I always find the above strange. Try to find the one person the put $1000 into a 401k on specific date and never added again. If you are doing it correctly you are contributing every pay period through all ups in down. Over the last 20 years if you just kept plowing ahead into equities you dollar cost averaged through the Internet bubble bursting in early 2000's and the 2008 credit crisis. As Stagecoach mentioned if you stopped or slowed contributing during those times then your returns are lagging.Quote:
f you'd invested $1000 in the S&P on Jan 1 2009, that would be worth over $3200 today -- sounds like many of you have only been investing during this boom period.
That same $1000 invested on Jan 1 2000 was worth only $600 on Jan 1 2009, a similar time horizon to that noted above. Basically, the market in 2009 was in the exact same place it had been in 1997.
It's a hypothetical so that you can clearly demonstrate movements/gains/losses in the market. Nobody does that, but it's a way to level-set to make it easier to read and comprehend.Quote:
I always find the above strange. Try to find the one person the put $1000 into a 401k on specific date and never added again.
Correct, was meant only to make a point that the market DOES go down, sometimes significantly and for a prolonged period of time. I kept putting money away as the market declined, of course, but there WERE several years where my 401k balance at the end of the year was lower than it was at the beginning of the year despite ongoing contributions.752bro4 said:It's a hypothetical so that you can clearly demonstrate movements/gains/losses in the market. Nobody does that, but it's a way to level-set to make it easier to read and comprehend.Quote:
I always find the above strange. Try to find the one person the put $1000 into a 401k on specific date and never added again.
"If you put $1000 in the market on July 19, 2001, then $40 weekly through July 9, 2005, but then took a year off, and then XYZ...." Yeah, good luck following that.
During a prolonged downturn, reallocate into a treasury, bond funds, whatever safe option your plan offers. Get back into stocks on/after the turnaround. 2008-2009 was when I truly learned the value of buying low. Bounced my 401 right back up in no time.canagian said:Correct, was meant only to make a point that the market DOES go down, sometimes significantly and for a prolonged period of time. I kept putting money away as the market declined, of course, but there WERE several years where my 401k balance at the end of the year was lower than it was at the beginning of the year despite ongoing contributions.752bro4 said:It's a hypothetical so that you can clearly demonstrate movements/gains/losses in the market. Nobody does that, but it's a way to level-set to make it easier to read and comprehend.Quote:
I always find the above strange. Try to find the one person the put $1000 into a 401k on specific date and never added again.
"If you put $1000 in the market on July 19, 2001, then $40 weekly through July 9, 2005, but then took a year off, and then XYZ...." Yeah, good luck following that.
During a prolonged downturn, as long as it isn't a permanent downturn, a aren't you actually getting the most for you money upon recovery? Seems like that would be the worst time to go for the safer investmentsJSKolache said:During a prolonged downturn, reallocate into a treasury, bond funds, whatever safe option your plan offers. Get back into stocks on/after the turnaround. 2008-2009 was when I truly learned the value of buying low. Bounced my 401 right back up in no time.canagian said:Correct, was meant only to make a point that the market DOES go down, sometimes significantly and for a prolonged period of time. I kept putting money away as the market declined, of course, but there WERE several years where my 401k balance at the end of the year was lower than it was at the beginning of the year despite ongoing contributions.752bro4 said:It's a hypothetical so that you can clearly demonstrate movements/gains/losses in the market. Nobody does that, but it's a way to level-set to make it easier to read and comprehend.Quote:
I always find the above strange. Try to find the one person the put $1000 into a 401k on specific date and never added again.
"If you put $1000 in the market on July 19, 2001, then $40 weekly through July 9, 2005, but then took a year off, and then XYZ...." Yeah, good luck following that.
Let me know during the next crash when the market is turning around!JSKolache said:During a prolonged downturn, reallocate into a treasury, bond funds, whatever safe option your plan offers. Get back into stocks on/after the turnaround. 2008-2009 was when I truly learned the value of buying low. Bounced my 401 right back up in no time.canagian said:Correct, was meant only to make a point that the market DOES go down, sometimes significantly and for a prolonged period of time. I kept putting money away as the market declined, of course, but there WERE several years where my 401k balance at the end of the year was lower than it was at the beginning of the year despite ongoing contributions.752bro4 said:It's a hypothetical so that you can clearly demonstrate movements/gains/losses in the market. Nobody does that, but it's a way to level-set to make it easier to read and comprehend.Quote:
I always find the above strange. Try to find the one person the put $1000 into a 401k on specific date and never added again.
"If you put $1000 in the market on July 19, 2001, then $40 weekly through July 9, 2005, but then took a year off, and then XYZ...." Yeah, good luck following that.
PM me too, please!Ag13 said:Let me know during the next crash when the market is turning around!JSKolache said:During a prolonged downturn, reallocate into a treasury, bond funds, whatever safe option your plan offers. Get back into stocks on/after the turnaround. 2008-2009 was when I truly learned the value of buying low. Bounced my 401 right back up in no time.canagian said:Correct, was meant only to make a point that the market DOES go down, sometimes significantly and for a prolonged period of time. I kept putting money away as the market declined, of course, but there WERE several years where my 401k balance at the end of the year was lower than it was at the beginning of the year despite ongoing contributions.752bro4 said:It's a hypothetical so that you can clearly demonstrate movements/gains/losses in the market. Nobody does that, but it's a way to level-set to make it easier to read and comprehend.Quote:
I always find the above strange. Try to find the one person the put $1000 into a 401k on specific date and never added again.
"If you put $1000 in the market on July 19, 2001, then $40 weekly through July 9, 2005, but then took a year off, and then XYZ...." Yeah, good luck following that.
JSKolache said:During a prolonged downturn, reallocate into a treasury, bond funds, whatever safe option your plan offers. Get back into stocks on/after the turnaround. 2008-2009 was when I truly learned the value of buying low. Bounced my 401 right back up in no time.canagian said:Correct, was meant only to make a point that the market DOES go down, sometimes significantly and for a prolonged period of time. I kept putting money away as the market declined, of course, but there WERE several years where my 401k balance at the end of the year was lower than it was at the beginning of the year despite ongoing contributions.752bro4 said:It's a hypothetical so that you can clearly demonstrate movements/gains/losses in the market. Nobody does that, but it's a way to level-set to make it easier to read and comprehend.Quote:
I always find the above strange. Try to find the one person the put $1000 into a 401k on specific date and never added again.
"If you put $1000 in the market on July 19, 2001, then $40 weekly through July 9, 2005, but then took a year off, and then XYZ...." Yeah, good luck following that.
