https://www.wsj.com/articles/gamestop-investors-who-bet-bigand-lost-big-11613385002?mod=hp_lead_pos7
Quote:
Salvador Vergara was so enthusiastic about GameStop Corp. GME 2.54% in late January that he took out a $20,000 personal loan and used it to purchase shares. Then the buzzy stock plunged nearly 80%.
Quote:
Vergara, a 25-year-old security guard in Virginia, started investing four years ago after deciding he wanted to retire young. To save money, he drives a 1998 Honda Civic, eats a lot of rice and lives with his dad.
That bolded part made me cringe. This is why we have poor people. In the article it mentioned he has $50K in savings after investing 4 years in diversified index funds. How the hell is he going to move to the Philippines and start a charity with that much saved. The media hyped up the story and now they are trying to make us feel sorry for people that lost.Quote:
He didn't want to touch his index-fund investments, so instead he got a personal loan with an 11.19% interest rate from a credit union and used it to fund most of his GameStop purchase. He bought shares at $234 each. "I thought it could go up to $1,000. I really believed in that hype, which was an awful thing to do," Mr. Vergara said.
He plans to hold on to the shares because he believes in the company's turnaround, he said, and use his paycheck to cover the monthly payments on the personal loan. Once the pandemic is over, he hopes to move back to his native Philippines, live off savings and start a charity. The GameStop loss set those plans back about six months, he said.