Are the Stock market and CD's safe?

[shanrose]

If you're making plans based on a movie by Obama - a movie that was probably designed from the start to financially enrich the Obama family - then you have a very rough road ahead of you. When you see the rabbit hole, avoid it, don't jump down it. Evaluating predictions with your own brain and stepping around that rabbit hole is now known as "normalcy bias", in case you run into that term. But I still recommend that you look at everything and evaluate with your own brain. If someone tells you they know what is going to happen and you need to do X, Y and Z to prepare - they're probably wrong. Including me. Use your own brain to evaluate every word anyone tells you, and everything you read. It's your best resource.

Not making plans by it just keeping a wary eye out. You're informed. You must know about "Predictive Programming." They "tell" us what they're going to do in advance in movies.

I agree with you about using your own brain but "in a multitude of counselors there is safety."

 

[shanrose]

I think that the CDs are as safe as the Government or Insurer behind them are.

The stock market is safe as it is betting on companies or blocks of companies, that being said during a panic those "bets" can lose 30% or even 50% it takes time to recover that kind of movement. So if you have time to ride out the recovery it can be safe.

Note, if the stock market falls during a panic, it can take down the insurers behind some private CDs. That can be a hidden risk.

Two hidden risks of all invest strategies are:
1) Inflation, is your return sufficient to keep your buying power?
2) "Hidden Fees", management and transaction fees can make losers out of what appeared to be a winner. Example: (my ML was making "high" interest on her accounts but the balance was going down every quarter due to "hidden fees")

If the Governments of the world fail, then all bets fail and the only thing that is secure is the clothes on your back.

I think that the CDs are as safe as the Government or Insurer behind them are.

The stock market is safe as it is betting on companies or blocks of companies, that being said during a panic those "bets" can lose 30% or even 50% it takes time to recover that kind of movement. So if you have time to ride out the recovery it can be safe.

Note, if the stock market falls during a panic, it can take down the insurers behind some private CDs. That can be a hidden risk.

Two hidden risks of all invest strategis are:
1) Inflation, is your return sufficient to keep your buying power?
2) "Hidden Fees", management and transaction fees can make losers out of what appeared to be a winner. Example: (my ML was making "high" interest on her accounts but the balance was going down every quarter due to "hidden fees")

If the Governments of the world fail, then all bets fail and the only thing that is secure is the clothes on your back.

That's just it - is the government safe? Nothing seems safe at this point. I didn't realize that hidden risk about CD's.

 

[shanrose]

Probably the two most important questions that nobody asked are: 1. How old are you & 2. How much money do you have. I'll answer those questions about myself & you can compare. I started investing when I was 36 (in mutual funds). At that time & for the next 2 or 3 years the market grew & we (the wife & I) could see the potential. By the time the first big drop came we had made enough that we didn't come close to what we had put in. We rode that drop out & in about 8 to 10 months it had rebound to what it was. We did the old IRA's which had a limit of $2,000 per person per year. In total over the years we put in something like $38,000. We have never touched that money & it has kept growing. Before this last drop we were up over $100,000 just this year. Next year I'll be 73 & will have to start drawing out of it even though we don't need the money. If I take $2,000 a month out I will never outlive my money (the money in my account). My wife is 6 years younger than I am so her account will have an 6 years to grow plus she will get what I have in my account when I die.

When thinking about what you want/need to do just remember one thing. You need to remember that if you had $100,000 cash stuffed in your mattress each & every year (on average) it would be worth 3% less because of inflation & that means what you could buy with it would be less every year.

Oh, someone talked about CD's/savings accounts & so on. I didn't hit on them much because I didn't go that route. Back when I started & for the next 15 years we were making way below an average income. (My first months pay in the military was $78 that went up to something like $515 every month after 5 years. If you have BIG MONEY & live simply it probably doesn't matter what you invest in. Just don't depend on the high rate of interest that they are paying

Probably the two most important questions that nobody asked are: 1. How old are you & 2. How much money do you have. I'll answer those questions about myself & you can compare. I started investing when I was 36 (in mutual funds). At that time & for the next 2 or 3 years the market grew & we (the wife & I) could see the potential. By the time the first big drop came we had made enough that we didn't come close to what we had put in. We rode that drop out & in about 8 to 10 months it had rebound to what it was. We did the old IRA's which had a limit of $2,000 per person per year. In total over the years we put in something like $38,000. We have never touched that money & it has kept growing. Before this last drop we were up over $100,000 just this year. Next year I'll be 73 & will have to start drawing out of it even though we don't need the money. If I take $2,000 a month out I will never outlive my money (the money in my account). My wife is 6 years younger than I am so her account will have an 6 years to grow plus she will get what I have in my account when I die.

