I have never loved and hated something so much as . . .

[Indy]

2007 was the height at least in AZ. I think it peaked a little earlier in CA.

I bought my house in 2010, and based on what I have seen, it's probably worth about another 100 over what we paid. Although I put in about 60 into it.

[Nodack]

We had a cheap house we sold at the peak and made good coin and then bought our upgraded house we have now. If we could of only waited about six months to buy we could have gotten the same house for half as much. Hindsight as always is 20/20.

There are ups in downs in all the markets. Getting caught with your pants down is no fun, but down markets to me are really perfect opportunities to make money. When the housing market bottoms out, that is the time to buy. When the stock market bottoms out, that is when you buy. I had some stocks and lost some money when the stock market collapsed. I got out after losing about half. I waited until it looked like the market was starting to rebound and then bought Apple, US Air, GM, GE and some Chinese company that the Internet said was a can't lose proposition. Since then Apple is up over 500%. U.S. Air is now American Airlines and is up over 1000%. GE is up around 100%, GM is treading water and that can't miss Chinese company went bankrupt. Overall though it was a big win. Selling a house at the peak is tough because you never know when the peak is until it's too late. Knowing when the bottom is is much easier.

Recessions happen. We like to blame everybody we don't like for them, but I think in reality they are going to happen no matter what at different intervals. The trick is to recognize the bottom dropping out before it drops out and to sell what you can before your assets lose too much value.

[Mori Chu]

Thanks, Obama...

[Superbone]

Actually, the trick in the stock market is not to panic and just to stay invested. In fact, continue to invest even when it's going down. That's when you're getting deals.

You wouldn't have lost any money in the stock market if you had just left it invested. It has more than recovered.

So, bottom line is to stay invested and to continue to invest in down markets and up markets.

[Nodack]

I think you are probably right, but there are a lot of ways of skinning stuff. Define losing money in the stock market? I started in the stock market investing in $2000 in Apple. I was a fan and everybody said they were going out of business. They just hired Jobs back and I knew good things were going to happen. I let it ride. It went up, split and went up again. When I pulled it out it was still worth a lot more than what I started, but only half of it's peak.

My sax friend worked at an investment place and warned me to get out of Apple lng into the slide I did and actually the bottom of the market and Apple turned out to be not far from that point. The big difference was me diversifying and buying other stocks. Some were huge hits and others no so much.

Bottom line is letting it ride and doing what I did probably had me ending up in about the same place....which is a good place.

[Superbone]

I personally don't buy individual stocks any more. I buy index funds that represent the whole market or sectors of the market like the S&P 500. I'm what's called a passive investor. I've been using a so called robo advisor for the last couple years, Betterment.

[Nodack]

I have an account with an investment place where they do everything. I just tell them conservative or aggresive and they do their thing. My small personal investment that I control has gone up % wise so much more than the professionals at that place that I wonder. Watching the Wolf of Wall Street didn't make me feel any better.

[Superbone]

Yep, no need for "professionals". 80% of the time they can't beat the market.

[Nodack]

But they always get their commissions.

[Nodack]

It is a little scarier looking at the ones you control when they go down. The other way you are just kind of in the dark until next quarter results.

[Superbone]

It is a little scarier looking at the ones you control when they go down.

Yep, you've just got to be prepared for it. The market has always been volatile but it's also always gone up over time.

[Nodack]

Ya, it can go up and down like a wave form. Hey honey, we made $2k on our account today! The next day it goes down 3k. Hey honey, whats for dinner?

[Wally_West]

I have a buddy that's in the know of a lot stuff behinds the scenes and gives me a heads up on stocks that I should be buying right before it goes up big or stocks that I should sell right before the shit hits the fan after stupid shit the company did right before it goes public. He also has a bunch of bank accounts in his family members names that's he puts his earnings in, suggested I should do the same as well. Good guy.