Biggest regrets of the older posters here?

[augustabound]

Today's college youth have the hook-up culture.  I guess we're all born too early . . . sigh.

 

I've heard high school.

 

Parties with girls wearing different colour lipstick and the goal is to get as many colours on your..................ahem, "Johnson" as possible.

 

 

 

 

[randomep]

Im in my 20's also---my biggest regret is not having more money in 2008 :)

 

My regret was not putting every penny I had into the market in march 2009!

 

 

[simplefocus]

One of biggest regrets is not discovering CoB&F until the beginning of this year.  There are so many intelligent people on the board. 

[innerscorecard]

Working weekends/evenings.  What a waste of youth.

 

You say that, but what's the alternative? When you're young and working for someone else, it seems that the only differentiating factor that you can control is your availability and dedication.

[petec]

Working weekends/evenings.  What a waste of youth.

 

You say that, but what's the alternative? When you're young and working for someone else, it seems that the only differentiating factor that you can control is your availability and dedication.

 

Quite.  And if the alternative is not saving so much, and having to work weekends and evenings when you're older...

[DTEJD1997]

My biggest regret in life was going to law school.

 

Most graduates of lower tier law schools are unemployed OR underemployed.

 

The schools are a scam.  They put out salary & employment figures that are absolutely false.

 

I work with dozens of younger attorneys.  The stories they tell would send a chill up your spine.  Some of them took over a year to get a job.  Some of them worked for $12/hour.  Some had terrible work conditions.  Some had combinations of all the above...

 

The industry is broken...When you factor in debt, most attorneys will be "working poor" all their lives.

 

Unfortunately, this is starting to spread to other areas of higher education.  People are graduating with such high levels of debt, they will never be able to pay it off....

 

It is a as simple as this...don't borrow more than a nominal amount ($20k) for an education.

 

 

 

[tede02]

At 30, I barely qualify to reply here.  Nonetheless, one regret I have (other than the hot sex regret) is not getting more "hands-on" investing experience in my 20s.  I've had a brokerage account since I was 18 and bought some stocks and mutual funds along the way.  However, once I started reading Buffett, I kind of got locked into this mindset that I needed to read every book in existence about value investing and so on before I was ready to do it myself.  As others here have said, you can only learn so much from reading.  You have to get in the game yourself to gain experience and learn from your mistakes.  So the lesson is start early and don't be afraid to fail. 

 

I also would add that I regret selling two of my favorite businesses after the share prices had appreciated dramatically.  That was back at the end of 2012.  I rationalized the sale for tax reasons.  Both companies should have resided in my portfolio as permanent holdings.  Since I sold, the price of each has just gone up and the proceeds from the sales have been sitting in cash. 

[rpadebet]

My biggest regret is also not getting the value inoculation in time for the 2008-2009 sale. It's like  I just missed the greatest party of our generation.  Who knows when or if ever, I will get another shot at such deals.

 

That said, I am fortunate to have made the mistakes I made. There is nothing like learning from your own mistakes. You can try to learn from other's mistakes, but its just not the same.

 

I would encourage everyone in their 20s to make as many mistakes as one can make, but quickly. The "tuition" is cheaper when you are working off a smaller portfolio  ;)

[Kraven]

What is interesting to me is the number of posters whose biggest regret is having missed out on the bargains of 2008/9.  It was just so obvious they say how cheap things were.  Of course hindsight is always 20/20.  Things could have turned out differently than they did.  BAC, etc could have been nationalized.  Other things could have happened.

 

In any case, since it was so obvious that there was extreme value then, I am surprised that more people aren't salivating at oil and gas.  Sure, there will be losers, but there will also be many winners.  There will be any number of stocks that bought today will be worth multiples in a few years most likely.  But wait, you say, it's not obvious which ones those will be.  Who knows what will happen with the price of oil.  Exactly.  But it wasn't any more clear in 2008/9.  There were winners with banks and losers.  There were winners with leveraged companies and losers. 