When thinking about what you want/need to do just remember one thing. You need to remember that if you had $100,000 cash stuffed in your mattress each & every year (on average) it would be worth 3% less because of inflation & that means what you could buy with it would be less every year.

Oh, someone talked about CD's/savings accounts & so on. I didn't hit on them much because I didn't go that route. Back when I started & for the next 15 years we were making way below an average income. (My first months pay in the military was $78 that went up to something like $515 every month after 5 years. If you have BIG MONEY & live simply it probably doesn't matter what you invest in. Just don't depend on the high rate of interest that they are paying now.

You gave me food for thought. Another issue at the back of my mind is that SS is supposedly going to be gone soon.

 

[shanrose]

While that may be true, what if it takes a couple hundred years, or 50, or 20? Look what you could have missed out on waiting for something that probably will never happen in our lifetime. There have always been people wanting to destroy our country. I personally have more faith in our country than that.
I'll continue doing what has worked for me over the past 50+ years.

It's to be implemented by 2025 if I'm not mistaken. But there is something to be said for enjoying the moments because really, what else do we have than that?

 

[Haertig]

Another issue at the back of my mind is that SS is supposedly going to be gone soon.

Back when I got my first job after graduating college, back in 1979, the above was the "common wisdom of the day" in some groups as well. Looks like I escaped that particular end of the world prediction from the 70's.

FWIW, my lifetime of savings and investing has been done based on the assumption that (1) I would not have any SS paid to me after being taxed on it all my life, and (2) my pension would be zero due to mismanagement of the fund. Neither happened, but since I saved and invested with this in mind (even though I knew it wouldn't happen), I am in good shape now.

 

[shanrose]

Back when I got my first job after graduating college, back in 1979, the above was the "common wisdom of the day" in some groups as well. Looks like I escaped that particular end of the world prediction from the 70's.

FWIW, my lifetime of savings and investing has been done based on the assumption that (1) I would not have any SS paid to me after being taxed on it all my life, and (2) my pension would be zero due to mismanagement of the fund. Neither happened, but since I saved and invested with this in mind (even though I knew it wouldn't happen), I am in good shape now.

That was wise on both counts.

 

[dademoss]

I need a good financial advisor.

https://articles.smartasset.com/fin..._falc_content_feed_q2&utm_term=&utm_content=_
My recommendation is to find one that is has a fiduciary role, they are supposed to put your needs first. I spent 9 months identifying a firm, and recently changed firms following my financial advisors then they moved.

 

[Mountain trapper]

It's to be implemented by 2025 if I'm not mistaken. But there is something to be said for enjoying the moments because really, what else do we have than that?

It's not likely anything will happen over next several months. People have been preaching end of times since before JC. We're still here and doing well. I don't even listen the the so-called conservative talking heads anymore, and I'm happier for it.

 

[Mountain trapper]

You gave me food for thought. Another issue at the back of my mind is that SS is supposedly going to be gone soon.

That's another doom and gloom scenario that I've been hearing since high school, back in the 70's. It's still here and my check keeps coming in every month. That being said, I structured my investments to more than cover my income needs just in case SS did go away. Even though I don't buy in to any of this end of world stuff, I still believe in being safe than sorry. I'm very happy with my SS, it's increased every year that I've been collecting it, and I love Medicare.

 

[Tommyice]

The problem is, you don't know what's gonna get you first. The vaccines are designed to kill us outright. They are trying to take away our food supply. All financial institutions are going to crash. They are replacing us with illegal migrants. Solar flares are going to wipe out our society. WWIII is upon us.

If you get caught up in all this stuff being spread around, you eventually have to admit that nobody, anywhere, is going to make it. Maybe it's best to just turn off the Internet and try to enjoy the few milliseconds we still have left.

You forgot the extraterrestrials.

 

[old tex]

You gave me food for thought. Another issue at the back of my mind is that SS is supposedly going to be gone soon.

You gave me food for thought. Another issue at the back of my mind is that SS is supposedly going to be gone soon.

