ladypatriot
Recycles dryer sheets
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2008
- Messages
- 121
I joined this forum only a short time ago, and I’ve been spending that time reading through the threads, becoming familiar with the frequent posters. The avatars are amusing.
Several recent threads, “Downgrade of US debt vs. aliens and psychics,” “Staying the course” and “Two more banks fail,” illustrate how location and personality create perception.[/SIZE][/FONT]
If I lived in an area that had been hit hard by the housing debacle, if homes surrounding mine were in foreclosure, and families were moving out of my neighborhood, then yeah…I’d be twitching at my mattress cover, making sure there was room for a few more dollars. For many people, their home is the most solid portion of their assets (if not their only asset), and to see it lose value so quickly must be frightening.
There are areas like that all over the country, but I don’t live in one of them. I live in an area where houses have held their value, few houses have gone up for sale in the past year and those houses have sold within 3 months. My neighborhood is middle middle-class; my neighbors are teachers, nurses, police officers, middle management office workers, etc. It’s a stable neighborhood. No bank failures.[/SIZE][/FONT]
Location is important to perception. My perception of the housing debacle is that it was a problem long before the first foreclosure. The problem was years in the making, and it will be years in the undoing. Those years will be painful for some people, but eventually it will shake itself out.
I’m an optimist. I’ve read books like “Crash Proof: How to Profit from the Coming Economic Collapse” by Peter Schiff (made me look a little harder at international bond funds), “Financial Armageddon” by Michael Panzer (made me wonder if I should be stockpiling water and canned goods), and watched in awe at Jim Cramer’s meltdown. No matter. Nothing has changed our plan.
DH and I have a plan, and it’s a good plan. We might tweak it a little, twitch it bit over here, hitch it a bit higher over there, but overall we stick with the plan. If the worst happens, and the global markets fail and the global economies totter toward a massive world-wide depression, then NO plan will save you. But like I said, I’m an optimist (DH claims he’s a cautious optimist). So, we’re checking coat pockets and couch cushions for extra change to continue investing.
Personality is important to perception.
So when I read the posts, I understand that some posters may not be in my location, and may not have my optimistic personality. Therefore, their perception of the economy, especially the future economy, is much darker and worrisome than mine. Their concerns and worries are valid; some banks will fail, investment companies will lose money, maybe another investment company will fail, cost of credit will be higher, banks will tighten up, stocks may reach new lows, etc. And what of it? What will change your plan? If none of these things will change your plan, then there’s not much sense in worrying about it.
I need to find an avatar.
Several recent threads, “Downgrade of US debt vs. aliens and psychics,” “Staying the course” and “Two more banks fail,” illustrate how location and personality create perception.[/SIZE][/FONT]
If I lived in an area that had been hit hard by the housing debacle, if homes surrounding mine were in foreclosure, and families were moving out of my neighborhood, then yeah…I’d be twitching at my mattress cover, making sure there was room for a few more dollars. For many people, their home is the most solid portion of their assets (if not their only asset), and to see it lose value so quickly must be frightening.
There are areas like that all over the country, but I don’t live in one of them. I live in an area where houses have held their value, few houses have gone up for sale in the past year and those houses have sold within 3 months. My neighborhood is middle middle-class; my neighbors are teachers, nurses, police officers, middle management office workers, etc. It’s a stable neighborhood. No bank failures.[/SIZE][/FONT]
Location is important to perception. My perception of the housing debacle is that it was a problem long before the first foreclosure. The problem was years in the making, and it will be years in the undoing. Those years will be painful for some people, but eventually it will shake itself out.
I’m an optimist. I’ve read books like “Crash Proof: How to Profit from the Coming Economic Collapse” by Peter Schiff (made me look a little harder at international bond funds), “Financial Armageddon” by Michael Panzer (made me wonder if I should be stockpiling water and canned goods), and watched in awe at Jim Cramer’s meltdown. No matter. Nothing has changed our plan.
DH and I have a plan, and it’s a good plan. We might tweak it a little, twitch it bit over here, hitch it a bit higher over there, but overall we stick with the plan. If the worst happens, and the global markets fail and the global economies totter toward a massive world-wide depression, then NO plan will save you. But like I said, I’m an optimist (DH claims he’s a cautious optimist). So, we’re checking coat pockets and couch cushions for extra change to continue investing.
Personality is important to perception.
So when I read the posts, I understand that some posters may not be in my location, and may not have my optimistic personality. Therefore, their perception of the economy, especially the future economy, is much darker and worrisome than mine. Their concerns and worries are valid; some banks will fail, investment companies will lose money, maybe another investment company will fail, cost of credit will be higher, banks will tighten up, stocks may reach new lows, etc. And what of it? What will change your plan? If none of these things will change your plan, then there’s not much sense in worrying about it.
I need to find an avatar.
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