Mmm, that's some crunchy credit

[Mister Joy]

I'd like to hear what people's views are on the recession, as well as what's going on elsewhere in the world. Do you think it's going to get much worse? How worried are you?

I'm fairly concerned, myself, because I have my life savings as well as my inheritence sitting in banks. I'm extremely lacking in business acumen even for a 19 year old thespian literary type, so this may be Earth shatteringly naive, but I figure it would be wise to convert as much as possible into assets. Therefore, at the moment, I'm thinking of using my savings to buy a property here in Northampton. Then I can live in one of the rooms and let the others out. This revolves around the following supposition: house prices are dropping and less people are buying, which is probably because they can't get mortgages. Ultimately then, more people are stuck with renting and so this should be a fairly stable way of securing an income to carry me over my course at uni (this is mostly guess work though). My dilemma is that while my savings are fairly substancial and would cover most of it, I'd probably still need a small mortgage to buy a house in a reasonable location (eg. the one I live in now). And since I have barely any income, all of which goes on the rent, the bills, food and study stuff, that's going to be extremely difficult to swing and I'll be stuck in the same situation as all the other first time buyers. I suppose my alternative would be to find some other way of spending it but I can't think of anything else that would benefit me in the long term. In addition to that, I could try to negotiate a deal with one or more of my richer relatives, ie. offering them a percentage of the rent. I'll need to make sure my argument is absolutely water tight, in that case, lest they rip me to shreds.

Sort of thinking aloud here, now. Anyhoo, what are your speculations on this apparently global conundrum?

[rlrose328]

My perception is gloom and doom, of course.  It's what I do.   :blink:

[Stoicheion]

^^^^^that is all we can do until things turn around in a few years IF the next president isn't a total idiot

[Stoicheion]

i wish i could give you advice but i don't' know anymore than you do

[Whitney]

I don't know much about this sort of thing...but I have not heard one expert say it's a bad idea to keep your money in the bank.  Just spread it around if you have more than what is federally insured.

Honestly, if things get so bad that all of the banks go under there will be a lot more to worry about than if your money is safe (I doubt money or other non tradeable assests would be worth much at that point).

[curiosityandthecat]

Three areas to go into that are recession proof: land, video games, and teaching English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).

Also, buying stock in things like Top Ramen, Mac n Cheese producers, Kool-Aid, and other rather cheap foods is a good idea. Sales tend to skyrocket when we go into a stock-market dip.

What we have is an erratic bear market. It's not a full-blown recession yet. If people would just stop freaking out and pulling all their money out (and thereby putting all those loses on paper), we wouldn't have a problem. Ugh.

[Stoicheion]

Also, buying stock in things like Top Ramen, Mac n Cheese producers, Kool-Aid, and other rather cheap foods is a good idea. Sales tend to skyrocket when we go into a stock-market dip.

my, that's genius. I would have never thought of that.

[McQ]

Actually, your money is safer in a bank right now that it would be in the stock market, or in a regular 401k retirement plan. So don't fret too much. This is a downturn that can be advantageous to those who think long term, or who have the luxury of time on their sides.

I've got stuff invested all over the place and right now my two most vulnerable assets are my 401k and my stock portfolio. We've moved some investments around and tweaked a few things here and there, but for the long run, our strategy is sit back and watch it bottom out and then rebound.

That is the overly simplistic version of what we do, because my wife is the brains behind the outfit here.  

(she's an investment advisor, and is going crazy right now with panicked customers)

[karadan]

People have been messing about with our money for over a century and will continue to do so unless the system is changes radically. Whilst the people responsible are sitting back in Barbados drinking cocktails until this all blows over, the common person will be feeling the pain and anguish of seeing their hard earned cash turn into nothing. The cockroaches responsible will be back trading our money within a few months/years and will undoubtedly start paying themselves pornographic amounts of cash in the process, yet again.

I'm lucky in that i have a secure job working for the government and i don't have enough saved cash for my money to be negatively affected by the crisis. My friends father lost £150k last week in shares and thinks he will lose his entire stock protfolio by the end of the year (over 1million apparently)...

Incidentally it is nigh on impossible to rent top hotel rooms in places like Barbados at the moment because that is where all the money traders are staying until the crisis is over.

[Asmodean]

Iceland seems thoroughly d00md. We seem to be pretty well-off. And the major banks in several countries are threatening to collapse in huge piles of economic rubble. That's more or less all I know about this issue.  

[Whitney]

My friends father lost £150k last week in shares and thinks he will lose his entire stock protfolio by the end of the year (over 1million apparently)...

Maybe it's just because I don't know much about stocks...but...If he really thinks he is going to lose it all, why doesn't he just move it to a less hazardous location?

If I had the spare money to be playing with, I'd buy some stocks while they are low and just wait it out.

[rlrose328]

We may not have to worry about recession or depression... the new word that economists are tossing around is "deflation."  Prices falling on goods (due to low demand) and the cost to produce it is more than the price to sell which cuts jobs, which cuts demand further in a horrible spiral.

While the article says this is not even imminent, the possiblity is 10-15%... but it was just 5% just a month ago.  And a deflation will be even worse than depression.

Hubby wants to start selling off anything we don't absolutely need so we can build up our savings... just in case.  But does anyone WANT our signed, NIB Buffy the Vampire Slayer Oz action figure?