Why do I care if stocks go down?

[Replica]

Please humor me with this naive post.

I don't have any stocks. I don't really know how the stock market works. I don't understand the "points" system, what it measures, or why it matters how low it goes. For instance, the DOW was close to 10,000. 10,000 what?

Again, I have zero investments. I have a fixed rate mortgage and two car payments on cars that carry no negative equity and can be sold today for no loss.

How does the stock market effect me, the average joe?

[juanschwartz]

Please humor me with this naive post.

I don't have any stocks. I don't really know how the stock market works. I don't understand the "points" system, what it measures, or why it matters how low it goes. For instance, the DOW was close to 10,000. 10,000 what?

Again, I have zero investments. I have a fixed rate mortgage and two car payments on cars that carry no negative equity and can be sold today for no loss.

How does the stock market effect me, the average joe?

Do you have a 401k?

Do you have American dollars?

[Jeebus]

Im on the same boat with Replica minus the house. I dont know jack shit about the stock market or what would happen if it were to crash:-/

[Enron Exec]

Man, u never use wiki for these elementary questions ever do ya!?

Did you say you had a business degree?

[Red]

i fidn it funny how everyone is avoiding his question and are just asking him more questions.

[CChang]

So, in your own words, what's the answer to the OP's question?

[Enron Exec]

i fidn it funny how everyone is avoiding his question and are just asking him more questions.

:rolleyes:

the Dow jones Industrial Average is the average of the 30 largest industry leading companies.

A point is jsut that, a point. A unit of measurment by definition.

Currently General electric is worth 23.10 dollars per share of common stock, or 23.10 points. You take the other 29 companies in the average and you have the DJIA....

[Red]

:rolleyes:

the Dow jones Industrial Average is the average of the 30 largest industry leading companies.

A point is jsut that, a point. A unit of measurment by definition.

Currently General electric is worth 23.10 dollars per share of common stock, or 23.10 points. You take the other 29 companies in the average and you have the DJIA....

<3 you old bastard

[juanschwartz]

<3 you old bastard

I wasn't about to explain the DOW. That is readily available many many places.

[Gunz4Sale]

Welp this sux.

[Enron Exec]

If the Dow Jones hits like 7000, you can flip open your history books under "Great Depression" and see what life is gonna be like around the country.

And after you sell your HDTV to pay the rent, go read the "Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. And see where your money went. :rofl:

[Replica]

Man, u never use wiki for these elementary questions ever do ya!?

Did you say you had a business degree?
Wiki will tell me how the stock market effects me in my daily life? Damn! :Goofy:

English degree.

Welp this sux.
Yeah. I was hoping to get some good spirited answers. I thought I could redirect some of the vigor people are using to spout economic doom and gloom in other threads to do that here as well.

I'm sure there are alot of us that don't understand what a failing stock market is going to do to those of us that aren't heavy investors. It's called the Classroom right? Someone do some teaching. :thumb:
If the Dow Jones hits like 7000, you can flip open your history books under "Great Depression" and see what life is gonna be like around the country.
Why does it matter if the DOW hits 7,000?

[EvaUnitAammar]

Guys, don't let this distract you from the terrorists, we must maintain focus and concentrate our resources on military action against Iran, who cares about the economy right now, terrorists are abroad

yee haw

[dantheman]

If the Dow Jones hits like 7000, you can flip open your history books under "Great Depression" and see what life is gonna be like around the country.

And after you sell your HDTV to pay the rent, go read the "Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. And see where your money went. :rofl:
can i stay at your house. you have alot of ammo, and i am a good shot :D

we will stop those zombies yet.

[CChang]

Ok...I'm dumb...I admit it...

Now that's out of the way...

So if there are several major corporations tanking and being bought out, it would make sense to me for the DOW to drop in points. No? So why the panic?

Back to OP's last question...

How do all the shennanigans affect the average joe who has no stock investments? What are the effects on interest rates for fix rate mortgages, fixed rate auto loans, fixed/variable rate credit card balances, etc.?

