I am losing money!!!

[nasa1974]

funkyhunky, welcome aboard.

I used to say the same thing that "I'M LOOSING MONEY". In reality you don't loose or gain anything until you sell/move some or all of your shares. I have started saying that my portfolio is down or up. Currently I am somewhere in the low 900's on the Tracker (can't remember if I have ever been that low) and my TSP is down 3.66% for the month and down 2.72% YTD. Hopefully Novemebr and December can at least get me back to even or maybe give me a little bit of a gain by the end of the year. I can't complain too much since last year I added just over 37% to my TSP. Some great advice has been tossed around. Good luck and don't be afraid to ask questions.

 

[Globalpack]

It would be a mistake to sell or reallocate because of a dip in the market. In fact it is a good time to buy more shares because of cheaper share prices. The goal now should be keep accumulating those shares. In the years before retirement remember that both losses or gains are UNrealized losses or gains meaning you haven't lost any money.

 

[Frixxxx]

Listen to those who are saying up/down in the condition of their investments. I can tell you that I have never "lost" money, but I have missed market movements to increase my value. In 2003, I bought into the I Fund at $12.42 a share. Now, if I stuck to a Buy and Hold methodology that Share would be $23.49. But I don't do B&H and that initial $ investment actually doubled in 2010. So remember to make your position the best possible during the market. And remember, G Fund stays green and is a better place than funds with a negative (-) sign during corrections like this. I forgot to change my AT when I went real world G. I show at 589 -.5%, but RW I am actually at 7.34%. Laziness will not win you coffee mugs on this site!

 

[jpcavin]

It would be a mistake to sell or reallocate because of a dip in the market. In fact it is a good time to buy more shares because of cheaper share prices. The goal now should be keep accumulating those shares. In the years before retirement remember that both losses or gains are UNrealized losses or gains meaning you haven't lost any money.

Too late. FunkyHunky took his pocket change to the F house. Just in time to watch the parade. :toung:

 

[tsptalk]

Just for the record because I am seeing this said a lot here... I'm not a big fan of saying we don't lose money until we sell. Just because we bought at $10, for example, and it is now $8, doesn't mean it will be guaranteed to get back to $10. We are down $2. The only person that is not a loss to yet is the IRS since you don't report it until you sell.

That would be like someone who buys today at $8 assuming a $2 gain because someday it may be $10.

If we are down 50%, we need a gain of 100% to get even. A 25% loss needs a 33% gain. It's not always easy to get even.

And if the market isn't cooperating, then we can either trade our way back, or dollar cost average as a buy and holder.

Just a different way to look at it.

 

[funkyhunky]

LOL Man I suck at makin mooney with stocks, I did everything as wrong as I could, this is a big loss and I've only been in this for hardly 2 months... Maybe I should go with TSPIntels's fed/moon cycles. How the hell were people able to pull off >25% gains last yeaR??!!

 

[jpcavin]

LOL Man I suck at makin mooney with stocks, I did everything as wrong as I could, this is a big loss and I've only been in this for hardly 2 months... Maybe I should go with TSPIntels's fed/moon cycles. How the hell were people able to pull off >25% gains last yeaR??!!

Whatever move you want to make, just do the opposite and you should be ok. :nuts:

 

[tsptalk]

How the hell were people able to pull off >25% gains last yeaR??!!

As they say, even a drunken monkey with a dartboard can make money in a raging bull market, and with the S-fund up 38% and C up 32% in 2013, there were a lot of smart buy and hold investors out there.

But what separates the buy and holder from the market timer is how much you keep during the downturns. There's nothing easy about a bear market or correction, but if you can save 1% to 5% a year with a few well timed moves, it would make a huge impact on your long-term compounded return.

Easier said than done, but that's the goal of most of us here.

 

[Boghie]

LOL Man I suck at makin mooney with stocks, I did everything as wrong as I could, this is a big loss and I've only been in this for hardly 2 months... Maybe I should go with TSPIntels's fed/moon cycles. How the hell were people able to pull off >25% gains last yeaR??!!

FunkyHunky,

If you are young enough to accept the risk, then any one eyed drunk made +25% last year.
You had to work hard to make less than 25% last year.
Proof, look at my trades:cheesy:

 

[funkyhunky]

GUYS After my CATASTROPHIC ~5% lossI am wondering what I should do now? I'm 100% G, should I move back into the market now or wait for it to drop, stocks usually do well during the holidays right?

 

[jpcavin]

GUYS After my CATASTROPHIC ~5% lossI am wondering what I should do now? I'm 100% G, should I move back into the market now or wait for it to drop, stocks usually do well during the holidays right?

Buy some beer while you still have money. :laugh:

 

[Frixxxx]

Buy some beer while you still have money. :laugh:

That's just plain wrong, funny, but wrong!

I don't think 5% is catastrophic, but I would question why you are getting out of the market at specific times.

Are you in tune with the AutoTracker and following the big return peeps? Maybe watch and see when they make their moves back in....

 

[jpcavin]

That's just plain wrong, funny, but wrong!

I don't think 5% is catastrophic, but I would question why you are getting out of the market at specific times.

Are you in tune with the AutoTracker and following the big return peeps? Maybe watch and see when they make their moves back in....

True. But I wasn't trying to be mean. I'm a planner...that's what I do best. I was thinking in the event that he loses all his money, he would still have beer to drink all his sorrows away.

Seriously, I was just trying to lighten the mood. As you pointed out...5% is not catastrophic and I thought it funny that funkyhunky is so worried. If his moves aren't working for him, maybe he should try BT's system...set it and forget it.

 

[Frixxxx]

True. But I wasn't trying to be mean.

I gotcha, !

Trying to refocus efforts also!

 

[Boghie]

GUYS After my CATASTROPHIC ~5% lossI am wondering what I should do now? I'm 100% G, should I move back into the market now or wait for it to drop, stocks usually do well during the holidays right?

FunkyHunky,

My earlier point was that you should not have been 100% in G - and should almost never be 100% in G. You did not participate in the biggest boom week of the year because you bailed 100% out. Get back in at a reasonable allocation then play the edges. That is how the Las Vegas casinos win. They do not build their buildings off the huge losers, they build them on the edge losers. Most of the losers give 2% - 5% on average to the casino. The big losers bet big, lose, and run away....

Be an edge winner.

Create an allocation that buffers you from being a loser while giving you a nice gain in the marginal up markets, then when the market is good add a bit more risk so you gain more than folks with your allocation.

 

[Buster]

One thing I always told myself during a Bear market period..You haven't lost a dime until you bail at the low..Hang on a couple of weeks where you're at, we'll be back on top again.....I call this a modest correction phase, it has to happen..Things have a way of reversing.....According to Birch..'Bulls always like it on top'.

Myself and a couple of others said the same thing here...now look at the market...everything that was (hypothetically lost) has now gained back, plus some...
Dow 17,573.93


..good luck in the future

 

[Warrenlm]

Catchy thread title....maybe destined for a new sticky?

 

[tsptalk]

I recently got a job in the federal government. I managed to put a lot of money (10K) into my Roth TSP after 1 year, but didn't switch it from G until late August. Now I've lost like 500 bucks!

I'm in 100% S and want to bail out now to the G, is this a good idea?

This is why folks new to the market or to their TSP need help from the experienced folks here, because guess what happened 3 days after this post?... The market bottomed.

Buy fear, sell euphoria!

 

[nnuut]

I don't give investment advice because I'm NO GOOD AT IT!

 

[Handballer]

You ahead 7.47% this year. I may ask you for some investment advice.:embarrest: But it will have to wait cause I'm geting ready to go to the airport then Sin City. Gee I love that town.