Are you saving more now, since the recession?

[Haven]

Date: 10/15/2009 9:36:47 AM
Author: NewEnglandLady

I have to admit that I love the competition of spending as little as possible as well, Haven. I think it''s fun and it always makes me feel like I''ve accomplished something. I also enjoy playing games where if I want something, I find a way to cut back on something else. For instance, if I decide I want a manicure or my ''brows plucked, I walk to the train instead of parking until I have enough to cover the cost. My husband thinks it''s nutso, but I think it''s fun. It makes me feel live if sneaked in a luxury, which is more enjoyable to me than just splurging.

I do this too, NEL! It has actually affected more than just my wallet, I''ve found that it''s helped me identify my real priorities and figure out what is truly meaningful to me versus what will just provide instant gratification.

DH and I would like to contribute $1,000 to my sister''s wedding, and we''d like to give it to her in June when she comes home from studying overseas. In order to save up the amount we skip spending on certain things, such as going out for lunch on a Saturday, and then put the equivalent of what we save in the wedding gift fund. I love seeing that pile grow!

 

[Phoenix]

Date: 10/15/2009 10:17:43 AM
Author: soocool

Date: 10/14/2009 11:20:36 PM
Author: Phoenix

Date: 10/14/2009 2:07:00 PM
Author: Abril

Date: 10/14/2009 1:59:06 PM
Author: soocool
Actually DH and I have taken advantage of the low stock prices and bought low and have made bucks. Gotta send the DD to college in less than 2 years and she will be getting a car on her 17th birthday.

Same here (minus the college and car). Mostly investing. We''re up a tidy sum.

Good for you both, Abril and soocool.

Do you think the market will keep going up? I keep hearing that it''s due for a small correction and I keep waiting... but so far, nothing!

We didn''t invest anywhere near enough when the market was down and are now dollar-cost-averaging. All we need is a small dip so that we can get back in with a lump sum. But I hope that the markets and the economies, worlwide, will continue to go up/ recover. I think it''ll be good all around.

You heard how well the DOW did yesterday? Yes, the market will continue to go up.

DD also has mutual funds that we decided we will not use for college since it is still recovering and once it gets to the level it was a couple of years ago, we will also split it to 50% savings and reinvest the other 50%. DD will later have money to buy her own condo or home whenever she is ready.

Funny thing is that I have been investing in the stock market since I graduated college. I wanted a way to pay for grad school when I started to work (I never asked my parents to pay for school, but lucked out and got scholarships and my employer paid for grad school - that was back in the 70s and 80s) and I guess I had a knack for picking stocks. I started with pharmaceuticals and made a killing and later invested in internet and also made a huge killing (knew when to buy and sell). My investing started with $5000.00 and when I recovered this I saved 50% of my investment in IRAs and mutual funds/annuities and then reinvested the other 50% in stocks.

I can''t emphasize enough that the earlier you begin to save and invest the better off you will be financially when you are older.Make sacrifices so that you can save. I owned a condo in my 20s (paid cash) and later sold that and bought a house with DH (he had no money saved up, but luckily no school loans and his employer paid for grad school also). We paid cash for our first house together ( when we made our low bid on the house and said we were paying cash they accepted immediately). We have never borrowed any money ever to finance anything.

Another thing we have been doing is buying land. Builders aren''t building so there is a lot of land available. If you can pay cash for land you can pretty much make any offer. We just purchased 20 acres in an area that was going to be developed, but the builder couldn''t get financial backing for the land and we offered cash.

Wow!! That''s FANTANSTIC!! You are my financial HERO!!

Yes, I did see that! I saw from CNBC last night that the market is close to its historical high just before the recession!

What stocks are good to buy at the moment? For the time being, we''re doing dollar cost averaging, but I can''t help but think there must be some good long term hold stocks out there.

I wish we could buy land in the this part of the world. Real estate prices in Singapore, Hong Kong and China are through the roof! 20 acreas, WOW!! How nice! Are you going to sell it for a profit or will you build something on it? And you paid cash for it too?!! NICE !!

 

[Diva0413]

I think I''m saving a little bit more now, but I could do better. I''m guilty of not having enough savings (saving account, MM, etc), but I''ve done really good in building up a portfolio (IRA, 401K, mutual funds, etc). Now that I''m married, DH and I are going to start working harder to save more. Not necessarily because of the recession, but because we want to at least be comfortable.

 

[soocool]

Date: 10/15/2009 10:05:25 PM
Author: Phoenix

Wow!! That''s FANTANSTIC!! You are my financial HERO!!

Yes, I did see that! I saw from CNBC last night that the market is close to its historical high just before the recession!

What stocks are good to buy at the moment? For the time being, we''re doing dollar cost averaging, but I can''t help but think there must be some good long term hold stocks out there.

I wish we could buy land in the this part of the world. Real estate prices in Singapore, Hong Kong and China are through the roof! 20 acreas, WOW!! How nice! Are you going to sell it for a profit or will you build something on it? And you paid cash for it too?!! NICE !!

One thing about investing in stocks only is that you really have to be willing to accept risk, because you could lose every penny you''ve invested the very next day. If you are just starting out it is probably better to invest in mutual funds that will spread your risk around so that you do not risk everything in one company. We do our investments through Vanguard since their fees are so low.

