best/worst investment decision you made

Moorepart

Pal wrote:

My best has been buying a flat from the council. Made over £100k in 3 years without putting down any deposit. Just to add that I have actually sold this flat and am now holding the cash, so this is not the notional profit that most people boast about when discussing house prices.

My best and worst share deals were both Marconi. I bought at about 15p and sold at about 36p. I then waited a few weeks, then bought at about 23p (they had fallen back from about 40p so I was expecting another rise). They fell to 9p when I sold before collapsing completely. Luckily I didn't have much money involved..

I am going to go off topic here but this I cannot resist :



So given that you must have been at least 18 years old in 1987 to be trading options, you must now be at least 36 years old? Given that you made lots of money on your options, why are you still living at home with your parents?

What's Wong with living with parents,If Deemy wants 2 live with his/her parents,that's his/her choice,I think you better take it back,you have 2 resist:shhh:

deemy2004

I was not trading options I was trading stock index futures via IG index.

I was 19... so close

The problem is when you win a lot of money it goes to your head as it did to my head... I thought I was on my way to becoming a millionaire !

I went from trading ftse and dow futures to trading EVERYTHING ! Crude, copper, soya, wheat, sugar, you name it I had dipped my toes into it... and offcourse proceeded to lose about half what I made on the crash during the next 18 months....

Then got lost in the wonderful world of TA for the next 5 years trying to find the holygrail of predicting markets.. Well it does NOT EXIST ! Its not elliotwaves, its not Gann, Not automated trading system or any of the Technical Analysis related garbage ! ............... YOur getting my all worked up over my wilderness years ! when I had squaring of price and time, cardinel squres, and delta waves coming out of my ears... ........



....................

Yeh I am with my parents... You can tell that I am very comfortable in this position.. both from moneytarily and family point of view... babysitting problems ? none .... :rotfl: ..... I have the luxury of biding my time for house prices to fall or my liquid assets to continue to explode upwards ! Especially if the FTSE keeps soaring !

sneekymum

I think living with your parents as an independant adult is a fine thing - this country need s more of that - while we don't live with Mother the day will come when she moves in with us and we have to charge her a market rent to get over all that pre-owned assetts rubbish...

The thing is - we have these neighbours - just a mum in her late 60s(?) and her son and daughter (40s?) who never grew up and are still there. She has them in bed by 10pm (no not together....). They do go to work but come straight home (and do their homework?) - they don't play out like the other children though I often hear her tell them off.......I think they represent the WEIRD that folks think of when they hear you live at home.

deemy2004

Its funny, cos in many culures, i.e. european - France and Especially Italy its seen as normal.

In Britain there is a tendency not for all, but for many to distance themselves from parents and hence bung them off to the old folks homes...

System

deemy2004 wrote:

Its funny, cos in many culures, i.e. european - France and Especially Italy its seen as normal.

In Britain there is a tendency not for all, but for many to distance themselves from parents and hence bung them off to the old folks homes...

but dont your mother do your head in? I left home at 17 to get away from mine and i am still running.

aliasojo

Without doubt my worst mistake was selling my Mother's Edinburgh flat for £35,000 on her death a few years prior to the first date below.


Dec 2001......flat then sold for £68,5000
July 2002 (7 months later!)......sold for £110,000
July 2003.....sold for £140,000
Oct 2004.....sold for £162,000

Feel sick every time I think about it!

sneekymum

In 1993 we didn't buy a large shop with a five bedroom apartment over and large garden at rear in that prime spot - the square next to the Iron Bridge (in Ironbridge...) for £80K. Half of the shop space is now a bank and the other half a teddy bear shop - just think of te rental value........

deemy2004

Judi wrote:

but dont your mother do your head in? I left home at 17 to get away from mine and i am still running.

Sometimes........

But I'm out a lot and so is she...

ReportInvestor

deemy2004 wrote:

But I was on the RIGHT side of the 1987 crash with short positions all the way down.... X15 my closing account balance from the preceding Friday to the opening of Wall Street on the following Tuesday afternoon

Nice one. Just about my worst was to sell a put position on the index in September 1987 while retaining all my unit trusts / equities.

Best long term one is holding on to some quality equity income unit trusts like Jupiter and Perpetual since 1995/6 & reinvesting the dividends. Gains are approaching 200%.

Gambler

Jean Van De Velde to win the Open..........I was counting the money and then he went nuts on the last hole !!