- The Black Monday decline was—and currently remains—the largest one-day percentage decline in the DJIA. (Saturday, December 12, 1914, is sometimes erroneously cited as the largest one-day percentage decline of the DJIA. In reality, the ostensible decline of 24.39% was created retroactively by a redefinition of the DJIA in 1916.
Man, crazy shit went down economically in 1987. I had a tiny savings and investment account that was piped out and fully recovered in time for the dot-bomb a decade later.
One of my friends' dads was as close as you could get to being a daytrader back then. We saw the news and figured he was wiped out. Turns out he borrowed heavily on margin, bought a bunch of shit and then sold it a day later. Dude cleared six figures. Buy tha muthafukin dip. Unless it isn't a dip. Except it's always a dip. But do you have the stamina to wait it out. I hate equities.
I was five years out of school in 2008 when the Dow was losing like crazy. I lost what felt like a lot at the time. My 401k had me buying biweekly, and I opened an IRA. The stuff I bought then is killing it now. There will be another bust cycle, and I'll keep buying. I have a ways to go to retire.
I knew one thing in 2004: every economy in the world would outstrip the US. I was right. I knew one thing in 2008: I had no idea what would happen but I figured it would be tumultuous. I was right. My mistake was in putting my funds in a vehicle that locks them up for ten years without the ability to collect dividends. But realistically speaking, I've got about as much money in 2016 as I would if I'd slapped my money in an index fund in 2008. Once you ignore the dividends. Which are currently making enough that it hurts to ignore them. Fuckin' money managers.
Thread res. I was gonna post this today, but it looks like francopoli beat me to the punch by a whopping year.