I'd think the value of the dollar would crap out even more if the bailout thingy went through, but it didn't....yet. So the market is reflecting speculation right now...right?

It just seems like a horse race gamble...people bought hoping for the stock to go up so they can sell. People now are selling stock before it get's lower, and selling shares at lower values causing stock value to plunge...no?

[juanschwartz]

Ok...I'm dumb...I admit it...

Now that's out of the way...

So if there are several major corporations tanking and being bought out, it would make sense to me for the DOW to drop in points. No? So why the panic?

Back to OP's last question...

How do all the shennanigans affect the average joe who has no stock investments? What are the effects on interest rates for fix rate mortgages, fixed rate auto loans, fixed/variable rate credit card balances, etc.?

I'd think the value of the dollar would crap out even more if the bailout thingy went through, but it didn't....yet. So the market is reflecting speculation right now...right?

It just seems like a horse race gamble...people bought hoping for the stock to go up so they can sell. People now are selling stock before it get's lower, and selling shares at lower values causing stock value to plunge...no?

I know short selling on some things was stopped temporarily, but basically every dollar you hold is an investment in the economy. Even if it's not invested in stock. Every dollar is a note backed by the Fed.

Consider the dollar a stock certificate of the Fed Reserve and every time they print more shares, it becomes worth less and less. Before the Gov/Economy goes down, be sure that it will be pillaged by the controllers.

[Enron Exec]

Back to OP's last question...

How do all the shennanigans affect the average joe who has no stock investments? What are the effects on interest rates for fix rate mortgages, fixed rate auto loans, fixed/variable rate credit card balances, etc.?

I'd think the value of the dollar would crap out even more if the bailout thingy went through, but it didn't....yet. So the market is reflecting speculation right now...right?

It just seems like a horse race gamble...people bought hoping for the stock to go up so they can sell. People now are selling stock before it get's lower, and selling shares at lower values causing stock value to plunge...no?

Just the financial are tanking, especially the ones who's businesses were to hand out mortgages to anyone and other forms of bad loans.

Everything is tied together. Even if you have nothing vested in stocks, how ever you get money, or your business earns revenue, your going to get a lot less income, so you will be spending less and adding to the cycle.

The value of the dollar wont be directly affected because they are not circulating more money. If they lower interest rates even further, then it might. I dont know for sure, but id expect variable rate mortgages to go up. It really depends on a lot of things.

Yes, ppl are selling stocks and de-valueing them because it reflects what the company is worth.

[dollface]

it's not so much about the stock markets than it is about the economy. and the stock market is just an indicator of the economy's performance.

no savings investments? time value of money is going to pwn you.

[Replica]

no savings investments? time value of money is going to pwn you.
I didn't realize I was supposed to have shitloads of investments this young. Based on this lovely market we're all freaked out about, I don't think I've missed out on anything.

I have a 5% match for 401K at work. That's about all I have.

[juanschwartz]

I didn't realize I was supposed to have shitloads of investments this young. Based on this lovely market we're all freaked out about, I don't think I've missed out on anything.

I have a 5% match for 401K at work. That's about all I have.

Now find out what your 401K is investing in.

[Enron Exec]

I didn't realize I was supposed to have shitloads of investments this young. Based on this lovely market we're all freaked out about, I don't think I've missed out on anything.

I have a 5% match for 401K at work. That's about all I have.

Now find out what your 401K is investing in.

Yea, where is your 401k invested in? :stare:

[CChang]

it's not so much about the stock markets than it is about the economy. and the stock market is just an indicator of the economy's performance.

no savings investments? time value of money is going to pwn you.

It's just another form of gambling...no? Regardless of how you look at it, you're putting money somewhere betting that it will increase in value. There is a possiblity of losing money no matter what you do. So it's gambling.

[VashThaStampede]

if there is a depression, I don't think it will be anywhere near what happened in the 30's or w/e.. for the simple fact that we have far more resources now. we could sell some tanks to iraq and make the war more interesting...put it on pay per view even...lol

[juanschwartz]

Yea, where is your 401k invested in? :stare:

Badly worded :p

I mean like...

