Nickel from FiveCentNickel, asks “How is your Risk Tolerance Holding up?” With the market and US economy in shambles are you practicing what every investor preaches? Buy and hold for the long term. Don’t worry about the short term but look long term? Are you really walking the walk?
I mentioned that I had peeked at our losses for the year. I said we had lost, and lost big. That we had invested and were hurting. But then I said that we were holding true and still investing. We’re determined to plow more money in as we have it. But we do have other financial goals that need cash like my DH’s tuition payments.
A commentor had called me “stupid” for investing. Perhaps it’s true. Yep we’ve lost money in the stock market, while we made a fortune in real estate. But the truth is, if we cut our losses and ran, I would feel even stupider and more like a faker for not doing what I’ve been preaching all long.
Invest in the stock market for the long term. Ride out the losses and have faith in the averaging of returns. Be realistic that perhaps you won’t get 10% but maybe 8% over 10 years or more of investing. Buy and hold index funds or ETFs. Look at your long term goals.
What are you doing? Are you walking the walk? Did you cut your losses and run, or did you stay the course? Did you pull out a long time ago and warn everyone else to do the same?
8 responses so far ↓
1 Kristy // Dec 11, 2008 at 9:34 am
I have been walking the walk, for the most part. However, due to my career and having another baby, we have not been investing outside of our retirement accounts. Normally we would be, however, we both agree that we should keep cash on hand for maternity leave and anything we think we will need next year.
That being said, once I have a certain amount saved up, we will most likely start investing again, even outside of retirement. I did give DH permission to purchase individual stocks as well, but he knows that its all he is allowed to “play” with until we see how things are next year.
2 Pearl // Dec 11, 2008 at 11:14 am
I sold some stocks late last year when they seemed to be getting overpriced (wish I’d done more of that) and sold some bank stock earlier this year after taking quite a loss but not as bad as if I’d continued to hold it. And in looking over my portfolio, I see that the cash/money market share had been growing for at least a couple of years because I had trouble finding finding stocks I was tempted to buy – everything seemed overpriced in relation to fundamentals.
Now I’m cautiously buying more of the stocks I already hold and one or two new ones that I’m convinced are good long term investments. And I’m trying to resist the feeling that I’m a kid in a candy store. So many great companies are priced so low!
But I keep reminding myself what FDR was able to do with the Great Depression (deepen and stretch it out for years) and that Obama seems inclined to do the same or worse. Unfortunately my time horizon is not as long as it used to be, and I can’t afford to wait for the next Reagan to take over for our soon-to-be Carter.
3 Paulette @ Spend Tracker USA // Dec 11, 2008 at 12:15 pm
I’ve held on to my 529 college savings plan, but will not be investing any more in it, nor withdrawing. It has taken a loss and at the very least I will make sure it is a balanced 529 plan to curb losses when my child reaches college age. I am considering CDs for future college savings or maybe a stable mutual fund I know of so the funds have a more flexible use than with 529 plans.
4 Fabulously Broke // Dec 11, 2008 at 12:49 pm
I put in more this year near the end when the market really dropped than I ever did in the beginning of the year.
So yea. I’m walking the walk.
5 Tim // Dec 11, 2008 at 5:14 pm
well LAL, you would have been stupid if you stopped investing. People seem to forget that if you continue to invest, you are getting more shares for the same amount of invested dollars. as the cycles go up, then they are worth more, just like when cycles go down your shares are worth less. i never got the point of picking two dates out of the blue to guage where you are in your investment unless you are in fact buying and selling; otherwise, it is a useless exercise.
i saw the impending doom in 2004, but continued to invest and all that is associated with it. i never moved money out of investing, i simply continued to do it. investing isn’t a stop and go thing, it is a continuum, which people seem to forget.
6 savvy // Dec 12, 2008 at 9:18 am
I’m walking the walk. I haven’t sold and I’m still investing at my previous level. I will review our asset allocation at the end of the year (as usual) and adjust our future investments accordingly.
7 LivingAlmostLarge // Dec 12, 2008 at 10:05 pm
Like I wrote today, we really need the cash for other expenses. Ouch tuition. And well Tim, a commentor would argue that you and I are stupid for investing!
I will also be reviewing our portfolio this month!
119th Edition of the Festival of Stocks - Dec 15, 2008
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