First I'll say that SS will NEVER BE GONE. It would be political death for a politician or a party to even suggest that. That does not mean that they won't stop the inflation raises or freeze the amount you get for a time. So you will always get "something" but it probably won't be enough to live on (which it mostly isn't now).

Now how about the end of the world as we know it? It could happen, a truck could also run you down or you could get struck by lightning. Anything could happen & if you have enough money you can become a prepper & prepare for the end of society. But if your funds are limited you KNOW that when your older your going to have bills, medical costs, inflation that outpaces the money coming in & so on. That will happen. Now there's a lot of maybe's like working in your 80's at Walmart or other thing that might help you. Now is the most time in your life that you will have to prepare for it, because tomorrow is one day less & so on. Figure out what course is best for you & go for it.

When I retired & hit the local library HARD. I checked out every book they had on home finances (how to save money) & the stock market & I mean every book. Sometimes I only learned 1 single idea reading a whole book but it did educate me on what I wanted/needed to do. We had a car, I refinanced, we had a house, I refinanced because interest rates were down. And I paid them all off early. When it was time for my wife to retire we only had one payment, our house & we paid that off in 18 months. We lived there for 4 more years & then bought a bigger house & paid it off in 8 years. Living debt free gives you freedom to do what you want.

One last thing as an example of inflation. The very first house I bought (3bdrm 2bth) cost $35,000, the last car I bought cost me $38,000. That's what you need to prepare for.

 

[shanrose]

It's not likely anything will happen over next several months. People have been preaching end of times since before JC. We're still here and doing well. I don't even listen the the so-called conservative talking heads anymore, and I'm happier for it.

Most of them are controlled anyway. I don't listen to any either.

 

[shanrose]

You gave me food for thought. Another issue at the back of my mind is that SS is supposedly going to be gone soon.

First I'll say that SS will NEVER BE GONE. It would be political death for a politician or a party to even suggest that. That does not mean that they won't stop the inflation raises or freeze the amount you get for a time. So you will always get "something" but it probably won't be enough to live on (which it mostly isn't now).

Now how about the end of the world as we know it? It could happen, a truck could also run you down or you could get struck by lightning. Anything could happen & if you have enough money you can become a prepper & prepare for the end of society. But if your funds are limited you KNOW that when your older your going to have bills, medical costs, inflation that outpaces the money coming in & so on. That will happen. Now there's a lot of maybe's like working in your 80's at Walmart or other thing that might help you. Now is the most time in your life that you will have to prepare for it, because tomorrow is one day less & so on. Figure out what course is best for you & go for it.

When I retired & hit the local library HARD. I checked out every book they had on home finances (how to save money) & the stock market & I mean every book. Sometimes I only learned 1 single idea reading a whole book but it did educate me on what I wanted/needed to do. We had a car, I refinanced, we had a house, I refinanced because interest rates were down. And I paid them all off early. When it was time for my wife to retire we only had one payment, our house & we paid that off in 18 months. We lived there for 4 more years & then bought a bigger house & paid it off in 8 years. Living debt free gives you freedom to do what you want.

One last thing as an example of inflation. The very first house I bought (3bdrm 2bth) cost $35,000, the last car I bought cost me $38,000. That's what you need to prepare for.

You were smart. I'm trying to learn all that I can about investments and financial moves too but in light of today's world. But solid moves are always to get rid of debt.

 

[Mountain trapper]

Most of them are controlled anyway. I don't listen to any either.

I did watch about 5 minutes of the "news" when I got home last night. It was the same stuff as before I left home. Nobody actually reports the news anymore. They just have news shows now. Plus I get sick of them parading out their so-called military experts, like they have anything worth listening too.

 

[Mountain trapper]

You were smart. I'm trying to learn all that I can about investments and financial moves too but in light of today's world. But solid moves are always to get rid of debt.

Getting rid of debt is the best investment that one can make. Then stay out of debt.

 

[shanrose]

I did watch about 5 minutes of the "news" when I got home last night. It was the same stuff as before I left home. Nobody actually reports the news anymore. They just have news shows now. Plus I get sick of them parading out their so-called military experts, like they have anything worth listening too.

I agree with you. I don't watch any news but will read an article here and there, or maybe I'll watch a news story that is interesting but I don't watch it regularly.

 

[Haertig]

I don't watch the TV news much any more. But I do scan our local newspaper and both conservative and liberal main stream media websites every day. I don't directly scan blogs and doom predicting websites. I get a taste of what's going on in those areas from reading posts here and also on other forums I visit.

