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Put it like this, I already missed the boat. The time to get into the market was in late 2008/early 2009, and ride this thing out while the Fed went QE crazy and slashed the hell out of rates. It was also during the time when the Government was going bail-out crazy, anybody remember Cash for Clunkers lol?
That was the time to get into Stocks, I would have just bought a solid S&P Fund in late 2008/early 2009 and rode it out. Unfortunately, I was going through other things during that time and just getting on solid footing. I wasn't as "smart" nor "sophisticated" back then as I am now (even though The MathJak Team will tell you that I'm still stupid , but whatever you do, do not listen to The MathJak Team lol).
But I don't see why anybody would get in LONG TERM into the S&P Funds right now? There's no way you are getting DOW 20,000 or 22,000 unless the Fed does QE4 and takes the rates down to negative, which IF they do that stupid ____ I'm going out and starting a damn Occupy The Fed Movement . I swear to you I will do it!
I wish they would just bring rates up to something reasonable, this is just not damn FAIR man. We have to get screwed while The Stock Boys get pumped up?
Going to show you that all of that talk of "work hard and you will succeed" is just complete bull___. It's all about work smart, get linked up with the right people, and buy out your nation's leaders, then you will succeed.
IMO you're pretty well correct on that last point. I've learned the hard way that hard work and success are AT BEST only loosely correlated. You'll get no argument from me on that point. Now don't get me wrong... hard work can be part of the equation. It's just that NUMEROUS other factors can vastly outweigh things like hard work and competence.
But I'll humbly suggest that this is the world we find ourselves in... and we've got to deal with the world on ITS terms. The world don't care what you and I think about it. We can only affect how WE deal with it.
And to bring that bit of philosophy back to the subject at hand: investment. Yes, you (and many people) may have missed out on an awesome bull market. But there will be others... there are ALWAYS more bull markets. Look back over history- through boom and bust, through chaos and turmoil that you and I can scarcely imagine- the stock market has always come back. You won't find a better investment in the long run- not even close. The billionaires who own and control our economy know this- and they invest their OWN money in the stock market. Think they're gonna let themselves go broke? Not if all the might of the United States can help it! And for all our problems... a bet against the U.S.A. isn't one I'd take.
So now that you're older and wiser, you know what to do. It's time to jump on this gravy-train. It requires patience and ballz... you won't be a happy camper if you lack those. But stocks are on sale right now. If you're going to get into the market, it's my opinion that right now isn't a bad choice (it's a 10% better choice than two months ago). Or if you're nimble and ballzy enough to do it, wait until the next dip... you'll make more money that way. Or maybe that next dip won't happen for several more years- it's hard to say. You pays yer money and you takes yer chances.
things rarely work out for the great predictors in the end .
the reason is personality wise you have to be a real nervous nellie type to sell when markets are going higher . it takes nerves of steel to buy when things are falling with no end in sight .
since the two traits are opposite so are the results they get .
markets ALWAYS turn and reverse when things couldn't look worse and the light at the end of the tunnel appears to be the train coming at you . .
there is no hint in advance they are reversing and not a sucker rally ,so they miss it .
it is one of those things where the names of the people change but the story stays the same .
I was really trying to convince my husband and our financisl advisor to sell when market was running up before crash in 07-08
But they didnt believe in timing the market
We stayed invested and added money each year and have increased assets but
If they had been willing to sell and wait for the fall even buying at 11000 would have been expotentially better
I have always felt the urge to sell say 30% at every new market high and wait for a drop to buy back in
I am not great at reading charts or research but I know this market has lot of manipulation behind the scenes that I can't control or even reveal
So just very distrustful of what lies beneath...
And yes-- history so far shows the market grows over long enough time line...
We have cash reserves held back for times like this
Hopefully by time my husband pulls RMDs market will have recovered but could just be volatility like this for next 10 yrs
That is not reassuring senario to me
I think it will continue to go lower, but then that's how it always feels until things start to turn. Eveb ab uptick leaves you second guessing thinking it's a dead cat bounce so you do nothing feeling paralyzed to act.
Anyways, as soon as I get paid again I'm throwing it into the market, I've been panicking these last few week days thinking I'm going to miss the dip (even though I think it's going down more) by the time I get more money. My wife on the other hand got paid a few days ago and thinks we should hold off with her investment allotments because things are headed lower. I just think it's worse to wait and try to time it, I just stick to the schedule.
I have always maintained a very steady hand, not overly concerned with market swings one way or the other. I spend more time paying attention to my fund managers and what they are focusing on, not individual stocks (I'm not a day trader). If I make a change it is broader fund change/allocation.
So since this was posted in August--
Have you bought on recent downturn???
Or are you waiting for larger trough???
I am sitting on mostly cash. I did buy some oil related stuff when oil was $40/barrel. Obviously down on that. Did buy some KMI (Kinder Morgan) around $15/share.
Planning to max out the 401K this year and shy away from stock picking. Moving on to real estate.
The stock market is a joke, and should not be taken too seriously.
Just 401K whenever that gets going this year, and 2016 Roth IRA. I've got a limit order on a couple Vanguard funds but they'll need to dip quite low, so I don't expect they'll get executed by their March deadline. I have some cash I can invest aside from that but not sure I will...depends...
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, but whatever you do, do not listen to The MathJak Team lol). 
. I swear to you I will do it!
