Adios & thanks for ALL!

[pasadenaDC]

VA, thank you for your honesty and I hope you decide to stick around.

I was just having a convo with a co-worker the other day concerning Bank of America's financial status and the fact that her mom (a BofA employee) was 'all-in' for her retirement on BAC common stock. In fact, my co-worker also made a large stock purchase of BAC at cost basis of around $12 per share, though she was dismayed that it dropped to $10 only days later. VA, I would surmise that there are actually many BofA employees or former employees in this same boat.

 

[uncledrz]

VaCollector
Normally I won't give advice, but I will in this instance. STAY.
We've all taken a hit, but we'll all do just fine. This Board isn't only for those who have amassed tens of millions, or have 3 or 4 cola'd pensions, but for all of us other fools who work, live, save, invest, win, lose and commiserate or otherwise get together here and express our thoughts and ideas. You belong.

Uncle Mick, you crack me up, never heard of cheap basterdhood before....so why not take the movies out from the library for free.....free is good.

Uncledrz

 

[Spanky]

VaCollector,

Sorry about your loss. Our ER has been postponed indefinitely due to the recent market downturn. Hang in there!

Spanky

 

[travelover]

Va, stick around! I'm so sorry for your loss, but you have done a service to share it with us.

Good luck.

 

[Bimmerbill]

Any chance it will go back up?
I remember back in the dot.com bubble a lot of the people I worked with at LU had their entire portfolio in LU stock. Had people who were going to retire with 800-900K end up with just about nothing.

 

[FANOFJESUS]

If I were you I would figure out a way to take the losses even if you get back into the market in 32 days. Maybe something like BAC to XLF for 31 days then back to BAC just an idea it might help you on taxes. Or another bank stock that falls and rises like BAC. On a positive note you have a large tax write off.

 

[cardude]

I feel your pain. Hindsight is 20/20-- you can't beat yourself up over it. Try to forget it and move on.

I'll try to make you feel better: I had an offer for my auto dealership back in early 2007 for 1.3M and turned it down because I could make that in about 3 years at the rate we were going. Now it's pretty much worth nothing. See, we all do stuff that looks stupid in hindsight!

 

[Sue J]

after all, what does someone like me really have to offer the savvy investors that hang out here....sad....but true!


VaCollector

I'm nowhere close to being a savvy investor. In fact, I've realized that my risk tolerance is ZERO. I read other folks' advice and experiences here and think if I had any guts maybe I should try a stock or mutual fund. And then everything changes and I'm back to being a chicken and holding on to my few fragile little eggs.

I'm so sorry for your sudden change of plans. This kind of stuff should not happen to anyone.

 

[calmloki]

on a small scale - we don't have much stock, but last year i started buying BAC because it was soo cheap at $34 and had that big dividend. Then bought more at $25. And more around $22. Then i tried to tax loss harvest, but sold less than 30 days after buying. Oops. That wasn't so smart. My honey is not real impressed with my stock acumen. We're way overloaded in real estate - Gonna ride the ponies we came with till they die. BAC & RE too. Good luck, and stick around...

 

[RonBoyd]

I'm nowhere close to being a savvy investor. In fact, I've realized that my risk tolerance is ZERO. I read other folks' advice and experiences here and think if I had any guts maybe I should try a stock or mutual fund. And then everything changes and I'm back to being a chicken and holding on to my few fragile little eggs.

 

[ikubak]

VA, don't know if you sold the BAC or not, but I was thinking about your situation and checked on BAC today and saw that it was up 24%! I hope you benefit from the bump.

 

[FinanceDude]

Keep posting!!! With the bump today, maybe take some off the table........

 

[chinaco]

VACollector,

Sorry to hear about the financial loss. I appreciate you sharing your situation. Hopefully others will learn from it.

Good luck as you enter the work force. I am sure the skills that made you a success before you FIRED will make you a valuable employee to your new employer.

 

[NW-Bound]

Then i tried to tax loss harvest, but sold less than 30 days after buying. Oops...

Calmloki, it's OK to claim the tax loss. Wash sales restriction only applies if you sell a stock for a loss, then buy it back within 30 days. Uncle Sam frowns upon transactions done purely for tax reasons, meaning people converting a paper loss into a "real loss" for tax deduction, then buy the thing back. If you never rebought the same stocks, then the rule does not apply.

In fact, say if you made a mistake and bought the thing back within 30 days of selling it. You can now sell it again (the 2nd time). If you did not buy it back the 3rd time within 30 days, then the total net loss of the 1st time sale and the 2nd time sale can be added and claimed.

