Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[ylr]

This is more for my amusement than sour grapes... Back in 2002, Kmart filed for bankruptcy. My work's 401K plan at the time allowed you to go and buy and sell individual stocks, so when Kmart's stock cratered, I bought $5000 in Kmart stock at pennies per share, thinking that they would eventually rebound, and I would make some good money. Thanks to Mr. Lampert and the courts, in 2003, they dissolved all the old stock, making my stock worthless.

Now, the fun part....

If I had bought Apple stock instead of Kmart, since the stock's value has risen by 500 times since 1/1/2003, my $5K investment would be worth $2.5 million now! 

But wait, there's more....

If I had sold the Apple stock on 12/31/ 2011, it would have been worth about $271,522. If I took that money, and invested it in Tesla, my original 5K investment would now be worth (as of last Friday) $20,358,322!!!!! 

Anyone else have any good "what ifs" ? 

[Bar-B-Lew]

None as economically painful as yours

[02ebz06]

Similar, but not as big.

Back in the Dot Com days, Wife and I both worked for Dish and were able to buy stock at 85 cents on the dollar at the end of the quarter.
Stock was about $32 a share I think then and it went up over a $100 three times and split.
When We sold it, we made about $40,000 I think.
If we would have rode it out, we both had maxed our purchase of the stock every quarter, we could have made about $900,000 to a million.

When I was a kid, would buy comics, read them, then trade with friends.
Had no idea how collectible and valuable comic books would be.
The Amazing Spiderman #1 in NM-M condition has sold for near a million dollars in recent years.

In later years, instead of buying a particular character or series, I started buying just #1 issues.
When The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came out, I though, "that's a stupid book" and didn't buy any.
Turns out, a first printing #1 issue in mint condition goes for about $18,000.
Wasn't the book that was stupid... 

[ICIdaho]

Sounds like my experience with investing in stocks.  Always on the wrong side.  Mutual funds seem to treat me better.

[hughver]

I retired 25+ years ago with a sizable number of company stock options valued at $15 that I sold for $45 a few years later. That stock is now worth $300+ a share.  Not as drastic as yours but still nothing to sneeze at. 

[pmillen]

Yeah.  I discovered that my crystal ball is a lucite fake.

[SmokinHandyman]

You all should listen to Dave Ramsey

[02ebz06]

Yeah.  I discovered that my crystal ball is a lucite fake.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

[okie smokie]

I have no ill thoughts on what might have been. Cause if my parents had believed in contraception, I might not have been here at all.   

[dk117]

in 2001 or so Oregon Steel Mill was down to .06 a share,  a Russian govt entity purchased at $6 a share 5 years later.   $10K investment and I could have been retired in 2006.  Oops, missed that boat. 

DK

PS don't let this motivate you to play the stock market.   S&P 500 stay the course. 

[Canadian John]

 There is investing and there is gambling. Similar in many ways.

[Bentley]

When I worked along side my Dad in the Market as a Registered Representative, we would here someone comment that the market was like gambling.  The difference is, there are odds in gambling, none in the Stock Market.

There is investing and there is gambling. Similar in many ways.

[ylr]

In all honesty, I would've never let any $5K investment sit there and accrue; the plant I worked at closed in 2005, and I cashed out my 401K(and took a big tax hit) to make ends meet until I got back on my feet again. I probably would've had to dip in it again in '09 when I was laid off for 11 months. I wouldn't dare get into the stock market now!

[smokin soon]

Met this guy overseas. He got out of the Air Force around 1981 as a Helicopter Tech. Got offered a sweet deal on an 18 month contract in the Mideast. Common for those days, they were restricted to a compound, got flown home every 6months for a break. He came home with about 70k at the end. Determined to dump it on the best Ski Boat and 4x4 out there, his Father put the kibosh on that insisting that he invest 50k. He invested in an unknown company, Microsoft.

[Bentley]

If you would have put $1000 in Microsoft when it went public in 1986 and never touched it, it would be worth 1.6 million today!  (Not accounting for taxes)