Stock market

[joepeters752]

Any if you in the stock market & if so, when are you going to bail? Looks very bad lately.

[Kay/NC]

Our exposure is pretty limited. I am a terrible investor, so stick much with munis and such.

I truly believe the market is manipulated by certain interests, and it takes wealth out of most of us, as it did in '08. I know LA has done well with it. We feel safer with our money invested in paying off our land ( done), and in assets like the cattle and haying equipment, which produce income more reliably. There is growing timber, too.

These and the hog operation are " what we know". We also have invested pretty heavily in being able to live less dependently on entities like utility companies. We work at maintaining our health, to prevent excessive medical expenses, too.

I do have some funds that sideline, at certain dropoffs in the exchange. Limits losses. Nkt too much of what we are worth is outbthere for the taking, though. Only invest what you can afford to lose.

[Suey73]

We have quite a few Mutal Funds.   This is in retirement funds.  Overall duing okay.   Better than interest rates .  The only stocks we own are farm industries.    Both of those have paid fairly well.  Kind of like paying yourself  when you get dividends,  since you know you bought their equipment or chemicals.     The only reason we have retirement accounts and IRA's is in hopes of paying less income taxes when we are retired.   Did not work out that way for my in-laws.    I'm in for the long haul.  Rode it out last time.   Basically,  I don't pay any attention to them until  next year when I add or subtract them on the computer farm records to"balance account".    Like Kay,  most of our money is in Land and equipment. 

[Kay/NC]

I should add: Most of our money went into buying land at $600 an acre, that sits on tax books at $3000 per acre now. That is either a decent return over twenty years, or a commentary on how worthlss our dollars have actually become.

" Hard" assets like land, and incoming-producing equipment andbuildings like our hog buildings, feel comfortable to me. I think we do best with what we know.

[joepeters752]

We have some IRA $$ invested in bonds, and less in stocks. Over half is in Roth IRA. Most of this is 403b which is similar to 401k only nonprofit. We still stand to lose she the stock market goes down. The vast majority of our wealth is tied up. I prefer to have some liquid assets. Never know when the farm economy will tank as it has done in the past.

[Kay/NC]

I think it is pretty clear to all that a severe downturn i farm revenue is in progress. Beef cattle are a bright spot, but that will normalize over time, too.

[SLC]

Most of the stock we are heavily invested in has 4 legs..      

[Ruby Lou]

have been thinking about buying something, but haven't yet.  I have my 401k at work, but not worth much yet.  I will be one of those walmart greeters when I get older!   Talked to the banker the other day and voiced about the BTO's.  He said he thought they may be ok this year as they probably sold grain ahead a year or so, but after this year is when its going to get touchy with them.  Also talked about the fact that we didn't have much for equipment loans like some people.  Our grain in the bins will pay off everything right now.  Have been watching the grain markets.  I called my DH the other day and he sold several thousand bushels.  Geez, I didn't really mean for him to do that...now they have gone up a few more cents.  also our regular trucker had some surgery so he is out for awhile, so we are at the mercy of others. Don't think any extra jobs will get done around the farm this year other than getting MIL's house fixed so DS can live there. 

[Kay/NC]

Fixing up a house is enough of a time and money commitment for ine year. I did four in one year, and a roof on a fifth one the next. Still recovering financially and mentally/physically from all of that!

We bought a good amount of equipment ( Mule, tractor, baler and discbine, plus two expensive boilers) already this year. Ckws and handling equipment for them last year. With those and the houses, plus paying off the mortgage on Jenna's rental house in NC in 2012, our cash is at a real ebb point.

That bothers me on one level, but it wasn't earning us anything in interest. I have to tell myself that it is all directed towards either earning or saving us money in the next twenty years and beyond. It gives me some important peace of mind not to be totally dependent upon these Chinese owners of our integrator. That is priceless.