Bond mutual funds
Stock mutual funds
Money market accounts
Stable value accounts

[Enron Exec]

Badly worded :p

I mean like...

Bond mutual funds
Stock mutual funds
Money market accounts
Stable value accounts

Oh no, I just quoted you cause i wanted to look like we were standing next to each other staring at Replica.



:rofl:

[axio]

Please humor me with this naive post.

I don't have any stocks. I don't really know how the stock market works. I don't understand the "points" system, what it measures, or why it matters how low it goes. For instance, the DOW was close to 10,000. 10,000 what?

Again, I have zero investments. I have a fixed rate mortgage and two car payments on cars that carry no negative equity and can be sold today for no loss.

How does the stock market effect me, the average joe?You care because you don't own your house or cars. The lending institutions you're paying every month own them and you can bet there is a clause within the legalese of the loan you signed that states they can adjust the rates at any given moment or request you to pay in full. If you are an average American that is choking in debt and has no savings, you'll end up without a house or cars.

I hope you have some savings and an updated resume, expect layoffs to begin pretty soon as large banks start consolidating into single entities and start pushing companies to pay their loans in sooner and at higher rates, forcing companies to fire people because the easiest way to free up money is to get rid of people.

Welcome to the end result of mindless borrowing and defecit spending.

[Enron Exec]

It's just another form of gambling...no? Regardless of how you look at it, you're putting money somewhere betting that it will increase in value. There is a possiblity of losing money no matter what you do. So it's gambling.

Not precisely. Companies do grow and increase in their worth. Look at Yahoo or Google.

But lately, id dare to guess as early as the early 80's that, the value of stocks has more to do with sociology then actual business growth.

[Jeebus]

Well that sucks. Im a college student working and I have no long term investments and no more than a couple Gs in the bank. Im doomed:gonk:

[juanschwartz]

Not precisely. Companies do grow and increase in their worth. Look at Yahoo or Google.

But lately, id dare to guess as early as the early 80's that, the value of stocks has more to do with accounting than actual business growth.

FTFY

[Enron Exec]

FTFY

:rofl:

[Flores]

How does the stock market crash affect me:

Good question! It's one millions of our fellow citizens are asking right now, as they bombard their congress-critters with hate mail telling them in no uncertain terms, that they don't want to bail out a bunch of millionaire financiers on wall street!

The answer is:

When businesses are no longer able to borrow money to allow them to expand, every other business that relies on those expanding businesses suffers, and starts to have to lay people off.

Because the market for loans has been overloaded by government mandated low interest / no interest loans for people that would normally not qualify for a home loan (CRA of 1977) , which are now becoming risky, as too many new homes were built, causing the bubble in house pricing to pop. (so now the folks who have these loans are 'upside down' on their house, they may have had a 20k down payment on a 300k house, which is now worth only 250k...) They are risky because some of these people are going to realize it would be less painfull to just walk on the loan, maybe file bankruptcy, and be out from under a house they believe will never be as worth as much as they owe on it.

Remember, by law, banks are supposed to keep a certain amount of money on hand for every dollar they loan out. Since the loans on their books currently have lost value, they are OUT of balance now, and in some cases, they are over the limit, which technically means the bank fails, and the government steps in to make sure the bank's customers are taken care of, and the bank gets bought/merged with a more sound company.

In the meantime, it's hard to borrow money for anyone, so the entire country starts to huddle up with what they have on hand, like you do when there is a big storm coming. Once that happens, the economy begins to stagnate, because there is no money flowing from place to place.

From there, it just gets worse.

[CChang]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/29/miron.bailout/index.html

This guy sounds smart and what he wrote makes sense to me. Any more stuff like this ? Thoughts?

[juanschwartz]

How does the stock market crash affect me:

Good question! It's one millions of our fellow citizens are asking right now, as they bombard their congress-critters with hate mail telling them in no uncertain terms, that they don't want to bail out a bunch of millionaire financiers on wall street!

The answer is:

When businesses are no longer able to borrow money to allow them to expand, every other business that relies on those expanding businesses suffers, and starts to have to lay people off.