 

[dessert]

VaCollector I sure hope you stayed in because you got back 31% of your nest egg today! A few more days like that and you can stay retired.
Good luck....

 

[52andout]

I don't post often but read a lot. Well I became 54 and in. I got a call over the summer to do some work for a company I had done work for in the past. As a favor to them I said OK. Well I am still there with no end in sight and while there were layoffs in other areas, those with my certifications are still in demand. I count myself lucky that we were well diversified with no debt. I am hoping to be able to get back out in the next few years, I just didn't feel like we could sustain ourselves for so many years with such great losses, and I would rather go back at age 54 than 64.

Our other alternative was to cut to bare bones lifestyle, but my kids don't live close and I didn't want to give up being able to visit them or do some traveling. Also, housing is a big expense but we have to live somewhere and I love my neighborhood and yard. And so it goes.

We have a friend who has his 401 of 1.2 mil in company stock and was set to retire last fall. Apparently there was some funny business going on on paper and he now has less than $200,000.

I hope people don't leave because I know that I get great strength and knowledge from reading other people's experiences.

 

[Lsbcal]

I'm certainly no expert on bank stocks but I see BAC was up 31% today. Some stocks do recover eventually. Assuming it is not nationalized as happened with Fannie and Freddie I'd guess better days lie ahead.

 

[NW-Bound]

I usually do not follow BAC, but saw that it moved up today due to the news that Ken Lewis, CEO and chairman of B of A, bought 200,000 shares at the average price of $6, for a total of $1.2M . The market liked that vote of confidence.

 

[saluki9]

I usually do not follow BAC, but saw that it moved up today due to the news that Ken Lewis, CEO and chairman of B of A, bought 200,000 shares at the average price of $6, for a total of $1.2M . The market liked that vote of confidence.

Go ask Bob Steele over at Wachovia how those big share purchases worked out for him? OUCH

Also, not to diminish his actions, but $1.2M to Ken Lewis isn't the same as it is to you and me.

 

[NW-Bound]

I know. Many CEOs have lost more than their shirts. Billion of dollars worth, like the chairman of Bear Stearns. $1.2M is not that big a deal to them.

 

[Dreamer]

I am so very sorry to hear your story. It makes me feel a little sick to my stomach. I wish you the very best. I am another not very saavy investor. I am hoping for the market to improve. I have not even figured out how much we have lost. I really don't want to know, because it would cause me some "sleepless nights". We did not have huge sums to begin with either. I consider us lucky since I have a COLA'd pension and my DH is still working. Good luck and keep thinking about the important things in life.

 

[BunsGettingFirm]

If you have a CPA & 25 years of accounting experience, I don't foresee you not having options.

As for your having to leave the board because you're no longer FIRED, I say baloney. This board is really like one of those shiny car magazines that feature Ferraris reviews and weekends at the Monterrey race track. The dudes who could afford the Ferraris don't need to read a magazine to know how the latest Ferrari drives because the dealer brought it to his mansion the previous weekend for a private test drive. So treat the board as an aspirational read.

 

[nphx]

Bank of America holders sue over Merrill purchase

Bank of America holders sue over Merrill purchase - BusinessWeek - any way this may reverse out some pain?

 

[redduck]

Most here know my story but here's a quick synopsis for those who may have missed it....

November 2006 - inherited 10,000 shares BAC (approx value $550,000)

Feb-May 2007 - bought 5000 more shares for the steady dividend (25+ years with consistently raising it too!) - $250,000 in saved monies...

Total of 15,000 shares paying $36K/year++......

Today - my 15,000 shares of BAC will pay me $600/year and are worth approx. $75,000....]


VA, no reason you should leave the board (OK, that's just my opinion). From what I can tell, a bunch of us are currently experiencing weird/unpleasant stuff regarding present/future or never-to-be-arrived-at-retirement. Some of us will probably die on the job.

But, I do have one question: that $600/year worth of dividends--will you be reinvesting them or just taking the cash?

 

[Nords]

As for your having to leave the board because you're no longer FIRED, I say baloney.
So treat the board as an aspirational read.

You're absolutely right, but if Va stayed around then he'd be able to read his final post as a constant reminder of his actions. And when new posters show up with single-stock portfolios, you know whose threads are going to be linked.

If you're gonna stay, then stay. If you're gonna leave, then say goodbye and leave. No revolving doors.