There must be a lot of “goldbugs” on FR, because it seems like no one can empathize.
I guess everyones up 40% around here.
This particular woman has reaped what she did not sow, and is now complaining about it...........
Well, let's see. Most of my co-workers are down about 30-35%, while my portfolio (that I and I ALONE decide how to invest) is up about 3% this year. So, compared to those around me, I AM up about 40%!
Seriously, this tells you everything you need to know about these so-called "professional" advisors. I used them when I was younger and got little return. When I realized that their "advice" wasn't worth the paper it was written on, much less their commissions, I started doing some reading and stufying on my own and, guess what? I can do it as well as them, if not better!
Am I always right? Heck, no. But, because I'm my one and only client, I'm my first priority, not another phone number on a prospect/sucker list. So, when an investment goes south (as happened to me just last month), I told my client, all one of me, to dump the loser.
I do feel sympathy for such an ignorant fool. I also get very irritated with the willful ignorance of people concerning money. Instead of exercising some caution this woman, as many others have, saw the big returns and took the short term money.
Bailout syndrome now calls for us to make these fools whole and tell them to never do it again. Why change behavior if there are no consequences.
Well maybe not 40% but I did buy 600 shares of GE about a month ago @ $12.64 ... within a dime of it's 52 week low. Today it's in the $17.35 range and has been as high as $18.00 in recent days. My prediction, GE will be in the $23.00 range by the end of the first quarter 2009.
You don't have to be a goldbug to have little sympathy for folks who don't realize there are reasons why a return on an investment is "to good to be true".
I lost more money than I care to think about when Worldcom went bust thanks to Bernie Ebbers (may he rot in hell). I took it as a lesson learned, and I'm much more spread out than I was when I was a 13-year employee of MCI. I don't even look at my 401k stuff except at scheduled intervals to level things out. When the market is down, that means my monthly buys are cheaper. I'm not selling for some time to come. When people start getting closer to retirement, it is prudent to change your investment strategies to match your circumstances. You have a lot of lead time to think about how to secure things.
Depending upon a highflyer for your monthly bills isn't smart.
It's also a good idea to keep in mind that the reason this particular scam is getting the kind of press that it is, is because a lot of powerful people got scammed, and want to be bailed out, courtesy of you and I.