STOCK MARKET

         So far, the news hasn’t posted anything about people jumping out of buildings or blowing their brains out because of the stock market. At least as far as I know; and since I don’t watch any news beyond the crawl on Good Morning America, I suppose it could have happened. I’m trying not to look at my accounts and dwell on the damage they’ve suffered over the last couple of weeks.

          When I first invested in the stock market on my own, I had just a couple of thousand dollars to play with. I took a couple of classes on investing and did ask one of the instructors if he’d invest my money for me. But it was too little…he was after big money investors. One of the things he did tell the class, however, was that he could put every single penny he had into Starbucks stock and sleep like a baby at night.

          With that instruction in mind, I did a bit of research and signed up for an E-trade account. Initially, I bought Starbucks, Immunex and Esterline Industries, all Northwest stocks. Fortunately for me, Starbucks split a couple of times, so I ended up with the most stock in that company. Immunex was purchased by Amgen, and I received a few Amgen stocks and a bit of money. Just last year, Esterline was bought by some other company, but they only gave me cash. Their stock price was quite high, so I understand why they didn’t want to provide stock.

          Along the way as my account grew steadily, I never took out dividends or any other earnings, but re-invested in companies I researched and decided would be good investments. With the exception of two, which I keep hoping will turnaround, I’ve done very well. At least until the last two weeks. Fortunately for me I’m not sure how to figure out the percentage I’ve lost…and don’t bother providing me with the information on how to do it. I don’t want to know. The last time I looked which was last Friday, I was both saddened and disconcerted because while I’d lost a lot, I’d actually gained some that day.

          When I left City of Seattle employment, I took the funds I’d paid into the retirement system as well as the City’s match. The Zoo Society set up a 403b account and I paid into that for another ten years. When I made the decision to retire, I almost made a huge mistake and signed up for an annuity. Thank heavens I didn’t, because the person doing the sale was selling me the worst annuity you could buy at that time.

          Again, I did some research and bought a couple of books. Using that information, I decided to move my money out of the 403b into an IRA with Fidelity. I’ve been very pleased with the staff and the way my money has done in the last eight years…except for the last two weeks. I also looked at that account last Friday and was pleased to see it had increased by thousands that day. I haven’t looked since because it was already down thousands before last Friday and I’m sure it’s down again.

          In the past in talking about retirement and finances, I often joked about how when I became homeless, I’d cook my cat food on the manifold of my car…do cars even have manifolds anymore? I also joked about knocking on friends’ doors and asking to take a quick shower and do some laundry. I was just joking then and am still joking now. My social security is enough to get me by if the stock market takes an even bigger dive. It just wouldn’t be enough to allow me to spend freely on frivolous stuff or travel much farther than the end of my driveway…which I’m not supposed to do these days anyway.

          I feel very fortunate to be in okay shape when it comes to my finances. I hope the majority of people who depend on stock market returns are doing okay too   and will continue to do so until it begins to make money again, whenever that may be. Meanwhile, I’m going to refuse to look at my accounts and say a prayer of thankfulness when I see the social security deposit in my checking account.