why that? Who knows?
1989 started on my 401k. All mutual funds almost all equities. That and some minor stock options was it.
2013 put most of the 401k in an IRA to play with even more MF and ETFs and living expenses.
__________________
“No, not rich. I am a poor man with money, which is not the same thing"
|
|
|
01-08-2018, 02:43 PM
|
#48
|
Moderator
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Eastern WV Panhandle
Posts: 25,299
|
Ah yes, I'm very familiar with the interior decor style we all used to call Early Poverty.
__________________
When I was a kid I wanted to be older. This is not what I expected.
|
|
|
01-08-2018, 02:57 PM
|
#49
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Laurel, MD
Posts: 8,309
|
Early 80's
Megacorp had company stock profit sharing which transitioned to 401k. I remember always being curious about "the market" and wondering about the DJIA (what's a point?) but no one anywhere in my extended family ever had any interest whatsoever. Mom had US Savings bonds.
__________________
...with no reasonable expectation for ER, I'm just here auditing the AP class.Retired 8/1/15.
|
|
|
01-08-2018, 02:59 PM
|
#50
|
Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Northwest Ontario, Manitoba
Posts: 146
|
Early 1990's we bought some bonds the nice man at the bank advised. In 1999 we woke up and realized our net worth was very red (we did own a few businesses) and something had to change.
Today we are comfortable and I am able to fully retire when
I am ready.
Awesome.
|
|
|
01-08-2018, 03:08 PM
|
#51
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Lawn chair in Texas
Posts: 14,183
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Walt34
Ah yes, I'm very familiar with the interior decor style we all used to call Early Poverty.
|
Mid-century yard sale...
__________________
Have Funds, Will Retire
...not doing anything of true substance...
|
|
|
01-08-2018, 03:34 PM
|
#52
|
Moderator
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: San Diego
Posts: 14,169
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Walt34
Ah yes, I'm very familiar with the interior decor style we all used to call Early Poverty.
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by HFWR
Mid-century yard sale...
|
See - I always thought it was Eclectic Savation Army mixed with Early American Hand-me-down.
Still have some pieces that fit that style... They function and look ok...
As to the OP's question - first job that offered a 401k was in the mid 80's. I've been participating ever since. Mostly on auto pilot (not paying attention - just contributing via payroll.)
As for the market gyrations... I remember a younger coworker commenting in 1999 or early 2000 that he expected his money to double every 6 months... That rule had worked for him up till that point. But he'd only known the bubbly dot.com stuff... He thought I was harsh when I laughed. LOL.
__________________
Retired June 2014. No longer an enginerd - now I'm just a nerd.
micro pensions 6%, rental income 20%
|
|
|
01-08-2018, 04:05 PM
|
#53
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: DFW
Posts: 2,016
|
Early 1982, thanks to Megacorp investment/retirement plans.
__________________
Resist much. Obey Little. . . . Ed Abbey
Disclaimer: My Posts are for my amusement only.
|
|
|
01-08-2018, 04:09 PM
|
#54
|
Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Long Island
Posts: 141
|
The first stock trade that I made was in 1982. Some rich dude that I met at a bar that I worked, gave me a “tip” on a stock which I followed up on. I opened an account with a “discount broker” by the name of Max Ule. It took me two weeks to set up an account through phone and mail. Paid $65.00 to buy $2000 of a stock named Zapata. Some kind of oil Company in TX. Long story long, I lost about half of my dough. God I wish I had met Jack Bogle sooner!
|
|
|
01-08-2018, 05:07 PM
|
#55
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 11,401
|
I started in 1990.
|
|
|
01-08-2018, 05:37 PM
|
#56
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Des Moines
Posts: 1,376
|
1982 I think, when my employer started their 401(k) plan. I worked in the pension business and I remember a client asking me about that 401(k) thing and I had to look it up and call him back.
__________________
Retired in 2013 and we are living the dream!
|
|
|
01-09-2018, 06:20 AM
|
#57
|
Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Sugar Land
Posts: 587
|
I still have the paper stock certificates from my very first stock . . . shares of Exxon that I received when working as a deckhand on an Exxon towboat working the Inland Waterways. Circa 1974. Still reinvesting the dividends.
|
|
|
08-13-2018, 05:29 AM
|
#58
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Nebraska
Posts: 1,543
|
I opened my IRA in my late 20s or early 30s. Just glad I did. Later, I signed up for TSP when that became available for Federal employees. I don’t remember the dates, time flies by so fast.
|
|
|
08-13-2018, 07:22 AM
|
#59
|
Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 153
|
Since '85 or so. Made some costly mistakes like selling a fund in a taxable account and incurring a 7k cap gains bill. At least by '08 I knew enough to hold on to my equity funds and not panic (too much!). That turned out OK.
|
|
|
08-13-2018, 07:41 AM
|
#60
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 11,078
|
In 1984 I started at Megacorp. They gave us profit sharing in a private fund. For over 30 years they ate the 1% fee.
I was hired as an entry level programmer. My first big project was writing calculations for stock distributions. I had no idea what a distribution, or a stock was. Hahaha. I guess I did ok.
|
|
|
|
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
|
|
Thread Tools |
|
Display Modes |
Linear Mode
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
» Recent Threads
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
» Quick Links
|
|
|