Comments on: I am glad that I lost 40% in my first investing year

By: bill free

bill free — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 01:06:13 +0000

Re: 40% loss

Experience is always your best teacher. That 40% was an investment in your future, a future that apparently looks brighter.

By: nate

nate — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 03:17:58 +0000

I read this and I am in the same position … I am 21 years old – in college – put 14000 of my had earned cash into the stock market … recently crashed and I panicked … I sold at ~45% loss so I am down to about 7500 …

I am pretty depressed but look at it as tuition … I use to be a risk taker but now I am more serious … anyways thanks for the post – it has showed me that bad things can be good if you learn from them

By: debt

debt — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 14:36:23 +0000

Re: Your 40% Loss

I would look at it not as a loss, but as tuition for a lesson learned.

By: WBL

WBL — Tue, 29 May 2007 19:34:34 +0000

Losing is part of winning. Its the attitude towards losing that deferentiates the winners from the losers.

By: raising4boys.com

raising4boys.com — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 02:08:13 +0000

Carnival of Personal Finance #55…

Welcome to the 55th edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance. Before we jump in, I just want to say a few words. First of all, if you’re new to Raising4Boys, then welcome! This site is a joint venture between my wife and myself (in case you do…

By: The Prudent Investor

The Prudent Investor — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 18:05:30 +0000

Of course it is all a matter of invidual risk aversion but my average holding of shares is more than 4 years. I follow Warren Buffett’s concept of buying value and see it grow. I just had a 30% downturn due to the weakness in PM stocks but I don’t care as it will all be forgotten in a few months. And I have recovered half already.
I only take profits on derivatives and I have lost most money because I did not have stops in place.

By: traineeinvestor

traineeinvestor — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 11:51:29 +0000

Painful, but much better to learn a hard lesson early in life than later when the stakes are higher and you have less time to rebuild your position. I had a similar experience during the 1987 sharemarket crash – fortunately I was only 21 at the time and had very little money to lose in absolute terms.

By: frugal

frugal — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 04:12:04 +0000

Sorry to hear about your extended unemployment. But painful experiences are good teachers, and nothing you learn second-handedly from articles or others can even come close.

By: John

John — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 23:57:09 +0000

I feel similarly about extended unemployment. I’m glad I experienced it during very healthy years. I feel the lessons have stayed with me.

By: Novice

Novice — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 10:18:52 +0000

I’ve definitely been in the red since the recent correction, and missed out on precious metals rebounding since late June. I am trying to learn, and catch up trends in the market. I guess that’s not necessarily the same as timing tops and bottoms.

By: frugal

frugal — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 07:04:04 +0000

There is a saying: “The wise learns from others’ experiences; the average people learns from their own experiences; the dumb never learns.” Try to learn as much as you can from others’ experiences, especially in regards to investing. It will only save you from painful losses. But again, sometimes the best teacher for success is a big failure.

By: MattsMoney

MattsMoney — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 17:45:34 +0000

All in all, a lesson learned. It does suck that you lost 40% though, at any point. But it is something you will not forget. I guess I’ve done some learning too, but on a much smaller scale, dealing with investing and the price of. I haven’t dabbled in options yet, heck I haven’t really dabbled in anything, but at least I know what to look out for!

Thanks,
Matt