[varon]

My portfolio has been dropping 5% a day for a week. This isn't good. Oh well, its only money...

So, when in 20 weeks you hit ZERO, will you need a Federal Gambling Stamp in order to write off your losses ;-)

[andy_card]

So, when in 20 weeks you hit ZERO, will you need a Federal Gambling Stamp in order to write off your losses ;-)

Not to worry. I've been partying like its 1929.

[steveegg]

Let's review the math. A compounded drop in a given number of periods is {1 - [(1 - drop in one period in decimal form) ^ number of periods]} * 100%. A daily drop of 5% yields a net drop in...
1 week of 22.6%
2 weeks of 40.1%
3 weeks of 53.7%
4 weeks of 64.2%
5 weeks of 72.3%
20 weeks of 99.4%

A weekly drop of 5% (more realistic given this market) yields...
2 weeks of 9.75%
3 weeks of 14.3%
4 weeks of 18.6%
5 weeks of 22.6%
10 weeks of 40.1%
20 weeks of 64.2%.