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coalition_unwilling

(14,180 posts)

44. I suspect he, like so many others (myself included to an extent), caught tech fever in

Sat Apr 28, 2012, 11:02 PM

Apr 2012

the late 90s and ramped up his contributions such that he was buying high-flyers like Cisco (or maybe a NASDAQ index fund like the Triple-Q) at their height. IIRC, Cisco plunged almost 80% from its high. (I rode it part of the way down, but was such a small player that I didn't get hurt much.)

As for the house that needed renovations, sounds to me like perhaps he caught the bubble mentality so many others caught and harbored ambitions to flip the property and got caught when the bubble burst and he could not unload the property. Just a guess from reading between the lines.

You can call each of these bad decisions, or you can say this guy has a real talent for getting caught up in the bubble mentality when the market has almost topped out. Either way, he does not sound like a serious investor. Warren Buffett says his ideal time period to hold a stock is 'forever.'

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Guy who wrote book in favor of 401ks in the 90s - can't retire cuz his 401(k) is now in tatters [View all] Liberal_in_LA Apr 2012 OP

what a surprise. i remember when 401ks were replacing regular pensions & being touted as HiPointDem Apr 2012 #1

investment 'experts' would tell employees, $5 per month will be $1 million Liberal_in_LA Apr 2012 #2

financial industry made out well on the deal though. lots of nice fees. HiPointDem Apr 2012 #5

And now they're pushing this as a replacement for Social Security too. crazylikafox Apr 2012 #9

i don't know why people fall for it. my theory is that it's generational. they bring round their HiPointDem Apr 2012 #11

uh-oh. time to write a new book. nt magical thyme Apr 2012 #3

lol. he probably will. Liberal_in_LA Apr 2012 #4

So what is he recommending? Not saving for retirement? badtoworse Apr 2012 #6

he's just lamenting his loss. The expert in the article is reccing that 401ks be rethought Liberal_in_LA Apr 2012 #10

The statistics cited are sad. It's going to be a huge problem badtoworse Apr 2012 #16

The problem is that this only works if you make enough money and start early enough to CTyankee Apr 2012 #28

It works if a person has a balanced portfolio and don't over tweak the savings. bluestate10 Apr 2012 #41

I didn't do that. I simply did not make enough money to put aside for my retirement because CTyankee Apr 2012 #56

"you have to invest prudently and have the discipline not to use the coalition_unwilling Apr 2012 #30

That's why real retirement accounts prevent you from withdrawing, not merely make it expensive saras Apr 2012 #7

I never understood how they expected us Curmudgeoness Apr 2012 #8

Even if you are, they are so restricted in choices and it takes weeks or months to make a move, Egalitarian Thug Apr 2012 #13

great point roscoeroscoe Apr 2012 #14

You aren't expected to be a competent investor. If you were competent and knew A Simple Game Apr 2012 #49

That is true. We were always expected to be incompetent. Curmudgeoness Apr 2012 #51

K&R&No Shit. n/t Egalitarian Thug Apr 2012 #12

About financial consultants, something really weird just happened to me. Baitball Blogger Apr 2012 #15

I had a financial consultant come to the door years ago. Curmudgeoness Apr 2012 #19

That was my impression, too. Baitball Blogger Apr 2012 #20

When I was laid off my job in 2010, my 401K was also in tatters. RebelOne Apr 2012 #17

I'm glad you have that nest egg for the extras Liberal_in_LA Apr 2012 #18

Not that much. Only a few thousand RebelOne Apr 2012 #54

There was no money market or safe harbor in the plan? badtoworse Apr 2012 #22

Only before 59 1/2 Ruby the Liberal Apr 2012 #24

If only Social Security had been "Democratized". (--Angry sarcasm. /nt Festivito Apr 2012 #21

Bet he thought we didn't need all those dirty manufacturing jobs either NNN0LHI Apr 2012 #23

we'll all be rich from working on computers. Just get a computer degree, that's all you need Liberal_in_LA Apr 2012 #27

Three attempts to build a 401k failed for me. eyewall Apr 2012 #25

"I didn�t make much of the decline of pensions" Ruby the Liberal Apr 2012 #26

This guy is a dope ... his 401k was not the problem. JoePhilly Apr 2012 #29

The popping of the tech bubble in 2000 also did not help but I agree with coalition_unwilling Apr 2012 #31

Right ... no argument here. JoePhilly Apr 2012 #36

Look at his timeline... dkf Apr 2012 #33

Here is a nice chart of the DOW from 1971 to March 2012. JoePhilly Apr 2012 #35

Goodness he is the NYT business columnist! dkf Apr 2012 #43

OMG ... he was a NYT Business Columnist!!! And Jim Cramer is on CNBC ... JoePhilly Apr 2012 #59

I suspect he, like so many others (myself included to an extent), caught tech fever in coalition_unwilling Apr 2012 #44

That's a good idea, let's reread it. A Simple Game Apr 2012 #50

I never said 401ks should replace Pensions. JoePhilly Apr 2012 #57

There's a wonderful comment from a "Paul Gallager" of coalition_unwilling Apr 2012 #32

Don't blow your retirement savings on home improvements Nye Bevan Apr 2012 #34

+100 ... and I'll add. JoePhilly Apr 2012 #37

I remember telling a friend of mine that come 2011 when the boomers tsuki Apr 2012 #38

Where's the fucking money, shit head? deutsey Apr 2012 #39

He spent it on home improvements. Nye Bevan Apr 2012 #40

Life do have a way of happening, don't it? gratuitous Apr 2012 #42

I hope you will consider fashioning this into an OP. It's really powerful stuff - I will coalition_unwilling Apr 2012 #45

Sorry to hear that he suffered at the hands of the problem. raouldukelives Apr 2012 #46

The 401k was NEVER intended to be the basis of a retirement system Sen. Walter Sobchak Apr 2012 #47

You are correct NNN0LHI Apr 2012 #48

But there were people, such as my father, who had no pension and had to rely on something CTyankee Apr 2012 #62

Yep..Pension + SS + 401-k = security SoCalDem Apr 2012 #53

Looks to me like somebody needs to man up and take responsibility for his choices! hatrack Apr 2012 #52

Unfortunatetly it is also a position defended very vigorously on this site (nt) varelse Apr 2012 #55

Uh, yeah Aerows Apr 2012 #58

he needs another book.. how i fucked up. nt seabeyond Apr 2012 #60

I would call that poetic justice. nt TBF Apr 2012 #61

What has 4 letters begins with F ends with K and means to screw employees? -nt cprompt Apr 2012 #63

This guy is a dumbass. I don't buy the story at all.... cbdo2007 Apr 2012 #64