Because the market for loans has been overloaded by government mandated low interest / no interest loans for people that would normally not qualify for a home loan (CRA of 1977) , which are now becoming risky, as too many new homes were built, causing the bubble in house pricing to pop. (so now the folks who have these loans are 'upside down' on their house, they may have had a 20k down payment on a 300k house, which is now worth only 250k...) They are risky because some of these people are going to realize it would be less painfull to just walk on the loan, maybe file bankruptcy, and be out from under a house they believe will never be as worth as much as they owe on it.

Remember, by law, banks are supposed to keep a certain amount of money on hand for every dollar they loan out. Since the loans on their books currently have lost value, they are OUT of balance now, and in some cases, they are over the limit, which technically means the bank fails, and the government steps in to make sure the bank's customers are taken care of, and the bank gets bought/merged with a more sound company.

In the meantime, it's hard to borrow money for anyone, so the entire country starts to huddle up with what they have on hand, like you do when there is a big storm coming. Once that happens, the economy begins to stagnate, because there is no money flowing from place to place.

From there, it just gets worse.

[Flores]

Well that sucks. Im a college student working and I have no long term investments and no more than a couple Gs in the bank. Im doomed:gonk:

Get some cash together and get ready to buy in! When the economy rebounds, if your paying attention, you are going to make out like a bandit!

[DJKeyan]

lol -.-

[Enron Exec]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/29/miron.bailout/index.html

This guy sounds smart and what he wrote makes sense to me. Any more stuff like this ? Thoughts?

Yes, that was a good explanation.

Plus, i agree with his views because hes a...
Editor's note: Jeffrey A. Miron is senior lecturer in economics at Harvard University. A Libertarian, he was one of 166 academic economists who signed a letter to congressional leaders last week opposing the government bailout plan.

[CChang]

Yes, that was a good explanation.

Plus, i agree with his views because hes a...

I honestly don't know what that means. It just seemed logical and rational to me.

just looked it up...I agree lol

[Replica]

Ah, thanks Flores. That's what I assumed would happen if the stock market goes to crap, just wanted confirmation and a few gaps filled in.

[Flores]

Ah, thanks Flores. That's what I assumed would happen if the stock market goes to crap, just wanted confirmation and a few gaps filled in.

I'm the perfect straight man. I never assume someone is just pretending to not know what is going on. :)

[Gunz4Sale]

How does the stock market crash affect me:

Good question! It's one millions of our fellow citizens are asking right now, as they bombard their congress-critters with hate mail telling them in no uncertain terms, that they don't want to bail out a bunch of millionaire financiers on wall street!

The answer is:

When businesses are no longer able to borrow money to allow them to expand, every other business that relies on those expanding businesses suffers, and starts to have to lay people off.

Because the market for loans has been overloaded by government mandated low interest / no interest loans for people that would normally not qualify for a home loan (CRA of 1977) , which are now becoming risky, as too many new homes were built, causing the bubble in house pricing to pop. (so now the folks who have these loans are 'upside down' on their house, they may have had a 20k down payment on a 300k house, which is now worth only 250k...) They are risky because some of these people are going to realize it would be less painfull to just walk on the loan, maybe file bankruptcy, and be out from under a house they believe will never be as worth as much as they owe on it.

Remember, by law, banks are supposed to keep a certain amount of money on hand for every dollar they loan out. Since the loans on their books currently have lost value, they are OUT of balance now, and in some cases, they are over the limit, which technically means the bank fails, and the government steps in to make sure the bank's customers are taken care of, and the bank gets bought/merged with a more sound company.

In the meantime, it's hard to borrow money for anyone, so the entire country starts to huddle up with what they have on hand, like you do when there is a big storm coming. Once that happens, the economy begins to stagnate, because there is no money flowing from place to place.

From there, it just gets worse.

The CRA of 1977 did not say that. That's a misnomer.

[Gunz4Sale]

How does the stock market crash affect me:

Good question! It's one millions of our fellow citizens are asking right now, as they bombard their congress-critters with hate mail telling them in no uncertain terms, that they don't want to bail out a bunch of millionaire financiers on wall street!

