We touched upon this briefly in an earlier post. Finances. Everyone is shitting bricks because the Stock Market is tanking. But it has tanked before and has always rebounded. So, stack up those bricks and relax. We will get through this.
Some people are pissing and moaning about how some Congresspersons have cashed in on the Coronavirus by selling off their stocks. It's not like they had insider trading information. Everyone should have known that things were going to get rough. The world was in crisis. And whatever happens in the world will affect (and in this case - infect) us in many ways. I don't fault them for looking out for themselves. Any of us who own stocks could have done the same. I could have if I was going to be aggressive about my IRA. As it is, I have a guy managing my portfolio and he called me last week as he was leaving for an unknown island destination. No, I'm kidding. He did call me though. He told me I'm down 12% compared to the national average that is down about 20%. (If I want to believe what he tells me. And I do. He's never shit me before.) So my loss is not so bad. It's still a loss though and I would be really, really concerned if I was retired or retiring real soon. It's said these down trends take about two years to bounce back. So, the gains I made the last three years will take another two to get back to where I was last month. I've got time. I hope. Or now I will have to work until I'm 75. Faahhhk!
But the Congresspersons (and they're a lot older than I am, some of them) who bailed we're only protecting their gains. Paper gains. Not real money. That's most likely all it was. So, this speaks volumes of the kind of pedantic behavior that has always existed in Congress, especially within the Republican (Money) Party. They're afraid that they'd have to wait longer to make that money back. Well, that's true. I explain more below. I'm not concerned about my gains because what I lost was just that what I didn't have in the first place. Gains. Paper money. Not real money. If your initial investment is still intact, then all you lost is your growth.
You were told, if you cared to listen, that there's always chance of losing your growth as well as your initial investment. The stock market and most markets for that matter can be very volatile. If you want safety, stuff your cash in a bank and get less then 1% growth. Or if you want real safety, stuff it in your mattress. There won't be any growth (maybe some mold), but you know where your money is and what it is doing. It might be accumulating some stains and bodily fluids, but most people will still accept it for purchases. However, with either of these methods, you won't be retiring on any of that too soon.
Life is a gamble and the financial markets are definitely a gamble. You might do better at the casino. Once they open again, that is. The media and the social media blows stuff out of proportion. Though some people think that its reprehensible to buy or in this case sell during a pandemic or tragedy, but the truth of the matter is: Life goes on. When is it a good time to sell? Not after the market has fallen so far that you need a microscope to see where it landed. What they did is socially unacceptable, because the rest of the nation is looking to them like a big daddy or mommy to fix things. People are childlike (and childish) to a fault. Congress and especially the President have as much experience with a catastrophe as this as every other politician, scientist and medical practitioner in the world. In simple terms, they don't! No one does. They didn't in 1918 and they don't in 2020. No one plans on catastrophes. Which is why I do. I have a rainy day fund. Not because I plan on a pandemic or any kind of natural disaster. I'm usually planning on unemployment. That tends to strike me more than any other disaster. I don't know. Maybe I piss off people. Meh?
Maybe. In some people's eyes, selling off is a crime. Not in mine. I wish I had the kind of money that it would have worried me enough to bounce out of the markets for a while until this shitfest wraps up and things go back to normal. Whatever the fark normal is. People have got to pull their collective heads out of the collective clouds and wake up and smell the cowflop. I repeat myself, life goes on. You have to think of your future. Most people who are sitting on tons of goods they purchased are going to wish they saved some of that money for something else. Like rent or mortgage payments. Medical bills when you catch the virus. Instead of 400 rolls of Charmin, you could afford the Rx your doctor is going to prescribe that might save your life or at least make being sick more bearable. When you don't prioritize, you are left standing naked, hungry and homeless by the side of the road while everyone else is driving by you in shiny new automobiles.
Priority now would be:
Some people are pissing and moaning about how some Congresspersons have cashed in on the Coronavirus by selling off their stocks. It's not like they had insider trading information. Everyone should have known that things were going to get rough. The world was in crisis. And whatever happens in the world will affect (and in this case - infect) us in many ways. I don't fault them for looking out for themselves. Any of us who own stocks could have done the same. I could have if I was going to be aggressive about my IRA. As it is, I have a guy managing my portfolio and he called me last week as he was leaving for an unknown island destination. No, I'm kidding. He did call me though. He told me I'm down 12% compared to the national average that is down about 20%. (If I want to believe what he tells me. And I do. He's never shit me before.) So my loss is not so bad. It's still a loss though and I would be really, really concerned if I was retired or retiring real soon. It's said these down trends take about two years to bounce back. So, the gains I made the last three years will take another two to get back to where I was last month. I've got time. I hope. Or now I will have to work until I'm 75. Faahhhk!
But the Congresspersons (and they're a lot older than I am, some of them) who bailed we're only protecting their gains. Paper gains. Not real money. That's most likely all it was. So, this speaks volumes of the kind of pedantic behavior that has always existed in Congress, especially within the Republican (Money) Party. They're afraid that they'd have to wait longer to make that money back. Well, that's true. I explain more below. I'm not concerned about my gains because what I lost was just that what I didn't have in the first place. Gains. Paper money. Not real money. If your initial investment is still intact, then all you lost is your growth.
You were told, if you cared to listen, that there's always chance of losing your growth as well as your initial investment. The stock market and most markets for that matter can be very volatile. If you want safety, stuff your cash in a bank and get less then 1% growth. Or if you want real safety, stuff it in your mattress. There won't be any growth (maybe some mold), but you know where your money is and what it is doing. It might be accumulating some stains and bodily fluids, but most people will still accept it for purchases. However, with either of these methods, you won't be retiring on any of that too soon.
Maybe. In some people's eyes, selling off is a crime. Not in mine. I wish I had the kind of money that it would have worried me enough to bounce out of the markets for a while until this shitfest wraps up and things go back to normal. Whatever the fark normal is. People have got to pull their collective heads out of the collective clouds and wake up and smell the cowflop. I repeat myself, life goes on. You have to think of your future. Most people who are sitting on tons of goods they purchased are going to wish they saved some of that money for something else. Like rent or mortgage payments. Medical bills when you catch the virus. Instead of 400 rolls of Charmin, you could afford the Rx your doctor is going to prescribe that might save your life or at least make being sick more bearable. When you don't prioritize, you are left standing naked, hungry and homeless by the side of the road while everyone else is driving by you in shiny new automobiles.
Priority now would be:
- check your portfolio
- speak with your financial guy/gal
- don't panic - panicking is for people who are still sucking on their momma's teat
- make a move only if it makes sense - ex. when the market finally flattens out...buy, buy buy...buy like a mother humper. The value will go back up and you'd be sitting pretty.
- Lastly, relax and have some fun. Like everyone has been saying. This is not going to last. You will soon enough be back in that bumper to bumper morning and evening commute crawling on the turnpike at 15 mph cussing at all the farking traffic, where you'd be wishing you were still working from home in your pajamas.
Stay cool, stay calm, be like Snarky Tom. Chill, and for fux sake, don't sell your shit! TTFN.
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