How i got talked out of 8 1/2 % bonds

[braumeister]

The ones who make me smile are the folks who brag about the tons of capital losses they "got" in the 2008/9 crash and how they were able to carry those forward for years afterward, showing how smart they were.

Not that the same thing didn't happen to at least some degree with a lot of us, but I love hearing the positive spin some put on it.

 

[Rustward]

NOT APPLE< Apple reit i think it was apple 9 or 10, the bond, nothing to do with the company apple

I think he probably meant that if you got your Apples confused and bought some Apple stock you would have done well, but . . . well nevermind.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

I think he probably meant that if you got your Apples confused and bought some Apple stock you would have done well, but . . . well nevermind.

I still am sad i didnt get the 8.5 % bonds i went for. At this point i dont even remember if they were municipal ones.Some one pointed out they might have been called by now. That was something i didnt even know existed back then. He forced me into learning about investing. Im not a quick learner so i want to thank my lucky stars for getting me to this point.

 

[ERD50]

I still am sad i didnt get the 8.5 % bonds i went for. At this point i dont even remember if they were municipal ones.Some one pointed out they might have been called by now. ....

Getting called might have been the least of your worries. Bonds can go under, you might have got 10 cents on the dollar, like a friend of mine who wanted a "safe" investment.

-ERD50

 

[Texas Proud]

Getting called might have been the least of your worries. Bonds can go under, you might have got 10 cents on the dollar, like a friend of mine who wanted a "safe" investment.

-ERD50

Yea, think GM bonds before the crash.... my best friends mom called me to talk about what she could do when it went into BK.... I said either sale the bonds or hold on and hope you get more than you can get selling them...

I do not know what she did.... however, she thought they were very safe...

 

[IMATERP]

I like your story, I have one too! A friend put me in annuity and I suffered for 5 years thank goodness I found this site.......thank you early retire.org

I got out and rolled everything into my 401k and have it invested in vanguard funds. Currently at 8% returns. 8 from 2 is GREAT STUFF


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

Me too (liking your story!)

In 1999 or 2000 I sold 500 or 600 shares of AOL at the top of the Market and bought 20 year callable GM Bonds which yielded 6 3/4% or 7%. Anyway, the day after I sold ALL of my shares - Time Warner and AOL made the announcement of a merger. I kicked myself soooo hard - thinking that I was a fool. As most of you know, that was the top for AOL/Time Warner.

Now, 10 years later - I still held the GM Bonds and they priced during the financial calamity of .26 on the dollar and the Feds even had to bail them out. Needless to say I felt like a fool holding the bonds during this period.

Although I felt foolish in both instances, in hindsight it was very fortunate that I sold AOL at the peak and fortunate that I held GM during the plummet.

By the way, the bonds were called in 2010 or 2011.

Michael

 

[Fermion]

Much more recently I had posted about some mining company bonds I was buying. 12.5% coupon! They were selling at 25% of par. I bought a lot.

I got scared and sold them. Then they were called when the company got bought. At 107% of par.

 

[joeprintz]

There were lots of Build America Bonds paying 6-7 percent back then- and AAA rated.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

There were lots of Build America Bonds paying 6-7 percent back then- and AAA rated.

thanks, i wish i remember what they were exactly so i could research them. i know they had a decent rating. I remember that part because i was familiar with the junk vs investment grade stuff.