Latest Posts on Moving to CO

[Mike from back east]

Sure, it's all "luck" when someone gets it right. All those books, hundreds of hours of studying, daily observance, meetings, lectures and such had nothing to do with it. I'm safe, sound and solvent as hell because I planned it this way 35 years ago and stick to it. Federal / Military pensions in COL SPGS are not being wiped out, nor will they. Most people will be fine, this will pass, may get rough for a lot of folks, but we've had worse.

Colorado is a mighty fine place to be, and will remain such.

Those who packup and move to a new state will most likely do fine, depends more on the person than the state.

[POhdNcrzy]

Mike, kudos to you for that last bit. When I read Jazzlover saying "lucky", I did a double-take and almost got miffed.

"Luck?" No, somebody who got out of stocks in the second half of 2007, I don't think there was any luck involved there. No, that was what is called a "quality command decision".

I might be moving back to Colorado in early '09 with a few bucks and a small car-load of stuff. It'll be scary as hell, but Colorado's problems are no worse than most places' problems, and all the "good stuff" about Colorado beats most everywhere else's "good stuff" hands-down.

[jazzlover]

Actually, I define "luck" as making prudent decisions that later events actually validate. So, under that definition, I do count Mike as lucky. Had the financial merry-go-round we were riding lasted another 4 or 5 years, he would have been considered a "chump" by many for his financially conservative philosophy. In fact, when I went pretty "conservative" with my financial decisions a few years back, some of my friends thought I was pretty dumb. Now, they are the ones who are crying in their beer. One of the real nasty aspects of our "funny-money" speculative economy of the past decade or two in the US (and, yes, practiced every bit or more recklessly in Colorado) is that financial imprudence, dishonesty, deceit, ignorance, and stupidity was actually rewarded for quite awhile. Bluntly, a lot of grifters and slimeballs got rich, while many hard working people--including honest entrepreneurs--got the short end of the stick.

Unfortunately, the current volatile environment makes prudent financial decision-making very difficult. I have kept diversity in my own portfolio--even though some of it is getting hammered right now. The real danger is if our current economic crisis is severe enough to destabilize the basic structure of the US economy. That is not beyond the realm of possibility. And, in that environment, no strategy is going to look very "lucky" or sacred.

[Bob from down south]

Oh yeah, trust me, I was called worse than "chump" in 1998 when I bailed completely out of equities and tried to get my friends to do the same.

It takes a certain measure of courage to look the sheeple in the eyes (even while things are still going unjustifiably well) and tell them they...all of them...are dead wrong, and they will someday soon find themselves to be lemmings perched on the cliffs of Wall Street waiting their turn to leap.

I disagree with the idea that prudent financial decisionmaking is hard in the current situation. SAVE!! CONSERVE!!! It's that easy. Yeah, maybe those stuck in the residual memory of the old "12% gains per year is normal" paradigm, it seems hard.

The US economy is already destabilized. The comfort found by the sheeple in the Ponzi scheme we called a stock market is gone now...for many, especially boomers nearing retirement--forever. The real worry now is that things will decompensate further into financial and social anarchy. In that case, I recommend investments in precious metals. Nickle plated steel, brass, and lead, in particular. And it'd be a good idea to learn how to shoot straight.

That's only a very little bit tongue in cheek.

[Robin.Short]

What salary is considering 'high' for colorado?

[Bob from down south]

Originally Posted by Robin.Short

What salary is considering 'high' for colorado?

Anything over $147,933.76 per year.

[movementarian]

I was thinking "lucky" meant having a Federal pension that would always be there your entire life and is tied to inflation. Unless the Federal Government could somehow go out of business, one will get that money till they die. I believe survivor benefits can also be passed onto spouses as well. I don't think the retirees from United Airlines are that fortunate. Getting a government pension is certainly not lucky - that takes decades of work, dedication, and sacrifice. I cannot stress how much I admire that.

If someone has a guaranteed federal government pension, it is said that they can assume a little more risk in other retirement savings. For the rest of us, I'm not sure going conservative 5 months ago or today makes sense - it depends on when you need that money. If you need it in a few short years, reducing your risk isn't "lucky" or "good timing", its pretty much common sense. I have no idea how old any of you are, but if its retirement money and you're 25 years old, I'd consider you a chump for being too conservative or trying to time the market for the next 30 years.

Remember to reallocate!