Quote:
Originally Posted by Old Tele man
...I don't know which is worse: (a) pissing "into" the wind or (b) putting money "into" the stock market...about the same results (just making "other" people rich off "my" money).
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Hasn't worked out too badly for me. I started putting money in the market in 1987, right after the "Black Monday" downturn, and have kept at it fairly consistently over the years. Even after taking out money for downpayments on a house and some other things, the accounts are worth about 3 times what I've put in. And unlike putting money towards paying off the mortgage early, I don't have to try to sell the whole thing if I need a bit of extra cash for something.
The real problem with the market, I think, is that too many people forget that old, old advice to buy low and sell high. They wait 'til everybody else is investing, and climb on board just before the crash. Then when the market's on the downslope, they sell out for less than they paid - only to miss the recovery a few months or years later.
Same with houses: what percentage of the people who bought between say 2003 and 2008 are still above water?