Str

fc123

I just realised I quoted the wrong thing Mewbie. Gambling? I have taken massive risks over the years and some paid off and some didn't. I must find the JulieQ post (recent) on no risk, no gain....but it took 1000 words or so, It was a good post too.

PasturesNew

The trouble with gambling is you have to know that there's something about you that can potentially regain the lost ground, or at least get you back at some future point to the base point.

I've never had that confidence. If I gambled and lost £100k it would wipe me out for life, forever. I don't have the skills or support or anything to get back anywhere near the starting point.

For a young couple, with manual skills, each other etc, it's easier to see how one might risk a whole bunch of money and lose it and recover. As a project manager with an eye on contingency, I'd have to feed into my spreadsheet:

1 person, fail by £20k, live in bedsit, get low paid job, save hard to pay back the £20k, which could take about 20 years.

A couple, fail by £20k, live in bedsit, both get low paid jobs, save hard to pay back the £20k, could take them 2 years.

And that's mostly what's prevented me taking risks: better the bird in the hand for me.

fc123

PasturesNew wrote: »

The trouble with gambling is you have to know that there's something about you that can potentially regain the lost ground, or at least get you back at some future point to the base point.

I've never had that confidence. If I gambled and lost £100k it would wipe me out for life, forever. I don't have the skills or support or anything to get back anywhere near the starting point.

For a young couple, with manual skills, each other etc, it's easier to see how one might risk a whole bunch of money and lose it and recover. As a project manager with an eye on contingency, I'd have to feed into my spreadsheet:

1 person, fail by £20k, live in bedsit, get low paid job, save hard to pay back the £20k, which could take about 20 years.

A couple, fail by £20k, live in bedsit, both get low paid jobs, save hard to pay back the £20k, could take them 2 years.

And that's mostly what's prevented me taking risks: better the bird in the hand for me.

It would be the same whether a couple or a single as just means 2 in the bedsit rather than one...often the stressout means one leaves the other too.

It's a mindset .....whereby the possible gain is better than the downside of the thing going t1tsup. Sometimes you don't even think of the worst case at all...which sounds a bit lame but, if I think back to this time 12 months ago, and a risk we took, had it gone wrong, we would gave been totally wiped out for years.

I don't gamble as such, don't bother with lottery or anything like that and I played roulette once and found it realy dull.

Running our business is enough of a rollercoaster /gamble ....I don;'t think my stomach could handle putting £££ on horses too.

pingu2209

I sold at the peak in Bristol (a cheap area of Bristol too) and then bought in April 09 in the South East (an expensive area of the South East). I think this saved us at least £150k.

bo_drinker

mewbie wrote: »

What is amazing is that not one single person every admits to having made a mistake. Not one.

I'll be the first. I should have got into BTL big time in 2001, gambled everything and got out in 2006. Would have made a fortune.

Anyone else?

How long have you got?? I could write a book.
It starts at primary school and seems to flow from there really 1968 onwards.
We are currently str but no rent to pay, sold in 08 waiting to pounce on the right one when it comes up, thought we would be here 6 to 8 weeks that was 12 months ago:rolleyes:

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

crusty_toenail wrote: »

I live in Northern Ireland, we had the biggest housing bubble fuelled by Republic of Ireland speculators, now the bubble has burst big time here and in the south, still falling too.

Actually, according to Nationwide, N.I. average prices have risen by 9.5% in the last quarter.

NI saw bigger than average gains, and has also seen bigger than average falls. The worst is over, even there.

PasturesNew

The biggest gambles I take are in getting a takeaway or not.
Seriously.
That's as big as it gets.

STR was a necessity, didn't like the house, couldn't afford to run or fix it, couldn't get any proper jobs ... my driver to STR was having to sell then else I'd be stuck in it another 6-7 years unable to sell it at almost any price.

lostinrates

I'm always amaed at people's confidence in their opinions. I've said so here before. I was told (maybe by mewbie?) it was a ''man thing''. I don't know.

phil_b_2

The only financial blunder I've made is selling some stocks/shares too early. I sold them for about £6k then they increased by 450% over the following 4 weeks. That was a bitter pill to swallow at the time! The extra I woud have got would have been extremely useful.

I've always played it pretty safe and not taken risks with my money so havn't lost much for silly reasons. I'm regretting blowing my student loan like I did though, a bit. Shoulda got a bar job like everyone else.

fc123

lostinrates wrote: »

I'm always amaed at people's confidence in their opinions. I've said so here before. I was told (maybe by mewbie?) it was a ''man thing''. I don't know.

Could be? Or just different personality types.

We can't all be the same. People view risk in different ways. No right way or wrong way, just different.
Likewise where one ends up in life, just a series of luck, good and bad decisions at the time etc.
I have read on this board before that there is no such thing as bad luck (or good) as we make our own luck.
I disagree with that as life is full of unforseen events and happenings that can have massive impact on peoples everyday lives.

I must go find Julieq's post to link up.:o