BXX

"I dont know where some folks are getting their info but the S&P500 since 1988 till the 2008 annual return is approx +16% but during the last 5 yrs it has slipped"

Again I did not work in 1988 I was in college. From 1998 to 2008 (10 year period) the S&P500 net return, gain, appreciation is ZERO!!!!!!! 10 years and you not only gained nothing you lost an average of 3% per year for inflation.

Madmaxx - When do you take delivery of your car? I think you need to get out and blow off some steam! :LOL::LOL:

If the stock market is such a mess, why are you even invested in it? Keep your dough in treasuries...even that's a gamble these days though.

Got the Bug,

You hit it on the head!!! I hope to have by May!!!!! I am heavy into money market acounts!!!

Why I am still invested, misery loves company!!! The only account that really hurt are the 529 plans, poor kid has lost $10K and she is only 3 years old. She says she is ready for the race car!

$10k for the 529? Is that a new Big Block? :eek:

Why Wait?
 

911 Survivor. Lived 3000 ft away from ground zero. 2 Stent operations in last three years. Hit by a car by jogging with my dog two years ago, and I'm still under 50.

I need to do this before I can't. You only live once.

The last 10 yrs the S&P 500 had an avg. annual return of about 4% yes, there are better investments.

Amen Doug!!!

Short term, I am using a more cash-on-hand viewpoint. The $1750 repair/repaint on the crunch in my oil cooler fiberglass will have to wait until I can pay cash for it. The Gorilla tape fix looks good enough for now. Good thing the car's black.
I'm still 20 years from retirement so I'm not panicing over this blip. In fact, turns out I'm quite the brilliant investment planner. I changed jobs and when I changed 401k's, they sent me a check made out to the new 401k. Well, my lazy butt sat on it for 3 weeks and in that 3 weeks the Dow dropped 1000 points! I thought that was a fine time to get back in. Woo hoo! Made 8% in 3 weeks sitting on my keister! And my wife said I didn't know squat about investing.....

Yeah, I took a lot of cash and just bought more into my 401K and personal investments. I hate to try to forcast the bottom, but what I bought was really priced well. It seemed the smart thing to do right now.

I do have a second home for sale, and if it sells I will go ahead with my planned KCM FE motored SPF.

E

The last 10 yrs the S&P 500 had an avg. annual return of about 4% yes, there are better investments.

I am an engineer so excuse my ignorance. When I go to to Fidelity and I chart the S&P 500 performance from 1998 to 2008 the chart shows zero percent change. An annual return of 4% would be a total return of 40%??

Financial advisors what am I missing?

Tried hard but haven't found a way to take it with me
 

So, this year I bought a Jeep...a Tundra...and a Superformance....etc... Being 68 and seeing my friends and associates with cronic illnesses and "early deaths" has convinced me that I don't have time to waste. You can make money in any market if you do your homework and pick good stocks at low prices...consumer products...industrial equipment....comodities....and yes, even tech and financials. The world is not in a recession and the collaspe of the dollar has made my Superformance look like a bargin.. !!! I am going to enjoy the rest of my life and let the young people solve the problems ..

Nope, I'm not waiting. If the resession turns into a depression I'll drive my Cobra to the soup line...

Real estate was a fantastic ride but it's over for now. Cobras will maintain thier steady increase as the forign made ones were somewhat under valued. Kirkham will no doubt be increasing prices soon with the weak dollar only getting weaker.

I have no doubt my Kirkham will sell for more than I paid for it and in ten years it'll be worth double that.

I'm not making any changes to my Cobra plans - it's in for touch-up paint work this week.

However, my friends and I have cut our annual golf trip from 2 weeks to 1 this year. The weak dollar has resulted in some of the hotel prices in Scotland soaring to over $600 per night without golf. Add in the golf, meals and a taste or two of the local malt and it quickly adds up to over $1,000 per round, which is getting a little silly even for golf fanatics such as my friends and I.

Five years ago, we did pretty much the same trip for about 60% less.

Madmaxx
As I got back to work today ....

On March 24, 1998 the S&P 500 closed at 1105 and today the S&P 500 closed at 1349. That is 244 points in 10 years for about 22%, or a 2.2% annualized gross return. But if you add in the average annual dividends of 1.8-2.2%, this brings you up for a total return of about 4%. The long term charts (from 1927 to 2007) usually show the S&P Total average of ~10%. Remember that the S&P 500 has over 20% in financial stocks. :confused:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (30 stocks) on March 24, 1998 closed at 8,904 and today, 10 years later, closed at 12,548, for 3644 points, for about a 40% 10 year return, or about 4% plus 1-.8-2% dividends for about a 6% annualized return. :rolleyes:

Again, this shows the upswing of the late 90's, tech bust of 2000, Iraq war bottom in 2003, and now the housing and credit crunch. What a ride. :eek:

Everyone is saying how good gold is, but in the last week, Gold has dropped from $1,011 to $925! A gold bubble? :confused:

Over the long term (over 10 years), small cap stocks have out performed the broader market, but I didn't pull the stats.

Talking heads? Are we at the bottom? Are we already comming out of the recession? See our talking head David Darst, Chief US Invesmtment Stratagist for Morgan Stanley on Bloomberg today: :D
www.bloomberg.com/index.html?intro=intro3

If you want an E-Ticket ride, cut back on the Starbucks and stick with a 427 Cobra. :cool:

Thanks SF Sn888KE,

I should have did what you did and use actual numbers instead of extrapolating from a chart. I guess the good news is I have had money in the S&P500 so all was not a loss.

I sincerely appreciate your efforts!!!!!!!!!!!!