The answer is:

When businesses are no longer able to borrow money to allow them to expand, every other business that relies on those expanding businesses suffers, and starts to have to lay people off.

Because the market for loans has been overloaded by government mandated low interest / no interest loans for people that would normally not qualify for a home loan (CRA of 1977) , which are now becoming risky, as too many new homes were built, causing the bubble in house pricing to pop. (so now the folks who have these loans are 'upside down' on their house, they may have had a 20k down payment on a 300k house, which is now worth only 250k...) They are risky because some of these people are going to realize it would be less painfull to just walk on the loan, maybe file bankruptcy, and be out from under a house they believe will never be as worth as much as they owe on it.

Remember, by law, banks are supposed to keep a certain amount of money on hand for every dollar they loan out. Since the loans on their books currently have lost value, they are OUT of balance now, and in some cases, they are over the limit, which technically means the bank fails, and the government steps in to make sure the bank's customers are taken care of, and the bank gets bought/merged with a more sound company.

In the meantime, it's hard to borrow money for anyone, so the entire country starts to huddle up with what they have on hand, like you do when there is a big storm coming. Once that happens, the economy begins to stagnate, because there is no money flowing from place to place.

From there, it just gets worse.

This is a quote from Rep Barney Frank

This is a quote from Rep. Eric Cantor(R)


Barney Frank again

[Gunz4Sale]

The CRA of 1977 did not say that. That's a misnomer.

http://www.houston-imports.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8863564&postcount=51

[Flores]

This says it better...

It’s telling that, amid all the recent recriminations, even lenders have not fingered CRA. That’s because CRA didn’t bring about the reckless lending at the heart of the crisis. Just as sub-prime lending was exploding, CRA was losing force and relevance. And the worst offenders, the independent mortgage companies, were never subject to CRA — or any federal regulator. Law didn’t make them lend. The profit motive did. And that is not political correctness. It is correctness

Of course, no one denies that the CRA pointed the way to saying it was 'ok' for this kind of loan to go on. The fact that it was being forced on certain banks, initially, and freddie and fannie helped create a bogus market for buying and selling them paved the way for the market to cause the whole thing to blow up.

It's easy to say 'it started with the CRA' and have people twist that into saying 'its all the CRAs fault'.

You will also notice, no one is denying that government is responsible for this mess.

[Gunz4Sale]

This says it better...


Of course, no one denies that the CRA pointed the way to saying it was 'ok' for this kind of loan to go on. The fact that it was being forced on certain banks, initially, and freddie and fannie helped create a bogus market for buying and selling them paved the way for the market to cause the whole thing to blow up.

It's easy to say 'it started with the CRA' and have people twist that into saying 'its all the CRAs fault'.

You will also notice, no one is denying that government is responsible for this mess.

Like I said I still don't see where the government told these people to give bad loans. Maybe that's just me, I'm sure they played a role in here somewhere. But not as much as some people would argue imo. I don't get where a non discrimination bill mutated into lending to unworthy borrowers.

[Flores]

there are pages and pages of rules and regs...

http://www.occ.treas.gov/fr/cfrparts/12cfr25.htm#%C2%A7%2025.11%20Authority,%20purposes ,%20and%20scope.

25.26 Small bank performance standards.

(a) Performance criteria —

(1) Small banks with assets of less than $250 million. The OCC evaluates the record of a small bank that is not, or that was not during the prior calendar year, an intermediate small bank, of helping to meet the credit needs of its assessment area(s) pursuant to the criteria set forth in paragraph (b) of this section.

(2) Intermediate small banks. The OCC evaluates the record of a small bank that is, or that was during the prior calendar year, an intermediate small bank, of helping to meet the credit needs of its assessment area(s) pursuant to the criteria set forth in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section.

