Be the bid!

[OneFootInTheGrave]

3% fee is nothing... given how low the market is, there are bound to be some serious bear market rallies in near future (next few days even?)...

if you have no other debts... risk of losing it all is not too bad (*dependable on your reasonably expected future earnings)... so if you can afford wasting it - just in case the worst happens - this is the time to enter and make some serious returns

[Jon Miller]

Maybe I can put some of my living money in and take out student loans to live on?

I have thought about diong that before.

JM

[OneFootInTheGrave]

acid test is "can I lose it all" and not worry... because it will be worry and greed that will be your worst enemy when making investing decisions anyway... but if you cannot afford to just waste the money that will just heighten the emotional irrationality factor in a "normal" human (like myself ), so it will be almost assured self-destruction...

unless you are abnormally cool, or an experienced investor - I would not advise putting in the money you cannot "waste" and get over relatively easy.

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by OneFootInTheGrave
US is different, Canada like Argentina - could disappear, and the world would just say "oh"... with US - due to everything being dollar denominated, this would bring all sorts of "issues" out...

while US is not exactly like monolines, going bust if they are not AAA, it will make it a lot harder to come back into shape than it already is... I don't think we can predict the effects, but it surely will add further loss of confidence and instability worldwide, deepening and prolonging the depression substantially...

I don't know if AAA to AA+ is really going to be that big a deal.

And don't compare Canada to Argentina. We were never actually in danger of defaulting. Plus our GDP is like 6X theirs. The difference between the US and Canada is almost the same as the difference between Canada and Argentina in terms of global impact.

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by OneFootInTheGrave
acid test is "can I lose it all" and not worry... because it will be worry and greed that will be your worst enemy when making investing decisions anyway... but if you cannot afford to just waste the money that will just heighten the emotional irrationality factor in a "normal" human (like myself ), so it will be almost assured self-destruction...

unless you are abnormally cool, or an experienced investor - I would not advise putting in the money you cannot "waste" and get over relatively easy.

I'm a pretty experienced poker player. I really don't care that much about losses as long as I make good decisions.

[OneFootInTheGrave]

bring it on than

*good decisions might not be so obvious as odds in poker though

[KrazyHorse]

I agree. My money would go wholly into index funds. As should almost everybody else's.

I think it's pretty obvious that people are in a panic right now and are therefore excessively risk-averse.

[OneFootInTheGrave]

in other news Citigroup finally sinking "properly"
http://www.cnbc.com/id/27829308 (ehhh which thread should I use? ... so I am posting here)

how low will it go? my prediction - 0 or some serious share dilution via some sort of bailout ala AIG.

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
I agree. My money would go wholly into index funds. As should almost everybody else's.

I think it's pretty obvious that people are in a panic right now and are therefore excessively risk-averse.

Would you go on student loan money (I have some left over after covering my credit card which started having a balance, but I am worried about moving/finding a job)?

JM

[DanS]

Citibank still has $800 billion of off-balance sheet vehicles, according to the WSJ. Tread carefully, since some of those may end up on the balance sheet and written down. Citibank only has about $25 billion in stock market value to cushion further write-downs.

Also, I've heard that most of Citibank's deposits are not FDIC insured -- they reside in overseas affiliates. Citibank has few retail branches in the US. While the US is not Iceland, overseas depositors may cause a run on the bank.

[Naked Gents Rut]

My bank account and student loans are with Citi. I hope I'm not going to get screwed if they go under.

[Jon Miller]

What is the worse that could happen to your student loans?

Mine are with BoA.

JM

[Naked Gents Rut]

What is the worse that could happen to your student loans?

Not much. Worst case is that I would have to get the loans for next semester from somewhere else. I'm more worried about my deposits. Not exactly sure how the FDIC actually works.

[Jon Miller]

Up yo 100k or something is insured. However, it could take you a while to get it. If you are really concerned, then split it to two banks and have enough to survive a month or two in another bank.

JM

[Naked Gents Rut]

Up yo 100k or something is insured.

It's 250k now.

However, it could take you a while to get it.

This is what I worry about.