Although I was car-crazy as a kid through much of my 30s, I somehow never got too crazy about buying them, maybe because I was equally obsessed with high-end audio and the burgeoning world of personal computing
. And I guess expenditures in the latter really did amount to an "investment in my future" of sorts.
In a recession the cost housing drops dramatically and real estate in general. For those who are getting their 4% are going able to buy at discount on everything including the S&P 500. Preserving ones potential down payment with a fixed return means they don't have wait to earn it back over years. If that table is correct on average they have earned 40% compared to their competitive buyers.
I designed and built this solar heated home 300 ft from the Pacific Ocean 20 miles south of San Francisco, doing all of the interior finish work on its first iteration in 1984 when construction loans were 14% but materials and labor were cheap. In 2009 we bought a second home under foreclosure in Carmel Valley, CA that we sold last year at tidy profit. I have always been a diversified investor US and abroad, stocks, bonds, private companies, exchange fund, and some options on stocks I owned. Hedging 10 years of living expenses is what am recommending to take some profit out the latest run with fixed 4% return. If you can, do it in your IRA where are no tax consequences locking in that profit and is easily reversed.It sounds like you may be younger or not have much experience with Real Estate in the USA? I have owned property for the last 50 years. What I found was location, location, location was the determining factor for appreciation. In 99% of the economic downturn's since 1970 prices on real property didn't fall much at all. Price could stagnate for periods but you didn't see major price drops. So if you are betting on large property discounts you're going to need a war in the USA.
The only time I saw prices drop significantly was after Lehman filed for bankruptcy Sept 15, 2008. Two weeks later on Sept 25, 2008 the FDIC swooped in and took over Washington Mutual making their shareholders paper worthless. The FDIC gave WAMU which was worth 46 billion at the end of 2006 to JP Morgan for a mere 1.9 billion. The acquisition ultimately allowed JPMorgan to expand its consumer banking footprint significantly, making it the largest U.S. depository institution with over $900 billion in deposits and more than 5,400 branches. While the immediate financial impact included costs and markdowns, the long-term strategic benefits and expansion of market presence were viewed as creating substantial value for JPMorgan Chase.
Between Sept 2008 and Sept 2009 many homes were valued lower than their mortgage. We hadn't seen anything like this since the Great Depression. Everyone saw houses as a stable investment. Those that ignored the noise and bought homes during that time did very well. Many of those that participated in the feast were publicly traded companies. All the homes that were lost by owners who sold during that period are now in strong financial hands and the pendulum has completely reversed. If you expect the Real Estate market to fall significantly again, that's a long shot. About the best you can expect is slower price increases. The government learned a lesson on Lehman. Don't expect that again soon.
Historically 6" per year at my location on stable formation (had no idea just luck). Just an half mile away two homes were condemned last year a road was lost.
I had a bad experience with Treasury Direct. They messed up my account credentials twice. First time I had no access for 17 weeks. 2nd time was nearly 6 months occurring a few weeks after restoring access. That meant no access to my money or ability to transact with them. Obviously, after the 2nd time I took everything out. You have to use them for I-bonds. As for buying treasury offerings you can do that through a broker. They don't charge fees for that at most larger outfits, and their online access is much better. Plus moving money into and out of any other accounts is far, far better.
Treasury Direct has the worst tech. I use it to buy series-I bonds each year, but it's awful.
Still car crazy, never go into personal computing, TV's Home Theater beyond the basics (haven't owned a TV since 2007, have a pretty serious desktop computer for some things that I do: can hack vehicles computers for more performance & fuel efficiency while still meeting the emissions specs, being one of them). Yep, in the end, that also requires a laptop.Although I was car-crazy as a kid through much of my 30s, I somehow never got too crazy about buying them, maybe because I was equally obsessed with high-end audio and the burgeoning world of personal computing
The greatest feeling of wealth is when family works together and you are comfortable living within your means.
Has only been a good experience for me. And I killed it on the i-bonds when the rates blasted to 9%. But have also bought other Treasuries there and had no issues or bank account issues. Though never in large amounts.
Really? Remember when you had to enter your password on the on-screen keyboard?
Well you cannot win everyday, and it doesn't look like it will close at more than about 581 with a few minutes left.SPY MaxPain for Friday Jan 10 = 590
Current price = 588.71
Looking for rally to 591 by close today.
10 year 4.691
It's been range bound around 4.7
To rally much above Pain a slight reverse in 10 year below 4.6 would help.
Dec non-farm payrolls up 256,000 jobs. Versus expectation of 164K.
Initial reaction 10 year rate jump to 4.753.
SPY on sale
Long 583.50
Still looking for 590-591