(b) Lending test. A small bank’s lending performance is evaluated pursuant to the following criteria:

(1) The bank's loan-to-deposit ratio, adjusted for seasonal variation and, as appropriate, other lending-related activities, such as loan originations for sale to the secondary markets, community development loans, or qualified investments;

(2) The percentage of loans and, as appropriate, other lending-related activities located in the bank's assessment area(s);

(3) The bank's record of lending to and, as appropriate, engaging in other lending-related activities for borrowers of different income levels and businesses and farms of different sizes;

(4) The geographic distribution of the bank's loans; and

(5) The bank's record of taking action, if warranted, in response to written complaints about its performance in helping to meet credit needs in its assessment area(s).

(c) Community development test. An intermediate small bank’s community development performance also is evaluated pursuant to the following criteria:

(1) The number and amount of community development loans;

(2) The number and amount of qualified investments;

(3) The extent to which the bank provides community development services; and

(4) The bank’s responsiveness through such activities to community development lending, investment, and services needs.

so, what ends up happening, if the government says 'follow these rules, or else we won't let your bank grow.' Oh wait, they don't actually say that. They say 'we will have to review your application to expand your credit limit'...

[YesSiR]

man this thread was a BIG help in helping me get a big picture of things, I just started my 403b at 8% of my pre-tax income and though i don't expect it to get any better (if not worse) anytime soon (especially since i believe about 60+% of mine is aimed towards stocks IIRC) i just wanted to know how bad ppl think this is gonna get in terms of for the average joe like Replica was curious about. I'm in the market for a house right now but every week i keep seeing stuff like this and ask myself is it worth the risk right now? how secure is my job if things continue this way? should i wait a little longer until i have a little more saved up? are they going to takea way that 7500 tax credit at this rate? etc.....

i'm really clueless when it comes to stuff like this, i try to keep myself from getting screwed but at this point it seems like that's gonna be hard to avoid. i know loans are gonna get even harder to get now, and are gonna require even more for a down payment so that's why i wanted to get ahead of that scenario but now i'm not so sure if even that advantage i have now is gonna work.....

i had plans to set aside that 7500 for a rainy day, i'm glad i got all my large outstanding debt eliminated, but with the way this stuff sounds, that may not be enough to keep me afloat if shit hits the fan.

[FbodTrek]

if there is a depression, I don't think it will be anywhere near what happened in the 30's or w/e.. for the simple fact that we have far more resources now. we could sell some tanks to iraq and make the war more interesting...put it on pay per view even...lol

Now see, THAT is a free market economy. America should seriously just AFK out of world politics and just concentrate on making money IMO. I don't give a shit about some people getting wiped out by an evil dictator or some shit. America had our revolution, other countries need to L2fend4themselves.

the U.S. should be the Ferrengi of the planet earth. Lets get paid, and live well HERE. Let some other nations take the reigns to police the world for a while. We should just turtle up, pay down our national debt, and defend our borders defensively instead of proactive bullshit.

[FbodTrek]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/29/miron.bailout/index.html

This guy sounds smart and what he wrote makes sense to me. Any more stuff like this ? Thoughts?

Yeah...that guy needs to be set loose to sole this BS solo IMO. His idea make a hell of a lot more sense than all the other BS I've heard.

[Replica]

Now the U.S. should be the Ferrengi of the planet earth.

lol

[NOPISTN]

Well Replica, honestly it doesn't sound like you'll be too bad off.

If you have loads of debt and no savings you will win.

When the value of the American dollar goes to hell, you're debts will suddenly get less significant... your savings will too, but it doesn't sound like you have any.

[jomomma]

we might as well be commies, we pay for others fuck ups.

[edex]

Now see, THAT is a free market economy. America should seriously just AFK out of world politics and just concentrate on making money IMO. I don't give a shit about some people getting wiped out by an evil dictator or some shit. America had our revolution, other countries need to L2fend4themselves.

the U.S. should be the Ferrengi of the planet earth. Lets get paid, and live well HERE. Let some other nations take the reigns to police the world for a while. We should just turtle up, pay down our national debt, and defend our borders defensively instead of proactive bullshit.


dude, that's how we make our money. supplying and making wars so someone high up can be rich!!!!