 

So you have your chance.  You want a return of those bargains, you've got them.  People say oil and gas is too hard, it belongs in the too hard pile, it's outside of the circle of competence, insert your favorite cliche.  Don't forget, the exact same things were said about financials, etc a few years ago.  You don't get to pick your crisis.  When it comes that's your opportunity.  I suspect in a few years when some of these stocks have become 10 baggers and more people will declare how easy it was back in those days to know that.  A lot of people will probably decide to start looking into the names then.  It's just never easy.

[jay21]

What is interesting to me is the number of posters whose biggest regret is having missed out on the bargains of 2008/9.  It was just so obvious they say how cheap things were.  Of course hindsight is always 20/20.  Things could have turned out differently than they did.  BAC, etc could have been nationalized.  Other things could have happened.

 

Analogous to every regret people can have. The optimal/better course of action is always revealed with the passage of time.

 

While you might be able to learn from others regrets, often ruminating on your own regrets is a massive waste of time. You can't help but imagine a different course of action leading to a better life.

 

It's weird that we often think about regrets and almost never think about our successes and the actions we are satisfied with.

[rpadebet]

What is interesting to me is the number of posters whose biggest regret is having missed out on the bargains of 2008/9.  It was just so obvious they say how cheap things were.  Of course hindsight is always 20/20.  Things could have turned out differently than they did.  BAC, etc could have been nationalized.  Other things could have happened.

 

 

I agree that looking back it looks easy. But I distinctly remember how it was in the investment banks. It was about survivability in most banks. A friend of mine was interviewing at Citi when the stock hit $1. He was offered an internship, but the MD said, "Here is my business card, not sure if it would be worth anything tomorrow, but you would be pretty dumb to accept the offer now"

 

At least I was not referring to banks or insurance companies. Not in 2008 or even early 2009. But after the crisis hit, past midway in 2009 sometime, after QE1 announcement, after the stimulus package was put in place, not at the very bottom of the stock market, regular non-financial businesses were still cheap. I regret missing out on those then.

 

Investing at the bottom tick in banks needed balls of steel. And I am still not sure I would make that bet if it were to happen again. Like you mentioned nationalization, severe dilution etc were a big risk and in an alternative world those could have easily been the reality.

[AzCactus]

What is interesting to me is the number of posters whose biggest regret is having missed out on the bargains of 2008/9.  It was just so obvious they say how cheap things were.  Of course hindsight is always 20/20.  Things could have turned out differently than they did.  BAC, etc could have been nationalized.  Other things could have happened.

 

Analogous to every regret people can have. The optimal/better course of action is always revealed with the passage of time.

 

While you might be able to learn from others regrets, often ruminating on your own regrets is a massive waste of time. You can't help but imagine a different course of action leading to a better life.

 

It's weird that we often think about regrets and almost never think about our successes and the actions we are satisfied with.

 

Hi Jay,

 

I'm no psychologist.  However, I think one reason that people do not think about their successes as often as their regrets is that to an extent success is expected.  I am not saying its easy.  However, if someone spends a lot of time (there's another post about that) researching a stock and things work out that is the expected result for two reasons.  1. The market goes up over time.  2.  The person put all the time in at the beginning and expects to be rewarded.  The regrets basically mean that their is some sort of learning experience that ought to be made and prevented as you mention above. 

[yadayada]

I think it is more simple. There is more to gain from remembering bad stuff. Your brain tries to protect you. Same reason why a angry face in a crowd of happy faces really jumps out. But a happy face in a crowd of angry faces does not jump out.

 

 

[PatientCheetah]

What is interesting to me is the number of posters whose biggest regret is having missed out on the bargains of 2008/9.  It was just so obvious they say how cheap things were.  Of course hindsight is always 20/20.  Things could have turned out differently than they did.  BAC, etc could have been nationalized.  Other things could have happened.

