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03-19-2008, 07:05 PM
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#61
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 398
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I haven't looked in detail, but my net worth is down about 5% or a little over 100K. I'm still in the accumulation phase with paid employment (and DCA'ing), so that lessens the drop.
While it's a little disappointing, I haven't lost any sleep over it. I look at the recent drop as a positive thing. Not only are stocks less expensive (as others have mentioned), but a falling market illustrates the value of risk. If equity (and bond) investments didn't have risk, they would earn the same rate as a savings account at your local bank. The fact that the equity market is sharply down simply emphasizes it's long-term potential for higher return.
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03-19-2008, 07:11 PM
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#62
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 464
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Down about 10% even with 40% in cash. Everything I own was trashed.
mP
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03-19-2008, 07:41 PM
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#63
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,304
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Networth down about 5.3% from high. Portfolio is down 10% from high.
A more interesting question might be where are you since EOY 2004 or some other date that would show the upside of your investing.
__________________
Life is GREAT!
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03-19-2008, 08:03 PM
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#64
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Southern Louisiana
Posts: 519
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Down about 10% but thanks to this ER site I realize that this is just normal. I have even learned not to look at it and am actually ignoring the market. I am still maxing out my 401k contributions as well as after tax contributions. I am looking at this as a "DCA buy low" period and since I only have a few years left to contribute, this could very well be good for my future net worth. I hope so.
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03-19-2008, 08:08 PM
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#65
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 97
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On March 3rd, the last time I dared to look, investments were down 1.8% from the late 2007 high, but our house keeps increasing in value which has pretty much canceled out the loss to our net worth.
Since we are retired, we are a lot more conservatively invested--we took five years of living expenses from equities and rolled them into CDs late last year. We now have about 55% equities, so we fared pretty well all in all. And, since we don't plan to sell stocks any time soon, you could say we haven't lost a dime!
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03-19-2008, 08:39 PM
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#66
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 189
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Quicken says -14.36% ROI 10/12/07 - 3/19/08 (401k and Roth IRA)
90% stock, 10% bonds
Looking forward to an upward trend
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03-19-2008, 08:52 PM
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#67
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 626
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Down about 6.7%, including estimated equity drop in house, but also including savings contributions and bonus in February. 60% stocks.
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03-19-2008, 08:55 PM
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#68
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Northern Illinois
Posts: 12,757
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Quicken says down 3.8% since Oct 2007, but worse because I havent revalued real estate and business equity that equal more than half of net worth
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03-19-2008, 09:37 PM
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#69
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 433
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Down lots of dollars like other prudent investors who have been robbed by the Greenspan/Bernanke gang's artificially low rates.
Capital being slaughtered by inflation.
A casualty in the war-on-savers.
__________________
Consult with only myself as your adviser or representative. My thoughts should be construed as investment advice of the highest caliber. Past performance is but a pale shadow and guarantee of even greater results in the future.
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03-19-2008, 10:17 PM
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#70
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Silicon Valley
Posts: 1,812
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I'm totally clueless as I haven't looked. It's times like that that I am glad that I run with an Excel spreadsheet with totals by category rather than a program such as Quicken. I know everything is going down, but I also know that it is unlikely I will need to access my investments for some time to come. It is times like this that make me grateful that I am 45% in cash.
__________________
I be a girl, he's a boy. Think I maybe FIRED since July 08. Mid 40s, no kidlets. Actually am totally clueless as to what is going on with DH.
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03-19-2008, 10:21 PM
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#71
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: near Canadian border and near Mexican border
Posts: 1,142
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DangerMouse
It is times like this that make me grateful that I am 45% in cash.
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IMO you should go a shopping trip for some great bargains before the sale is over.
__________________
Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. That's my story and I am sticking to it.
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03-20-2008, 01:33 AM
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#72
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 2,713
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03-20-2008, 03:10 AM
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#73
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 5,072
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I haven't calculated it exactly... but from the recent high I am somewhere between 8 - 10% off.