[Flores]

man this thread was a BIG help in helping me get a big picture of things, I just started my 403b at 8% of my pre-tax income and though i don't expect it to get any better (if not worse) anytime soon (especially since i believe about 60+% of mine is aimed towards stocks IIRC) i just wanted to know how bad ppl think this is gonna get in terms of for the average joe like Replica was curious about. I'm in the market for a house right now but every week i keep seeing stuff like this and ask myself is it worth the risk right now? how secure is my job if things continue this way? should i wait a little longer until i have a little more saved up? are they going to takea way that 7500 tax credit at this rate? etc.....

i'm really clueless when it comes to stuff like this, i try to keep myself from getting screwed but at this point it seems like that's gonna be hard to avoid. i know loans are gonna get even harder to get now, and are gonna require even more for a down payment so that's why i wanted to get ahead of that scenario but now i'm not so sure if even that advantage i have now is gonna work.....

i had plans to set aside that 7500 for a rainy day, i'm glad i got all my large outstanding debt eliminated, but with the way this stuff sounds, that may not be enough to keep me afloat if shit hits the fan.

You will be fine. This is the 3rd 'economic disaster' I've lived through, the first couple, the media made it sound like the end of the world as we know it. And they were right. things changed. But unless your smack dab in the middle of what is imploding, and you have all you money tied up in it (which would be stupid), its simply not that bad.

I have to admit, I got sucked into the hysteria a bit. It's tuff to watch 25% of your 401k vanish in 4 months. but i understand WHY it's happening, and I'm not actually all that worried, now that I do. If I look back over the 5 years I have had this 401k going, I still have more than I actually put in, so I'm growing my money better than sticking it in a mattress.

Things are finally go to slow down to something approaching sane after all this, because at the end of the day, Business is Business. People have to eat, and they do what is needed to make sure that happens.

[Replica]

Well Replica, honestly it doesn't sound like you'll be too bad off.

If you have loads of debt and no savings you will win.

When the value of the American dollar goes to hell, you're debts will suddenly get less significant... your savings will too, but it doesn't sound like you have any.
I don't have any "bad debt."

[NOPISTN]

I don't have any "bad debt."

O RLY? I highly doubt that.

Does your debt provide you with an income while you sleep?

[VH_Supra26]

my mom blow 60K in stocks

[oncearunner]

O RLY? I highly doubt that.

Does your debt provide you with an income while you sleep?

There is such a thing as good debt.

Example: High school student is considering going to college. If he doesnt, he will roughly make 50k a year for the rest of his life. If he pays the 40k to go to college, he will make 80k a year for the rest of his life.

Investment.

Ps. This is assumming that the economy still exists after he graduates.

[NOPISTN]

There is such a thing as good debt.

Example: High school student is considering going to college. If he doesnt, he will roughly make 50k a year for the rest of his life. If he pays the 40k to go to college, he will make 80k a year for the rest of his life.

Investment.

Ps. This is assumming that the economy still exists after he graduates.

how about car/house note? Student loans are a little differant, I'll give you that.

[jomomma]

how about car/house note? Student loans are a little differant, I'll give you that.

a house is an investment, a new car is stupid, learned the hard way....

[PIYF]

Like everyone else said, it may not affect you in the same way it effects most but if it crashes this country is FUCKED. But atleast we'll all have fucked up credit together.


PS, go buy a gun and a bunch of bullets just incase shit happens.

how about car/house note? Student loans are a little differant, I'll give you that.


Not anymore or atleast not for a few years. Economy is shitty and there's tons of homes on the market with not enough buyers.

[Replica]

O RLY? I highly doubt that.

Does your debt provide you with an income while you sleep?
House, probably. Two used cars I bought cheap, no.

But you can keep picking at my personal finances all day if you'd like and assume I'm insolvent simply because I made a thread asking basic questions.

[TXBlackout03]

Hey all,

Another lovely day for the stockmarket today. Oh and look, S&P is below 1000.


Awesome.


I really wish Bernanke would just shut the fuck up.

[Replica]

BUT TEH BAILOUT! IT WORKED!

[Enron Exec]

My behind is on fire! :hsrun: