Waiting on the sidelines...

wow - that's how people rode Wachovia from 55 to 1.84 in <52 weeks...

 

Increased my investing recently but I am also 30 so I am sure I will see a few more bears and bulls before I am done. Though, the history of the stock market is still mostly a bull.

 

I read Suze Orman's blog with CNN / Anderson Cooper today and thought it was interesting http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2008/09/29/financial-light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel-could-be-2015/

Some interesting comments coming through - both in support and against her slant on it.

 

She put some things of the current dilemma in perspective for me, e.g. buying lunch on credit, then paying the minimum at the end of the month. I didn't realize there were people like that....sounds kinda petty. The adage of "I don't owe anybody nuttin'," being free of debt must not fit into todays "smart" business mind.

re: safety in the bank/FDIC

I keep just enough money in the bank to allow drafts to pay monthly bills because the bank doesn't pay interest anymore. Maybe I ought to reconsider, when the Market rebounds, and deposit up to 100 grand, at least it'll be safe, away from the Market type thief/"evaporation." hmmm Or maybe at least the 2¢ I'll have when the dust clears. tsk

 

Suze Orman yaps about mostly common sense stuff. Well, at least common sense stuff to me. The buying lunch on credit and then not paying the credit card in full at the end of the month is just an example. It amazes me that people are will to pay interest on lunch. That $5 lunch can become $10, $15, $20 and so on. NOT a smart thing to do.

I have a CD for just in case money and I'm glad I do in this market. It's the one thing that is keeping the wife from killing me. I have upped my contributions in the market though. Like you I still have a ways until retirement so I'll see how it all washes out in the end.

 

Yes, it is common sense. I think part of her success is that she was able to break down poor spending habits into simple examples (such as the lunch purchases that Jazz mentioned). She's also pretty blunt with her messages and I think some needed to hear it that way. She didn't sugar coat it too much, but also doesn't spend a big chunk on her advice going on and on about how stupid that person was / is. Unless of course, they argue with her - then it's all on.

I read her book "The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom" and that helped put a lot of things into perspective for me. Simple, straight forward things - but it helped me strategize a bit better and moved me out of a funk .