 

In any case, since it was so obvious that there was extreme value then, I am surprised that more people aren't salivating at oil and gas.  Sure, there will be losers, but there will also be many winners.  There will be any number of stocks that bought today will be worth multiples in a few years most likely.  But wait, you say, it's not obvious which ones those will be.  Who knows what will happen with the price of oil.  Exactly.  But it wasn't any more clear in 2008/9.  There were winners with banks and losers.  There were winners with leveraged companies and losers. 

 

So you have your chance.  You want a return of those bargains, you've got them.  People say oil and gas is too hard, it belongs in the too hard pile, it's outside of the circle of competence, insert your favorite cliche.  Don't forget, the exact same things were said about financials, etc a few years ago.  You don't get to pick your crisis.  When it comes that's your opportunity.  I suspect in a few years when some of these stocks have become 10 baggers and more people will declare how easy it was back in those days to know that.  A lot of people will probably decide to start looking into the names then.  It's just never easy.

 

Excellent points, my fingers are crossed :)

[yadayada]

Im only mid 20's but one thing I learned so far is that often the things you dont feel like doing are the most rewarding. Stuff that gives you anxiety, like going some place alone and meeting lot's of new people. Being in a new enviroment. Just being outside your comfort zone in general. I make much more of an effort now to do stuff that scares me. But I wish I started much earlier with that. Outside your comfort zone, taht is where all the good stuff is. Within reason ofcourse.

[frommi]

In any case, since it was so obvious that there was extreme value then, I am surprised that more people aren't salivating at oil and gas.  Sure, there will be losers, but there will also be many winners.  There will be any number of stocks that bought today will be worth multiples in a few years most likely.  But wait, you say, it's not obvious which ones those will be.  Who knows what will happen with the price of oil.  Exactly.  But it wasn't any more clear in 2008/9.  There were winners with banks and losers.  There were winners with leveraged companies and losers. 

 

So you have your chance.  You want a return of those bargains, you've got them.  People say oil and gas is too hard, it belongs in the too hard pile, it's outside of the circle of competence, insert your favorite cliche.  Don't forget, the exact same things were said about financials, etc a few years ago.  You don't get to pick your crisis.  When it comes that's your opportunity.  I suspect in a few years when some of these stocks have become 10 baggers and more people will declare how easy it was back in those days to know that.  A lot of people will probably decide to start looking into the names then.  It's just never easy.

 

Thats a dangerous comparison in my view. I am pretty sure that banks looked very cheap in the middle of 2008, too. But when you bought back then, it took a lot of time to get back to even (and in some cases you lost everything). WFC at half of bookvalue was a real bargain, but that would compare to buying XOM near 0.6-0.7 x bookvalue. So wake me up when we are there. (Probably never, but who knows.)

[KCLarkin]

What is interesting to me is the number of posters whose biggest regret is having missed out on the bargains of 2008/9.  It was just so obvious they say how cheap things were.  Of course hindsight is always 20/20.  Things could have turned out differently than they did.  BAC, etc could have been nationalized.  Other things could have happened.

 

In any case, since it was so obvious that there was extreme value then, I am surprised that more people aren't salivating at oil and gas.  Sure, there will be losers, but there will also be many winners.  There will be any number of stocks that bought today will be worth multiples in a few years most likely.  But wait, you say, it's not obvious which ones those will be.  Who knows what will happen with the price of oil.  Exactly.  But it wasn't any more clear in 2008/9.  There were winners with banks and losers.  There were winners with leveraged companies and losers. 

 

So you have your chance.  You want a return of those bargains, you've got them.  People say oil and gas is too hard, it belongs in the too hard pile, it's outside of the circle of competence, insert your favorite cliche.  Don't forget, the exact same things were said about financials, etc a few years ago.  You don't get to pick your crisis.  When it comes that's your opportunity.  I suspect in a few years when some of these stocks have become 10 baggers and more people will declare how easy it was back in those days to know that.  A lot of people will probably decide to start looking into the names then.  It's just never easy.

 

Well I agree that there are bargains in O&G juniors, this is nothing like 2009. A quality company like CNQ is only down 27% peak-to-trough. In 2008/2009, you had companies like BRK and AAPL down 50% from their peaks. Most of the bargains in O&G juniors face real financial distress.

