Doom and gloom

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  • #185545
    diego
    Member

    Alfrd & lotus,

    What part of CR do you guys live in?

    #185546
    *Lotus
    Member

    Diego,

    Playa Hermosa/Jaco..not living there…yet.

    #185547
    diego
    Member

    Great choice. Are you renting it out?

    #185548
    terrycook
    Member

    diego, I am sure Scott will answer this one but I am most sure it is because the of the requirements of the U.S. (big brother once again) and government guidelines and regulations on the reporting of the accounts, names and details the the off shore folks do not and will not share with the gov. That is what they are about anniminity.
    And of course the U.S. wants us (US) to have nothing to do with anniminity (sp?) As I am quite sure I have heard Scott say right here, the offshore accounts do not want to mess with anything that has to do with the U.S.
    I would like to know from Scott if we can ¨find¨a corporation in C.R. and invest in them as layer away from us and then let the corporatin do the investing in off shore accounts. I personally will seek citizenship here as fast as possible after rentista and pension program. But I am sure by then most if all the small amount of mone I have in the U.S. bank will be frozen or taken by the government because they will be in default around the world. Yes I do believe even more after reading the last few articles of the U.S. forming alliance with Canada and Mexico et al that the U.S is destined for implosion. I have been saying this to my family and friends for years and Now I am afraid I got here too late to get my money out. Of course the real scary thing is I too was planning on useing my S.S. for retirement here in C.R. and It certainly appears that they will not be able to make that happen. And surly ¨they¨will move dates for availability back and back so we (of course) the citizens of the Great Democratic highest and best order of the world U:S. will be screwed and have nothing we can do about it.
    Terry From Costa Rica…

    #185549
    Andrew
    Keymaster

    NONE of the offshore fund companies I work with will do business with US citizens and NONE of them will set up an account for an offshore corporation if there are US citizens as signatories.

    Scott Oliver – Founder
    WeLoveCostaRica.com

    #185550
    Alfred
    Member

    Diego, We’re still in the US for a while yet. Haven’t actually decided on a location. My wife likes to be close to amenities, and I like the Campo. The one thing we both agree on is the beach is a great place to visit but a bit too hot for us.
    So far we have only checked out the Central Valley and Mid-Pacific side.
    Next visit will most likely take us to the northern Pacific, just to see what it is like.

    #185551
    simondg
    Member

    Sprite – Actually the herd thinks the market is in a “goldilocks” state, it’s the contrarians that think the risk is to the downside. So by staying in the market you would be following the crowd (and Larry Kudlow who is as we all know right on the economy!)

    Most investors have bought into the “investing for the long term” mantra sold to them by the big firms and that’s what they will do, all the way to the bottom.

    Protect yourself, buy gold and silver and soft commodities.

    Edited on Jul 30, 2007 10:32

    #185552
    crayzrj
    Member

    worked for me very well, and still does. quadrupled first time and tripled recently. wow. working and saving gave me money to invest in others fears (thanks mother earth news!). live for people and relations and save, not spending on frivolities. eat well, drink well, have friends, volunteer, sports participation. made more money monkeying around than working. seems immoral and i almost feel guilty. now i’m not rich but relatively independent. real freedom is from excessive needs. the herd needs the wolves (not to make too much of the predator analogy). why do i get involved in these arguments? nobody’s going to be changed by this. just self validation, and the typing’s tedious. oh well, good luck all.

    #185553
    mmessier2
    Member

    Lotus-

    I completely agree with your ideals on life. Im 26 and I see fmaily members living for their retirement at 65, working 60 hour weeks and killing themselves so that they can be living rich….. at 65! And then, if they do live to 65, they are so cheap from pumping all their money into retirement accounts and ‘protecting’ their investments, that they live sheltered lives. Or even worse, they get some kind of sickness that limits their activity. The best years of their lives were spent in the office. What a shame!

