How did you perform during the recession?

chucknorris

Thrugelmir wrote: »

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.

I know what you mean, but I felt that when the ftse was creeping towards 6,000, it really caught me off guard when it got into the mid 6,000's and above.

Thrugelmir

chucknorris wrote: »

I know what you mean, but I felt that when the ftse was creeping towards 6,000, it really caught me off guard when it got into the mid 6,000's and above.

FTSE has risen, but the underlying financial results haven't been great on an individual basis during 2013. So share selection is critical. I've a list of shares that I track. Unless the price dips to a level that I consider to offer value. Then I don't buy.

LydiaJ

chucknorris wrote: »

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

Not much, I'm afraid. 4-bed detached houses in the catchment for excellent state schools tend to hold up better than some other kinds of property, and prices here have been pretty static. There was a bit of a dip around 2008, but I wasn't in a position to buy then. I got it in January 2011 for about 10% more than it would have been in late 2008 or early 2009. You're right, though, that the state of the economy meant that it hadn't kept on rising between 2007 and 2011 at the rate it had been rising during 2000-2007.

I'm happy, though, that I've got a lovely house in a nice area and my kids can go to a good school.

michaels

Edit: DW says my performance was as disappointing as usual.

Swings and roundabouts really. Put a decent amount of cash in a 5yr fixed rate 5% (with a 90 days get out clause) that was basically stoozed from the mortgage that fell to 2.5% so that was nice. Traded up house in 2010 but both sale and purchase were probably about 5% down from peak and the difference wasn't great, purchase was a 'potential to extend' which may have been cheaper because builders weren't active at the time (sale and purchase were agreed Q3 2009). Spent 14 months on short time (40%) from work but less tax and lots of tax credits helped and used the time to project manage the extension to my house that I would have had to pay some one to do if I had been working full time. Bought a btl in October 13 (price agreed in June), again a fixer upper, this time with competition from developers but I suspect the market has been kind to me since. Should have been much bolder with shares but to much a beleiver in the efficient market hypothesis, my pension is invested in a moderately adventurous fund so I rationalise that using cash and property for my non-pension assets is a fair trade off. Currently over provisioning pension quite considerably for tax and benefits reasons although perhaps not the best time to do so but it still realistically has 20 years to run, the sort of time frame where trying to time the market makes less sense.

So I will give myself a generous 5 out of 10, generally muddled through but excessive caution prevented a lot of possible gains.

Graham_Devon

To me, and I have to make out I'm at pains to point out this is not directed at anyone on here, just a general observation....

...this thread just highlights the more common theory out there at the moment.

The rich got richer and the poor got poorer.

If you have / had the means to invest surplus cash you can make the most of the gains. Theres been a lot of support for the markets and assets, especially QE.

Your everyday joe without the means to invest in shares, property, other asets (the sort of person who works and pays their bills with little income to spare....i.e. a high swathe of the country) have seen bills increase and wages stagnate.

It's a bit like the "buy now, or you will miss the boat" analogy. That's fine if you have the means to buy now. But if you don't, you can do little about it other than hope that your fortunes change or the market doesn't keep racing away from you.

As I say again, I'm at pains to state I am not looking at anyone on this thread, just making an observation from the comments put forward at authors own free will. It appears those who did well, did very well, probably better than in "normal" economic times. Whereas those who just survive, work to pay the bills and get by have little or no chance of doing anything to "prosper" from the recession.

Personally, I (and my colleagues as we've discussed this) are happy to have just got through without being hit by anything major. Buying one house would be a major achievement, let alone additional ones. I know neighbours who have lost out due to the economic circmstances, and they have had a very hard time of it.

CLAPTON

Graham_Devon wrote: »

To me, and I have to make out I'm at pains to point out this is not directed at anyone on here, just a general observation....

...this thread just highlights the more common theory out there at the moment.

The rich got richer and the poor got poorer.

If you have / had the means to invest surplus cash you can make the most of the gains. Theres been a lot of support for the markets and assets, especially QE.

Your everyday joe without the means to invest in shares, property, other asets (the sort of person who works and pays their bills with little income to spare....i.e. a high swathe of the country) have seen bills increase and wages stagnate.

It's a bit like the "buy now, or you will miss the boat" analogy. That's fine if you have the means to buy now. But if you don't, you can do little about it other than hope that your fortunes change or the market doesn't keep racing away from you.

As I say again, I'm at pains to state I am not looking at anyone on this thread, just making an observation from the comments put forward at authors own free will. It appears those who did well, did very well, probably better than in "normal" economic times. Whereas those who just survive, work to pay the bills and get by have little or no chance of doing anything to "prosper" from the recession.

Personally, I (and my colleagues as we've discussed this) are happy to have just got through without being hit by anything major. Though I won't take that for granted. I know neighbours who have lost out due to the economic circmstances, and they have had a very hard time of it.

so a totally unrepresentative selection of posts, leads you to the conclusion you would have reached without reading a single post.

Graham_Devon

CLAPTON wrote: »

so a totally unrepresentative selection of posts, leads you to the conclusion you would have reached without reading a single post.

It didn't lead to a conclusion.

I stated "it highlights the common theory". I.e. the conclusion was already there. This thread just highlights it with the comments put forward....in my very humble opinion.

wotsthat

Graham_Devon wrote: »

To me, and I have to make out I'm at pains to point out this is not directed at anyone on here, just a general observation....

...this thread just highlights the more common theory out there at the moment.

The rich got richer and the poor got poorer.

Nah. If you've done shoite you generally don't brag about it on the internet.

I started a thread about making 19% on my sipp the other day - wouldn't have been doing that if it had been -19%.

michaels

I would agree that the 'recession' has highlighted a divide between the returns to those with skills that are not subject to competition from migrants and outsourcing and those who don't but I don't think it has 'caused' the issue.

Similarly I think there still remains the possibility of 'making your own luck', my net household income is probably pretty similar to a lot of those 'hard working families' who are struggling but I have always chosen to live off a minimal income and invested many hours each week in making sure I got the best deal on everything I have to spend. Yes it is dull but it means I had some slack when my income fell unexpectedly and by fully leveraging my house I had some capital to invest when the opportunity arose.

Graham_Devon

wotsthat wrote: »

Nah. If you've done shoite you generally don't brag about it on the internet.

I started a thread about making 19% on my sipp the other day - wouldn't have been doing that if it had been -19%.

Well in all honesty, I didn't see people bragging, infact I was only just about to, after reading michaels post, suggest he should give himself 10/10. Seems like he's made massive movements forward, even if he could have made more.

Maybe I shouldn't have said anything at all. I just thought this thread (and again, at pains not to highlight anyone or direct it at anyone) highlights the common theory that this recession has made the "rich" richer and the poor poorer.

Just look at London for instance. Who would have thought at the time of the crash that the financial hub of europe would turn out to be the safe haven of europe. It's a bizzare turn of events where the most exposed city (arguably) becomes the safe haven. Who would have thought that bankers would have been some of the greatest beneficiaries of the crash? Who would have thought those investing in financial shares would have seen the massive turnaround? As said on here, it's surprised even the investors!