[matjone]

Kraven, is there a particular area you are looking at in o&g?  Offshore drillers, E&P, pipelines, or maybe something else?

[writser]

Biggest regret (investing-wise): spending too much time on stuff like this thread (and other distractions) and too little time on actually valuing obscure companies.

[Kraven]

Kraven, is there a particular area you are looking at in o&g?  Offshore drillers, E&P, pipelines, or maybe something else?

 

Nothing specific.  The main point is simply that there will be winners and losers, just like there is any industry, unless one thinks that going forward we will all drive Teslas and ride bikes. 

[west]

Biggest regret (investing-wise): spending too much time on stuff like this thread (and other distractions) and too little time on actually valuing obscure companies.

 

+1

 

This forum is starting to turn into AskReddit, where people ask (non-investing related) questions that everyone feels they have an answer to (no matter what their age).  Then everyone responds, the thread explodes, and then all the interesting investing related stuff gets drowned out.

 

If people are really interested in these types of generic, everyone-has-a-response questions, check out AskReddit instead of here.  Here are some threads to get you started:

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/search?q=biggest+regret&sort=top&restrict_sr=on

 

Here's all the top AskReddit questions of the last week.

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/top/?sort=top&t=week

 

Have a blast!  And watch the time fly by...

 

And now, let's move on to talking about investing ideas!  Please!

 

Harrumph!

 

[compoundinglife]

Biggest regret (investing-wise): spending too much time on stuff like this thread (and other distractions) and too little time on actually valuing obscure companies.

 

+1

 

This forum is starting to turn into AskReddit, where people ask (non-investing related) questions that everyone feels they have an answer to (no matter what their age).  Then everyone responds, the thread explodes, and then all the interesting investing related stuff gets drowned out.

 

If people are really interested in these types of generic, everyone-has-a-response questions, check out AskReddit instead of here.  Here are some threads to get you started:

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/search?q=biggest+regret&sort=top&restrict_sr=on

 

Here's all the top AskReddit questions of the last week.

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/top/?sort=top&t=week

 

Have a blast!  And watch the time fly by...

 

And now, let's move on to talking about investing ideas!  Please!

 

Harrumph!

 

This is the "general discussion" part of the forum, no one is forcing anyone to read threads in this section.

[west]

Biggest regret (investing-wise): spending too much time on stuff like this thread (and other distractions) and too little time on actually valuing obscure companies.

 

+1

 

This forum is starting to turn into AskReddit, where people ask (non-investing related) questions that everyone feels they have an answer to (no matter what their age).  Then everyone responds, the thread explodes, and then all the interesting investing related stuff gets drowned out.

 

If people are really interested in these types of generic, everyone-has-a-response questions, check out AskReddit instead of here.  Here are some threads to get you started:

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/search?q=biggest+regret&sort=top&restrict_sr=on

 

Here's all the top AskReddit questions of the last week.

 

http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/top/?sort=top&t=week

 

Have a blast!  And watch the time fly by...

 

And now, let's move on to talking about investing ideas!  Please!

 

Harrumph!

 

This is the "general discussion" part of the forum, no one is forcing anyone to read threads in this section.

 

Harrumph!

 

[Liberty]

Some people are investing hipsters. They publicly complain about what other people are doing, implying that they're better than them, etc. It's a lot more annoying than people discussing whatever they want to discuss without forcing anyone to participate.

 

Don't like it. Skip it. What is a waste of time for you might not be a waste for someone who is at a different point in their life journey, or who simply has different tastes and priorities.

 

Nobody needs to know how OG Investor you are because you only think about 10Ks 24/7 in between reading your daily 500 pages...

[writser]

I was trying to say that it is relatively easy (for me) to get sidetracked: I was working on updating price-targets for a few stocks I own but here I am again, posting stupid stuff in a stupid thread. All the time I wasted on the internet ..  :P

 

They publicly complain about what other people are doing, implying that they're better than them, etc.

Hmm. I thought that was exactly what value investing is all about.