Alembic Guitars Club

Connecting => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: funkyjazzjunky on October 07, 2008, 11:23:55 AM

Title: I hope you all are doing better than me
Post by: funkyjazzjunky on October 07, 2008, 11:23:55 AM

I cannot afford any new toys.  My 401k in sinking fast.

Title: I hope you all are doing better than me
Post by: glocke on October 07, 2008, 11:38:58 AM

mine has sunk.....its rather ironic.  I spent this entire year trying to reach a certain dollar amount in my 401k...four weeks ago I finally reached it...I just checked and it is now at the point where it was two years ago...

Title: I hope you all are doing better than me
Post by: lbpesq on October 07, 2008, 12:04:23 PM

Remember the old saying (sort of): What goes down, must come up.  
 
Bill, tgo

Title: I hope you all are doing better than me
Post by: Bradley Young on October 07, 2008, 01:16:51 PM

Bill,
 
There's an old Chinese proverb that says just about anything you want it to.
 
Bradley

Title: I hope you all are doing better than me
Post by: glocke on October 07, 2008, 02:53:38 PM

Im sure in a couple of years this will be history, and those fairly  young, they wil recover and probably wont remember this period, but for alot of people this is pretty much the end of life as they knew it.....and I think Im probably in that latter part.

Title: I hope you all are doing better than me
Post by: bsee on October 07, 2008, 03:06:48 PM

In fact, it might be a good time to be putting money into those 401K and IRAs.  With the market down, share prices are lower and you get more shares for your money.  As with anything else, one must be wise about what one invests in.

Title: I hope you all are doing better than me
Post by: anarchyx on October 07, 2008, 04:48:54 PM

what's a 401k?

Title: I hope you all are doing better than me
Post by: lbpesq on October 07, 2008, 05:17:25 PM

A 401K is a retirement account, I believe.  It has certain tax benefits.  
 
What I want to know is why Bob suggests putting money into the Irish Republican Army?????  hehehehe
 
Bill, tgo

Title: I hope you all are doing better than me
Post by: mike1762 on October 07, 2008, 05:33:00 PM

I remember in the 90s everybody thought they were a stock expert because the stocks they chose went up in value.  Hell, they ALL went up in value.  You just had to buy stocks... pretty much ANY stocks.  I currently have myself in a real mess because I am on a line of credit used to purchase land for some development deals that have since fallen through.  I'm just hoping that we can continue to float the loans until things turn around.  Anybody need about 100 acres of primo land in Knoxville, TN???  
 
Of course Bob is right... the trick would have been to have cashed out before the crash and reinvested at the bottom (hopefully that is now).  I guess I'll retire when I'm dead.    
 
 
Jared, there is a good explanation of a 401k on Wikipedia.  Here is a picture of one...
 
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/449/57136.jpg)

Title: I hope you all are doing better than me
Post by: 57basstra on October 07, 2008, 10:16:58 PM

(http://club.alembic.com/Images/449/57151.jpg)

Title: I hope you all are doing better than me
Post by: flaxattack on October 08, 2008, 12:10:06 AM

it aint over by a long shot
hindsight being 20/20 i could have pulled my 401 earlier and been ahead of the curve even with the penalty.....
 
and in case you didnt hear- citimortgage shut down wholesale lending today= they have to be in serious trouble.
 
in the words of that great sage whimpy
i will gladly pay you tuesday for a hamburger today.
if youre 35 or less i wouldnt freak out- the market will return
if youre 55 like me? oye!!!!!
as colbert said on his show friday
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
is a word that needs no translation.

Title: I hope you all are doing better than me
Post by: harald_rost on October 08, 2008, 01:24:42 AM

(http://club.alembic.com/Images/449/57168.jpg)

Title: I hope you all are doing better than me
Post by: 811952 on October 08, 2008, 08:07:24 AM

I turn 47 in a week or so, and my retirement account isn't something I want to think about for awhile.  I'm still contributing as much as I can (which isn't much) because I agree that buying at the bottom is good.  I'm in TIAA-CREF, which has a history of treating members well, thankfully.  That said, I can't imagine not having to work until I die..
 