    Thats why Im doing my best now to enjoy myself while making smart financial decisions. Ive owned my house in California for 5 years and have been fortunate enough to have quite a bit of equity built up already (no skill on my part, just the market). I also am in love with Costa Rica and have bought a piece of land in coastal guanacaste, which I hope to pay off before Im 30, then build a modest house on it, and pay that off before Im 35. All the while, enjoying my family and friends and working to fund a more immediate realization of ‘retirement’.

    Some may even say my way is too materialistic. I have friends that sold their few items in the US (car and electronics) and moved to the Caribbean island of Dominica with just a few thousand dollars to do charity work. They are having the times of their lives, just living very modestly.

    Im a firm believer of “The things you own, own you”. And all our investments and assets need to be kept in their proper place. We need to live responsibly, but life is too short to be spent worrying about money.

    #185554
    sprite
    Member

    “Most investors have bought into the “investing for the long term” mantra sold to them by the big firms and that’s what they will do, all the way to the bottom.”

    First of all, big firms ( I assume you mean brokerages)don’t make all their money with portfolio management fees. They make a lot of money with trading fees handed over to them by day traders who haven’t learned how quickly they can lose that way. I don;t see any big firms instructing investors to stay put OR to trade a lot.

    Secondly, and more importantly, the bottom, like the top, is an unknown quantity. That is why market timing is doom for most players. The more I observe, the more plainly I see that day trading is a sucker’s game. And panic selling on a down turn is suicide. Calm adherence to strategy should pay off better.

    To some extent, all investors will end up timing the market to a degree. At points in time, money is retired from the game for spending. But these events should be planned as well as possible based on factors having little or nothing to do with market trends. Chicken Little always has a large contingency following her. And they always end up the same way.

    Edited on Aug 01, 2007 10:57

    #185555
    simondg
    Member

    I agree that a calm adherence to strategy is the way to go and the strategy should be to get out of the market! Why would anyone would be in this market in the first place is beyond me; they should have been out months ago.

    Having said the above it is entirely possible the indices could close above current levels by year end – it’s next year when the fun and games will really start.

    Why take a risk with your money when the evidence points against stocks being a good bet?

    I will go on the record and predict that the Dow Jones will be lower by the clsoe of next year than it is today….any takers?

    #185556
    Alfred
    Member

    Scott’s “Perfect Storm” scenario looks like it is indeed turning into the “Perfect s**t storm.” Countrywide Bank, one of the US’s largest home mortgage lenders, may have to file for bankruptcy.
    I just saw an ad on CBS during the 5 o’clock news for a no income verification loan that would finance up to the full value of the home and, has a cash out option to boot. They were offering loans of 500k for under $1340 a month.
    The madness is still in full swing, with this ongoing foolishness. The stock market continues to take hits, dropping today under 13,000. Now, I just read where inflation is beginning to show signs of slowing down. Are they crazy? We are heading for a recession, or worse, and these idiots are still worried about inflation. The only thing getting inflated here is people’s blood pressure.

    The patients are running the asylum, here in the land of the criminally insane.

    #185557
    Alfred
    Member

    This thread is way down on the list, but still relevant. A friend of mine just returned from Ireland. In the newspaper there he read 38,000 layoffs at companies involved in this subprime mortgage debacle. Add that to the 21,000 in the US.
    He said, some people in Ireland are of the opinion these mortgages were sold to finance buying in trailer parks in the US…I kid you not!
    This practice of subprime lending is still being advertised here. They haven’t learned.
    And the stock market is on the rise again?

    #185558
    DavidCMurray
    Participant

    I’m happy to display my ignorance of the financial markets. Maybe somebody can help.

    In all this subprime mortgage business, who made all the money? Was it the loan officers in the mortgage companies? The mortgage companies who “qualified” borrowers, loaned the money and then bundled the mortgages and sold them to some third party investors? Is it the mortgage service companies who collect the payments (if they’re lucky)?

    Somebody must have come out of this mess smelling pretty good. Who was it?

    #185559
    Alfred
    Member

    Somebody made it, you can be sure of that. There must be a few very happy people, and a very many sad in this affair.
    The rats always get their cheese. Don’t they?

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