What to make of this?
The stock market went up and up – then CRASHED – then went up – then CRASHED … where to next?
Back up? Down more? Big Recession / Big Crash … hmmm, I don’t know … but, neither does anybody else.
Here’s what I do know:
Smart shoppers wait for the Thanksgiving Day sales to buy up the bargains … dumb shoppers buy with the crowds just before Christmas when the prices are marked up sky high.
Same with the stock market … we were leading up to a Stock Market Christmas and prices were sky high … they eventually had to drop, so I stayed in cash and waited …
THAT was the time to bail out of the market … NOW, it’s Thanksgiving Day Sale time on the Stock Market …. hurry, hurry, hurry … prices marked down 15% – 20% … even better bargains in finance stocks (remember the sub-prime write-offs?).
So, I am dipping my toes in again … maybe the market will go down again, maybe it will go up … I’m banking on it doing a bit of both with just a little of my money, to see what happens … when I am sure the recession is over (Hint: that will be BEFORE the newspapers publish the official reports, which can be months out of date!), I will be buying up those discounted, quality stocks like nobody’s business!
Want to know how to find ‘good quality’ stocks? Try this excellent book: http://philtown.typepad.com/phil_towns_blog/aboutbook.html )
Not convinced? Hear it from a professional at Friday’s post on the Wealth Tycoon Report blog (I don’t necessarily agree with everything these guys say, mainly because they are stock and trading experts, and I’m not, but this is a GREAT post): http://tycoonreport.tycoonresearch.com/articles/858884874/the-secret-to-investing-like-a-professional
So, will I be dancing in the streets or crying? Well, I hate to cry, so I’ll only invest now what I can afford to lose (I’ll absolutely hate just dipping my toes in: if the market goes up, I’ll kick myself for investing so little … if it goes down, I’ll kick myself for investing anything at all … but, $$$-wise it won’t help or hurt greatly either way).
Then, when I am SURE (maybe 1 month, maybe 6 months, maybe 2 years), I’ll grit my teeth and wheel in the big buckets of cash … by then, I’ll be educated, real-world tested (for better or worse!), and prepared!
You should do the same …
I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you.
Allen Taylor
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Thanks Allen. Found your site, too ( http://www.investingworldtoday.com/ ); well worth a look-see! AJC.
I too am continuing to buy some of the really great deals (at least I hope so) out there in the market. We’ll see how it goes.
Thanks Fiscal … you may have to take your time and turn a few rocks, but if “ye shall look, ye shall (hopefully) find”!