How did you perform during the recession?

chucknorris

Joeskeppi wrote: »

I saved a small fortune thanks to low interest on my mortgage.

Me too, but I was looking at what I did by choice (or rather what I didn't do) than merely passive gain. Overall I have done quite well from the recession, but I could have done a lot better by being more pro active.

nearlyrich

I don't have a portfolio of property just the one we live in which is worth 4 times what we paid for it and the mortgage went in 2000. I have two lots of shares in their own right and pensions/ISAs and Unit trusts (Investments)


My Investments made more profit than I did from working last year, I have a high salaried job so I can't complain and one lot of shares is above the price I paid for 666 units for the 166 I didn't cash in when they hit a high a good few years ago, the others are the remains of my Halifax freebies which dropped like a stone a while ago and have never recovered.

Loughton_Monkey

I am in a very good position to determine this because I retired at the start of 2006 with a detailed financial plan that didn't includes a recession.

I would point out that (for this purpose) I use an accounting method that treats pension assets in a similar way as would an actuary. In other words, I have an accurate value of the 'fund', and even when crystalised, I don't classify this as "income" but as a 'drawdown' from the fund, which continues to earn 'bond interest' but dwindles down to nothing over the life expectancy.

Although to some it might sound perverse, but a plan such as this tends to show small increases in total wealth for a few years [mainly because some pensions continue to grow and not be drawn down yet, plus house value assumes growth until downsizing] but it is less than inflation. In a few years the actual £amount value falls as well - due to the fact that my spending is fully inflation linked, but assets are rising less than this.

So I looked specifically at the full 6 year period between the start of 2008 and the end of 2013. Over this period, my plan has my total assets increasing by 9.4% for the full 6 years. i.e. between 1% and 2% a year. When looking at the actual figures, I find myself with assets some 17.5% higher. So far, therefore, it has all turned out rather well.

A glance at the actual years tells me that my total assets dropped 8.8% in 2008, but bounced back by 11.5% in 2009. This put me within a whisker of where my plan showed. Since then, I note that 2010 was a "good" year, while 2011 was just another whisker below plan. 2012 and 2013 were, however, very good years - hence the total large 'surplus'. I was already in 'surplus' after 2006/7 which obviously helped.

Having held off for 8 years in adjusting my original plan (that I still stick to), I am starting to think it worthwhile consolidating the substantial "surplus" and ramping up my lifestyle. Anything left will ultimately go to charity, but although I'm happy with that, I would rather spend most of it myself......

aardvaak

chucknorris wrote: »

When I used the term recession I don't mean the technical definition of a recession I just mean the downturn in the economy generally related to house and share prices.


I think I performed almost as badly as the English cricket team:

Houses
Despite looking to buy, we didn't actually buy any additional houses, nothing was for sale in our area and criteria (3 double bedrooms). By the time we widened our target area and loosened our criteria to include 2 double with one single bedroom (much more common) it was too late, and our market has now risen at least 25%.

Shares
Again a very poor performance, plenty of opportunity to invest for the long term at sub 5,500 ftse levels. But I only invested comparatively small amounts and then took short term profits (what on earth was I thinking). Eventually I invested more for the long term, but at about an average ftse level of 6,200. My only defence is that I don't have a lot of experience with the stock market and I was erring on the side of caution, but my portfolio was screaming out for more shares for diversity and balance.

EDIT: I am probably doing now what the English cricket team are, looking back and thinking how on earth did I play that so badly?

Surely the question should read:-

How are you performing during the recession?

Not

How did you perform during the recession?

The latter suggests it's all over now which it obviously isn't

chucknorris

aardvaak wrote: »

Surely the question should read:-

How are you performing during the recession?

Not

How did you perform during the recession?

The latter suggests it's all over now which it obviously isn't

I think you somehow managed to overlook the first sentence:

When I used the term recession I don't mean the technical definition of a recession I just mean the downturn in the economy generally related to house and share prices.

As far as buying shares and London property cheaply it is over!

LydiaJ

Since 2007 I have kept my job. I am no longer renting and now own a house to live in. I no longer need to worry about pathetic interest rates eroding my savings because I have sunk almost all of them into my house.

But then the massive injection of cash in 2009 that made house buying possible for me was really nothing at all to do with the state of the economy.

Thrugelmir

Bought current property in July 2007. Still worth less today than what we paid for it. What property bubble?

Happy with performance of share portfolio. Though feel uneasy as if there's a correction looming. So looking closely at what to invest in during 2014.

wotsthat

Higher than inflation pay rises, decent bonuses and low rates on mortgage.

Bought a holiday home post-correction (not a chance before), furnished at bargain basement prices.

Big hit taken on sipp in 2008 but kept paying in more than I could really afford and not looked back since.

House is worth less than it was in 2008 - couldn't give a monkey's

chucknorris

LydiaJ wrote: »

But then the massive injection of cash in 2009 that made house buying possible for me was really nothing at all to do with the state of the economy.

But surely the state of the economy reduced the price that you had to pay for your house.

thescouselander

I did spectacularly on the shares. Nothing exotic, just FTSE 100 companies bought and sold at the right time with a decent dividend included. I spent my gains on upgrading to a better house.