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There are opportunities in bull and bear markets. Also, has the $SPY ever gone to $0? If you have the belief that it will, well, when that happens, we are all s

There are opportunities in bull and bear markets. Also, has the $SPY ever gone to $0? If you have the belief that it will, well, when that happens, we are all screwed. No point thinking doomsday. But let's step back and calculate suppose you got into $SPY in 2007 at 155. If you had kept the $10K in there, it would be worth $20K today almost. However, if you had kept adding money to it each year, your return would be massive. As you get older, you move from more index holdings to bonds, which guarantees you to hold your money. Another method is dividends, if you had AAPL shares, suppose 1000 shares @ 0.50 per quarter, that's $2.00 a year on 1000 shares, $2000 a year. If you had a family member who doesn't work and owns all the shares, in Canada, that would be up to $60,000 each year you can earn tax free. I don't hold any stock, although I believe it is safe to do so, I currently only own 2 shares of TSLA as I wanted to be eligible for the class action lawsuit if there ever was one. I only trade options and I believe that is the safest way to make money and never go bankrupt. Also, if you buy stock you can also sells calls/puts against your shares to protect you from a downside/flat days. To reiterate, the statement above, is always easy to make, because this is the only way to make money. If you don't get into the market, then each year your money is running away from you, see inflation. Ally savings accounts just aren't as helpful. Hopefully I have changed your mind and you will start looking into Vanguard funds at the minimum.

joejerryronnie 8y ago
This is all very true but you mentioned not working hard in your previous post. It seems that you are working hard to research the best opportunities, hedge your positions, etc. (it's not like you're digging ditches but still). Perhaps I was too quick to judge your post as a "make tons of money without any work" comment. I would agree that being passively invested in the market is better than sitting in cash or trying to time it. With that said, I am nervous about the current market. I'm still invested but am starting to diversify into buy and hold real estate in established locations. One thing I don't like about the market is the impact that some random geopolitical event can have and I don't see the world moving toward more stability at the moment.
- marketgod 8y ago
  Basic financial literacy is important to learn. The items I mentioned are somethings everyone should be able to do after hours of reading. Worst case VTI/Vanguard funds require limited work. You can also get a bank to manage your money for you and pay the fee. If you learn it yourself though, you will always be able to save that MER fee. There are many people who work 9-5 and just put all their money in $BRK or an ETF fund or other investments and in their retirement are doing okay. The ones who didn't are struggling from the people I have interacted with. As for the political instability, if it gets bad enough, we are all going to die of famine, so no point thinking doomsday. Also, since you are holding long term, who cares if it goes down, you are worried about 15/20/25 years from today. I think this is what stops many people from getting the market, thinking banks are corrupt, the system is crazy, and so on. Leave your politics to the side, this is the market, it doesn't care about conservatives or liberals, Chinese or American, black or white, it cares about dollars and cents. Where I work hard is my options trade. If you really want to see proof that you can make money, without working hard, shameless plug, www.marketgodfathers.com, I provide option trades before the market opens, I provide when I enter and when I exit. If someone follows my plans, they would make the same amount of money, percentage wise with a $30K account and no research required or work. So there are ways. Obviously, you might think this is incorrect, but if you spend time researching the market, you can definitely do what I do on your own. I do it in bull markets, and I will do it in bear markets. The thing about money in the market is when you make more, you want more. It never stops. Also, when you learn one way to make it, you always want to enhance it and do better. It's a never ending journey. Remember the richest people in the world pay people to manage their money, so the stock market is where you want to be.
- brightball 8y ago
  One other approach when you don't trust the market is to pay off debt (if you have any). Depending on the interest rates of the debt you hold and how long it's supposed to take to pay it back, you could save yourself a lot of money long term. It's not an approach that investors often recommend but if you've got a 7% interest rate on a 30 year mortgage the return for paying it off early is 7% saved. Whether the market goes up or down, the loss for that percentage remains the same. The more debt you get paid off, the more cash flow you free up to invest. It doesn't always make sense, but it's worth considering. When interest rates were really low I locked up a 2.8% rate on a 15 year mortgage...and at that point there's really no incentive to pay it off early. Other forms of debt will vary though.

joejerryronnie 8y ago

This is all very true but you mentioned not working hard in your previous post. It seems that you are working hard to research the best opportunities, hedge your positions, etc. (it's not like you're digging ditches but still). Perhaps I was too quick to judge your post as a "make tons of money without any work" comment. I would agree that being passively invested in the market is better than sitting in cash or trying to time it. With that said, I am nervous about the current market. I'm still invested but am starting to diversify into buy and hold real estate in established locations. One thing I don't like about the market is the impact that some random geopolitical event can have and I don't see the world moving toward more stability at the moment.

marketgod 8y ago
Basic financial literacy is important to learn. The items I mentioned are somethings everyone should be able to do after hours of reading. Worst case VTI/Vanguard funds require limited work. You can also get a bank to manage your money for you and pay the fee. If you learn it yourself though, you will always be able to save that MER fee. There are many people who work 9-5 and just put all their money in $BRK or an ETF fund or other investments and in their retirement are doing okay. The ones who didn't are struggling from the people I have interacted with. As for the political instability, if it gets bad enough, we are all going to die of famine, so no point thinking doomsday. Also, since you are holding long term, who cares if it goes down, you are worried about 15/20/25 years from today. I think this is what stops many people from getting the market, thinking banks are corrupt, the system is crazy, and so on. Leave your politics to the side, this is the market, it doesn't care about conservatives or liberals, Chinese or American, black or white, it cares about dollars and cents. Where I work hard is my options trade. If you really want to see proof that you can make money, without working hard, shameless plug, www.marketgodfathers.com, I provide option trades before the market opens, I provide when I enter and when I exit. If someone follows my plans, they would make the same amount of money, percentage wise with a $30K account and no research required or work. So there are ways. Obviously, you might think this is incorrect, but if you spend time researching the market, you can definitely do what I do on your own. I do it in bull markets, and I will do it in bear markets. The thing about money in the market is when you make more, you want more. It never stops. Also, when you learn one way to make it, you always want to enhance it and do better. It's a never ending journey. Remember the richest people in the world pay people to manage their money, so the stock market is where you want to be.
brightball 8y ago
One other approach when you don't trust the market is to pay off debt (if you have any). Depending on the interest rates of the debt you hold and how long it's supposed to take to pay it back, you could save yourself a lot of money long term. It's not an approach that investors often recommend but if you've got a 7% interest rate on a 30 year mortgage the return for paying it off early is 7% saved. Whether the market goes up or down, the loss for that percentage remains the same. The more debt you get paid off, the more cash flow you free up to invest. It doesn't always make sense, but it's worth considering. When interest rates were really low I locked up a 2.8% rate on a 15 year mortgage...and at that point there's really no incentive to pay it off early. Other forms of debt will vary though.