John

Title: I hope you all are doing better than me
Post by: pas on October 08, 2008, 10:17:22 AM

Not to be politically correct, but diversification is ever so important.  I was fortunate enough to see that the light at the end of the tunnel was a freight train, and cashed out half of my stock position in December at an 8 year high.  Thought about cashing out on all, but wanted to avoid the AMT, plus at 45 I still need to have some stake in growth related pursuits.  It'll be a long road back for the market, but the strong will survive and prosper.
 
I think tax-exempt municipal bond ETFs are a pretty good haven.  They are not designed as growth products and stay within a relatively stable range.  Their virtue is preservation of principal and to generate tax free income.

Title: I hope you all are doing better than me
Post by: tomhug on October 11, 2008, 10:08:41 PM

Just invest in guitars! I'll bet my modest collection isn't down over 30%, which unfortunately I cannot say about my retirement accounts.

Title: I hope you all are doing better than me
Post by: jet_powers on October 12, 2008, 10:03:30 AM

I've been saying for many years now that my Alembic collection has done better than my 401k...
 
-JP

Title: I hope you all are doing better than me
Post by: 811952 on October 12, 2008, 01:52:35 PM

I've got my family and my health, so really it does occur to me that I have what's important.  I hope as this mess/rollercoaster/cluster plays out, you all come through it with your health and loved ones at your side as well..
 
It's only stuff.
 
John

Title: I hope you all are doing better than me
Post by: hydrargyrum on October 12, 2008, 02:27:37 PM

A notable Bob Dylan lyric captures my position pretty poignantly: when you got nothing, you got nothing to lose. That pretty much sums it up.

Title: I hope you all are doing better than me
Post by: wideload on October 14, 2008, 01:30:48 PM

I'm so broke I can't even pay attention.  I'm glad its just money. I'd be more disturbed if health or freedom took as big a hit.
 
Larry

Title: I hope you all are doing better than me
Post by: 262632 on October 21, 2008, 04:51:52 PM

At one time I was in the race - vp of sales, profit on top, then I became very ill.  I've had 20 neurosurgeries-to date and I'm on disability.  It took all that mess for this lug to learn what's important in life - my music and my two kitties, Skye and Bobbie, brother and sister Desert Lynx.
 
I decided that whatever time I have, I was going to do what I wanted for a change.  So I had a custom double upright made and my Buckeye Burl Essence (see the Factory to Customer thread) and I've never looked back.
 
I'm broke but happy - had I not had my basses built - I'd still be broke! And, I'd have never met this excellent community which is worth as much as the bass!
 
Funny how life works out.

Title: I hope you all are doing better than me
Post by: David Houck on October 21, 2008, 08:55:58 PM

Hi Roger; wow, that's some story!  I too have found meaning in the simplest of things.  Thanks for the reminder!

Title: I hope you all are doing better than me
Post by: poor_nigel on October 22, 2008, 01:01:49 AM

Bob is correct.  Now is a good time to invest, when things are down, if you think they have sunk as low as they will go.  I forgot to stash my 401K into a safe haven two months ago.  I have lost more than a full third of my retirement fund, and retirement will now have to be put on hold until I make the money back in either the stocks rising far enough, or my adding more to the kettle as I go, at an excellerated pace, or extended length.  Sucks to get old in soooo many little ways.
 
I have all the equipment I want, so I am not an unhappy old podge.  Money is not the most important thing in life, but when retirement time comes round, it can be pretty persuasive-important!  I just bought another new Eden power amp and I am considering giving myself some Roger hand-made LED knobs for my S II, at a hundred a pop - Merry Christmas.  So money must not matter to me that much in the scheme of life going on these days.  However, I seriously do not see any custom basses unloading in my little harbor in the near future.  And that is fine.