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03-20-2008, 11:24 AM
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#74
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: North Bay
Posts: 1,077
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawn
I look at the recent drop as a positive thing. Not only are stocks less expensive (as others have mentioned), but a falling market illustrates the value of risk. If equity (and bond) investments didn't have risk, they would earn the same rate as a savings account at your local bank. The fact that the equity market is sharply down simply emphasizes it's long-term potential for higher return.
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This reminds me of the time that the Megacorp I worked for in 1987 announced a new openness policy regarding discussion of salaries. A HR rep sat down with each employee and showed them where their salary was located within the newly divulged salary brackets. I happened to be at rock bottom in my bracket, which didn't please me, since all my colleagues were not at the bottom. The HR rep insisted that I was the luckiest guy in the organization, though....with all that room for salary growth! She was a maker of lemonade..a real spinmeister!
Anyway, I'm down 3.1% since 9/30/07 (I only calculate and record networth quarterly). Not as lucky as many on the board, I guess. Less room for growth, so to speak, but definitely more within my downside comfort zone.
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03-20-2008, 11:32 AM
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#75
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 377
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I am up, been 100% cd cash since the thing started.
__________________
No Soup for you! Come back 1 year!
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03-20-2008, 11:41 AM
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#76
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gone traveling
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 994
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I have no money in the stock market.
My net worth has increased.
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03-20-2008, 12:01 PM
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#77
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Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: North Oregon Coast
Posts: 16,475
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Quote:
Originally Posted by scrinch
This reminds me of the time that the Megacorp I worked for in 1987 announced a new openness policy regarding discussion of salaries. A HR rep sat down with each employee and showed them where their salary was located within the newly divulged salary brackets. I happened to be at rock bottom in my bracket, which didn't please me, since all my colleagues were not at the bottom. The HR rep insisted that I was the luckiest guy in the organization, though....with all that room for salary growth! She was a maker of lemonade..a real spinmeister.
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What she should have said was: As the lowest-paid employee in your classification, you're the least likely to be let go in a layoff...
__________________
"Hey, for every ten dollars, that's another hour that I have to be in the work place. That's an hour of my life. And my life is a very finite thing. I have only 'x' number of hours left before I'm dead. So how do I want to use these hours of my life? Do I want to use them just spending it on more crap and more stuff, or do I want to start getting a handle on it and using my life more intelligently?" -- Joe Dominguez (1938 - 1997)
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03-20-2008, 04:18 PM
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#78
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 398
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Quote:
Originally Posted by scrinch
This reminds me of the time that the Megacorp I worked for in 1987 announced a new openness policy regarding discussion of salaries. A HR rep sat down with each employee and showed them where their salary was located within the newly divulged salary brackets. I happened to be at rock bottom in my bracket, which didn't please me, since all my colleagues were not at the bottom. The HR rep insisted that I was the luckiest guy in the organization, though....with all that room for salary growth! She was a maker of lemonade..a real spinmeister!
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I understand your point. It certainly doesn't feel good to have a drop in net worth or be at the lower end of the salary bracket. However, I look at your story in a different way. If everyone at Megacorp made the same salary, there would be no incentive to take risk and no chance to get ahead. Megacorp would be a fairly mediocre place. This is analogous to the savings rate at a bank. Safe, fairly consistent, but not the road to long-term wealth. But a broad salary bracket suggests opportunity for growth. At times you'll be at the bottom and at times you'll be at the top. And the top is much better than the bottom, so if you remain at Megacorp for 20-30 years, your cumulative income is almost guaranteed to be greater than if you work at a place where everyone makes the same guaranteed salary. This is analogous to stocks.
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03-20-2008, 05:19 PM
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#79
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: North Bay
Posts: 1,077
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That's a healthy and mature way of looking at things. I think most people tend to slam doors and kick the cat more when the market is way down, rather than seeing it as an indicator that the market is operating as it should. Good on you.
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03-20-2008, 05:32 PM
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#80
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Administrator
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: N. Yorkshire
Posts: 28,015
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I only keep quarterly records but looking back the high was 10/1, and since then it is down approx 1.5%
__________________
Retired in Jan, 2010 at 55, moved to England in May 2016
Enough private pension and SS income to cover all needs
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