How do you prepare for what the stupid people are going to do if you don't know what the stupid people are basing their moves on? Ignoring something because you don't like it, or because it doesn't espouse your truth, is not to your benefit. You might save yourself some irritation. But you will also lose a lot of intel that might help you down the road. Learning the truth is good. Learning what other people believe is the truth is also good. Restricting your learning to only your own bubble is bad.

The hard part is casting a wide enough net to gather different views on things, without dedicating so much time to the effort that you don't have any time left for anything else. I have definitely not mastered that skill. I "cheat" by skimming most articles that I read, I do not try to take in and memorize every word. I use forum posts as portals to other areas/views that I would not pursue personally. But still, I am left within my own bubble to a great extent. I think all of us probably are.

 

[old tex]

There is no such thing as NEWS anymore, it's all propaganda driven dribble shoved down our throats by those that control the media. I wouldn't believe anything they said., even what day it is.

 

[shanrose]

Getting rid of debt is the best investment that one can make. Then stay out of debt.

I don't watch the TV news much any more. But I do scan our local newspaper and both conservative and liberal main stream media websites every day. I don't directly scan blogs and doom predicting websites. I get a taste of what's going on in those areas from reading posts here and also on other forums I visit.

How do you prepare for what the stupid people are going to do if you don't know what the stupid people are basing their moves on? Ignoring something because you don't like it, or because it doesn't espouse your truth, is not to your benefit. You might save yourself some irritation. But you will also lose a lot of intel that might help you down the road. Learning the truth is good. Learning what other people believe is the truth is also good. Restricting your learning to only your own bubble is bad.

The hard part is casting a wide enough net to gather different views on things, without dedicating so much time to the effort that you don't have any time left for anything else. I have definitely not mastered that skill. I "cheat" by skimming most articles that I read, I do not try to take in and memorize every word. I use forum posts as portals to other areas/views that I would not pursue personally. But still, I am left within my own bubble to a great extent. I think all of us probably are.

Pretty wise.

 

[Mountain trapper]

The Dow hit another record high again today. I think that's the 24th record high this year. Gold is still above $2500. Inspite of the politics, we are living in good times, financially speaking of course.
The sad sacks are still preaching doom and gloom. They always have and I guess they always will.

 

[Supervisor42]

The Dow hit another record high again today. I think that's the 24th record high this year. Gold is still above $2500. Inspite of the politics, we are living in good times, financially speaking of course.
The sad sacks are still preaching doom and gloom. They always have and I guess they always will.

I got to thinking more about the thread title:
Are the Stock market and CD's safe?
Many stocks in the 'stock market' are not safe.
If you do your research, there are stocks in lots of wonderful companies out there that will loyally pay you big bux, cutting out the middleman.
If you dig into CD's, most are in stocks and other companies, but you don't get to choose.
You have to 'pop the hood' on CD's and take a look. They do not earn you 'interest' out of thin air.
The ones that are FDIC insured are the safest, but most won't even keep up with inflation. (The FDIC insures only your principal, not any interest that may vanish in a puff of smoke)
Don't want to take the time to research individual stocks? There are mutual funds out there that will invest your money in a basket-full of over 100 companies. (taking only a slice of your earnings). They may lose money. Read the fine print.
...Even hiding cash in a safe, is not 'safe' because inflation will gnaw away at it over time.

 

[viking]

It's not always the easiest thing to do and it wasn't for us, but getting out of debt was the best thing we've ever done, we've learned that every dollar spent now is like having a $10 bill, we've learned to live minimally and for the most part, we don't leave home unless absolutely necessary. One of the things I've seen over the years is what's called "Normalcy Bias", the attitude that things seem to always look bad but they will get better, thing is we have a constantly increasing debt to GDP that level is increasing at a present level of $2,000,000 per minute, that and the fact that the rest of the world is abandoning our petrol dollars for a far more secure BRICS currency and meanwhile the PTB in this country are pushing a CBDC, Central Bank Digital Currency, another thing that is going on is the ongoing big bank failures as well as the question wither the FDIC really has enough money set aside to cover business losses. The reality is, that if people had been wise back in 2,000 and 2001 and bought gold that was then below $300 per troy oz. and silver that was around $5 a troy oz. you would probably have gained far more than stock investments, however gold, silver an other precious metals are not really an investment, they are a hedge against paper money failures, they have held that position for over 5,000 years. Thing is I can no longer tell people to get gold due to it now being in the $2,500 per troy oz. + or - area and possibly slated to be around $3,000 per troy oz. at the end of this year. I don't deny that there are good stocks to get into, but you better know what you are doing and pay constant attention to what's going on with them, that happened to my mom and step dad back in the 1990's, he had all his retirement funds in stocks and money markets, he came close to loosing everything and even when we were given some of his inheritance, shortly after he died, I watched one of the stock failing badly and we closed it out right away and it failed completely. So if you invest, you better do your own due diligence and keep on top of what's going on in your investment because just because you think the people you buy stocks or other investments from know what they are doing, you better think again.

