The, "why do you LBYM" thread got me thinking about the high tech wreck. I started getting really serious about investing in the late 90's. I had set up my 401k and Roth accounts and my parents had gifted my brother and I some money and stocks at the advice of their CPA.
Boy did I think I was a fast learner ! I cringe when I remember statements I made like, "I should quit my job, I can make more money by researching and investing in stocks !" and "Damn I wish I could buy individual stocks in my 401k !". I am so glad that I didn't have more money to invest. I never tallied up how much money I actually lost, but it was quite a bit.
Boy, the ride up was sure fun. I took $500 and invested it for fun. Within two months the stock I bought was worth $2,000. I sold and bought something else. The stock had a hell of a run up a few weeks later and the $2,000 turned into $40,000 ! I was a believer in the Motley Fool philosophy of buy and hold so I held it all the way back down.
I joined the George Gilder newsletter which gave me access to his website. There were a lot of people who were either retired or close to retirement and had rolled over their 401ks into IRAs and were playing with serious money. Many of them must be back at work now. I can not imagine what it would be like to lose 80% of the money that took 30 years to accumulate. I remember as everything was crashing everyone was still drinking the Kool Aide and God forbid if someone tried to post a wake up call.
How did the market crash impact you and what philosophy did you gain from it ?
I consider the tech wreck as an education and I am lucky I had time to recover from it and most of all that I learned from it. It was a painful education which means it is imprinted into my mind. I now only buy mutual funds and will stick with an asset allocation plan.
Boy did I think I was a fast learner ! I cringe when I remember statements I made like, "I should quit my job, I can make more money by researching and investing in stocks !" and "Damn I wish I could buy individual stocks in my 401k !". I am so glad that I didn't have more money to invest. I never tallied up how much money I actually lost, but it was quite a bit.
Boy, the ride up was sure fun. I took $500 and invested it for fun. Within two months the stock I bought was worth $2,000. I sold and bought something else. The stock had a hell of a run up a few weeks later and the $2,000 turned into $40,000 ! I was a believer in the Motley Fool philosophy of buy and hold so I held it all the way back down.
I joined the George Gilder newsletter which gave me access to his website. There were a lot of people who were either retired or close to retirement and had rolled over their 401ks into IRAs and were playing with serious money. Many of them must be back at work now. I can not imagine what it would be like to lose 80% of the money that took 30 years to accumulate. I remember as everything was crashing everyone was still drinking the Kool Aide and God forbid if someone tried to post a wake up call.
How did the market crash impact you and what philosophy did you gain from it ?
I consider the tech wreck as an education and I am lucky I had time to recover from it and most of all that I learned from it. It was a painful education which means it is imprinted into my mind. I now only buy mutual funds and will stick with an asset allocation plan.