I primarily like technology stocks since this is an industry that is constantly changing. Pharmaceuticals were a good buy in the 1970s and 1980s, but seemed priced too high now. Start up companies can make you a lot of money, but you could lose everything as well. It is a risk. You have to do your research very very carefully and make your best educated guess if it will take off. I know a couple who after making a lot of money in the 1980s had become Venture Capitalists and have done extremely well. One of the companies they invested in and had 49% control sold to a large multinational company a few years later and their $100,000 investment turned into a couple of million dollars. They live the good life.

The 20 acres is strictly investment as it is zoned commercial and will be an easy sell once the economy recovers. We aren''t listing it. We will wait until someone shows interest and tries to contact us. This way we can start high and see where it lands us. DH and I have purchased land in a few states and we will decide when and if we will build our retirement home in one of those places.

 

[Phoenix]

Date: 10/16/2009 10:28:39 AM
Author: soocool

Date: 10/15/2009 10:05:25 PM
Author: Phoenix

Wow!! That's FANTANSTIC!! You are my financial HERO!!

Yes, I did see that! I saw from CNBC last night that the market is close to its historical high just before the recession!

What stocks are good to buy at the moment? For the time being, we're doing dollar cost averaging, but I can't help but think there must be some good long term hold stocks out there.

I wish we could buy land in the this part of the world. Real estate prices in Singapore, Hong Kong and China are through the roof! 20 acreas, WOW!! How nice! Are you going to sell it for a profit or will you build something on it? And you paid cash for it too?!! NICE !!

One thing about investing in stocks only is that you really have to be willing to accept risk, because you could lose every penny you've invested the very next day. If you are just starting out it is probably better to invest in mutual funds that will spread your risk around so that you do not risk everything in one company. We do our investments through Vanguard since their fees are so low.

I primarily like technology stocks since this is an industry that is constantly changing. Pharmaceuticals were a good buy in the 1970s and 1980s, but seemed priced too high now. Start up companies can make you a lot of money, but you could lose everything as well. It is a risk. You have to do your research very very carefully and make your best educated guess if it will take off. I know a couple who after making a lot of money in the 1980s had become Venture Capitalists and have done extremely well. One of the companies they invested in and had 49% control sold to a large multinational company a few years later and their $100,000 investment turned into a couple of million dollars. They live the good life.

The 20 acres is strictly investment as it is zoned commercial and will be an easy sell once the economy recovers. We aren't listing it. We will wait until someone shows interest and tries to contact us. This way we can start high and see where it lands us. DH and I have purchased land in a few states and we will decide when and if we will build our retirement home in one of those places.

WOW!! Really, you are my FINANCIAL HERO, BIG TIME!!

. You've got everything I've always wanted, stocks, money, land (inclg plans for a retirement home that you're going to build), other properties that you've also paid cash for and the financial smarts too!! Just everything I've always wanted and been planning for (but not quite yet achieved). I don't know how you do it! BRAVO again!

Thanks for your advice also. I've been investing for a while now, but DH and I are not overweighed in stocks, not by a long stretch. We did have quite a bit of money invested directly in stocks as well as in mutual funds but they were performing so-so, not excellent by any means. So we took most of the money out and invested in properties, mostly in Asia, which have done very well (fingers crosed that they will continue to do so). However, we're very heavily overweighed in properties and in this part of the world so we'd like to spread our risk and invest in US and/ or European stocks. I like your idea of investing in mutual funds. Would you mind telling me how much Vanguard charges? I seem to remember Suzi Orman advising people to go with no front-loader funds. We're also investing in a "plan" (kind of like a mutual fund) in Singapore on a monthly basis. We'd also like to buy some direct stocks, and I agree with you abt tech stocks. Intel, Google (though it's very high already) and possibly Ciso (but am not sure yet). What do you think of bank stocks? Do you think the banking sector will fully recover and perform strongly in the medium-long term?

We know a couple (he's from Harvard and she from MIT) who are venture capitalists. They're amazingly smart (but of course , LOL) and we believe will do extremely well. DH and I are too chicken to invest in any such thing. We take some risks but moderate risks. I admire those who can do that.

Thanks again for your help. Very well done and I'm really happy for you and yr DH, sincerely.

 

[Dancing Fire]

been shorting the financial sector in the past 5 months.

 

[CharmyPoo]

Something may be wrong with me and the bf but we have been spending more. We made numerous large purchases this year. Fortunately, we have not been hit by the recession and have stable jobs.

 

[Phoenix]

Date: 10/16/2009 10:20:29 PM
Author: Dancing Fire
been shorting the financial sector in the past 5 months.

Hey DF, I think it''s very difficult, if not impossible, for most people to get it right *all the time*. Don''t worry, just get back in.

Do you trade currencies? I think there''re some opportunity to buy some put options on the Aussie dollar. Me predicts that the Aussie will hit almost parity and then will come down some, not a lot, but some. CNBC and Bloomberg say that the current rise is due to mostly speculation or carry-trades. The Australian fundamentals don''t support the rapid rise/ currrent strength. It''s also bad for Australian exports. I think the Reserve Bank will not raise interest rate too aggressively in the coming months.

 

[omieluv]

I have always been a saver, so my habits have not changed. I am just so happy that FI and I still have our jobs! However, we have emergency funds and zero debt, so I think we would be ok for a bit if disaster hits.