Investment question (Dow Jones)

[morasp]

You could go crazy trying to analyze fundamentals. Right now the technical indicators are in a sell condition and bearish with the S&P 500 well below it's 200 day simple moving average.

 

[terra]

Just because the so called experts say the stock market is the best investment when talking 20 years or so does not help those with a shorter working period.

And things are changing big time in a lot of areas. It wold be very stupid to just go on thinking what worked in the past will work in the future without being VERY careful.

There have been fairly long bear markets and periods of stagnation. One should consider all possibilities; not just follow like a lemming.

 

[JBond]

Keep in mind the market isn't only going to react to inflation–both its news and its affects.

The job market is still very strong.

Also there are industries within the market doing well like oil.

There's also the point of view the market doesn't move up or down based on logic, but instead reacts based on emotion.

Finally say someone pulls their money out of the stock market–Where do you go with it?

A cash holding position is no benefit in an inflationary market.

Invest in housing? Sky-high housing prices. If you're looking to do "flips" the cost to do rehabbing is also sky-high.

The fact is there is no "hiding place" when inflation runs wild and for many simply staying in the market makes the most sense.

I got into buying and renting houses about 4 years ago. I have six in KC and that is a big piece of my retirement plan. Got all of them before things went crazy. Pays for all my monthly expenses. Plus I still work. Now I am in Tampa and plan to do the same thing here.

 

[NorthoftheRedRiver]

An oracle in Omaha once said: "The market can stay irrational longer than you can stay liquid". There is much truth in this.

 

[shabazz]

Young people have student loans they will never pay off,.

just a question. There are roughly 11 million job openings and I’ve never seen a better market for folks getting jobs out of school. There are numerous cash bonuses with these new jobs as well so why wouldnt these students pay off their student loan debts?

 

[shabazz]

I got into buying and renting houses about 4 years ago. I have six in KC and that is a big piece of my retirement plan. Got all of them before things went crazy. Pays for all my monthly expenses. Plus I still work. Now I am in Tampa and plan to do the same thing here.

I sold my rental homes when I heard them talking about letting folks defer their rents and sure enough they did just that. I’ve seen how easy it is for the government can deny my rights as a landlord and a taxpayer.

getting harder and harder to keep our money out of their pockets.

 

[JBond]

I sold my rental homes when I heard them talking about letting folks defer their rents and sure enough they did just that. I’ve seen how easy it is for the government can deny my rights as a landlord and a taxpayer.

getting harder and harder to keep our money out of their pockets.

In KC I have a sweet setup. They are all doctors on rotation at KU Med teaching hospital. All make far more than me.

 

[shabazz]

In KC I have a sweet setup. They are all doctors on rotation at KU Med teaching hospital. All make far more than me.

That was a blessing for sure

 

[morasp]

I recently read the book money magic. He compared a plumber to a GP. When you consider all the school a GP has to go through the plumber can make more money in his lifetime and retire earlier than the GP.

 

[Creeper]

Young people have student loans they will never pay off, majority of Americans live paycheck to paycheck and have credit card debt out the yazoo, no such thing as a balanced budget and the national debt continues to skyrocket no matter which party is in charge, inflation out of control, housing is starting to out-price the average American, supply chains can no longer keep up with the world pre-pandemic status quo……. the country is headed for a reckoning. I just hope a global recession is the worse it will become.

On the plus side, people are saving more money today than in the past. Unfortunately inflation will devalue their savings. But I agree, at some point something have to give. I think housing will fall first. But this is a cyclical thing. Home ownership is good and bad for the economy. It's good because home owners spend money on durable goods. It's bad because home buyers drive up the cost of housing and debt.

What worries me about the current situation is it looks a lot like the late 1970s. Gas priced doubled a couple of times in the 1970s due to supply issues at the same time payments were due for the war in Vietnam, which led to inflation. Once inflation began to roll it was hard to stop. But there is a different problem today with high inflation - retirement. Back in the 1970s pensions were very common. Pensions were based on salaries so as inflation drove up wages, pension payments followed. Today, there are very few pensions offered by non-union companies, and very few unions companies. Retirement plans are mostly some kind of savings plan, like a 401k. Inflation will destroy the value of those accounts and people's retirement plans. I worry the next big crisis will be a retirement crisis. People will not have enough money to pay for retirement but they will be too old to work. This will happen at the same time Social Security will become insolvent.

In the meantime interest payments on the national debt have increased to $479 billion annually. This number will increase as interest rates rise. Where does this money come from? We either print more which is honestly morally reprehensible, or we tax more. Printing creates higher inflation, higher interest rates and higher interest payments. Raising taxes create more unemployment, less consumer spending, and recession. We are in a pickle.