actually started in August 2007, but why quibble.
My understanding of the trigger on the Financial Crisis gun was the declared bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, with more than $600 billion of assets, on September 15, 2008 (the biggest bankruptcy in US history), and the subsequent appearance on television of Treasury Secretary Paulson. It sounds to me like you were alert enough to see clear signs of this Crisis at a much earlier date. My complements on your astuteness.