 

[Supervisor42]

I don't deny that there are good stocks to get into, but you better know what you are doing and pay constant attention to what's going on with them... .. So if you invest, you better do your own due diligence and keep on top of what's going on in your investment because just because you think the people you buy stocks or other investments from know what they are doing, you better think again.

I was fortunate that my mom got me interested in studying and learning about investing when I was 18. It became part of my life.
Watching 'compounding' happen, (the bigger it gets, the faster it gets bigger), was fascinating!
My measly account that was making $8/month, then started making $10/month, then $12/month.
But you are correct, people should do their own learning, starting with: Don't buy into the latest fad thing that is being hyped!
Another annoying motto of mine: "If you follow the herd, you end up at the same slaughterhouse".

 

[Supervisor42]

The Dow hit another record high again today. I think that's the 24th record high this year. Gold is still above $2500. Inspite of the politics, we are living in good times, financially speaking of course.
The sad sacks are still preaching doom and gloom. They always have and I guess they always will.

How fast things change!
A lot of yuppies that follow "The Magnificent 7" herd, are crying big tears today .
Nasdaq is down 544 points about now.
Sorry, correct emoji :

 

[Mountain trapper]

How fast things change!
A lot of yuppies that follow "The Magnificent 7" herd, are crying big tears today .
Nasdaq is down 544 points about now.
Sorry, correct emoji :View attachment 161312

Yep. And the smart investors look at this as a buying opportunity. Stocks and bonds are long term investments. Some people can, and do, make $$ off short term investments, but mostly its for the long term.
I recently inherited my father's investments. Some of these go back to the 70's, and some of these stocks split several times over the years.

 

[Supervisor42]

Yep. And the smart investors look at this as a buying opportunity. Stocks and bonds are long term investments. Some people can, and do, make $$ off short term investments, but mostly its for the long term.
I recently inherited my father's investments. Some of these go back to the 70's, and some of these stocks split several times over the years.

...It's a shame none of the ones I like are 'on-sale'
(But I haven't checked all of them yet).
I been slacking.

 

[teeceetx]

No one can protect themselves against the unknown.

Do the best you can with what you DO know, and consider all reasonable possibilities when making decisions. Use experts advice wisely.

 

[Supervisor42]

...It's a shame none of the ones I like are 'on-sale'
(But I haven't checked all of them yet).
I been slacking.

Hmmm...
5% off in a week?

3.9% dividend.

...I'm listening .

 

[Bacpacker]

September is historically the worst month for the markets there is. Today won't be the last big drop this month. May not even be the worst. Ill be looking to transfer some funds later, maybe even October when it more bottoms out.

 

[viking]

One of the things we ran across when the price of a barrel of oil was quickly falling was that we knew we had to do some type of oil investment because through watching PBS's nightly Business News we realized we would loose out on an event that seldom happens, oil was just below $12 when we went into a stock broker and he told us that certain stock investments sold are based on what our come was, that cut us off of big oil company investments, however we were able to get into a global ship based drilling stock which gained value by 200%, that gain when sold got us to an off shore conference just south of Cancun, Mexico that changed our life. We came home and eliminated all our debt, one of our credit cards was around $50,000 and there was no way we could clear that debt unless we had experts at the conference that gave us the knowledge of how to do it. In the years since that conference, we have come to realize just how important understanding life cycles are, things that work well at one time become untenable at another time, for instance, due to the value of gold, which floats around $2,500, at this time, I can no longer tell the average person to buy gold as a hedge, silver, yes, if you can find it and sometimes that is an issue. Junk silver is a good start, dimes, quarters, half dollars and dollars in that order, I've heard it said that silver dimes may buy you a loaf of bread when things go bad in the economy.