BRS, we definitely DO NOT disagree.
I don’t think that I am going to state anything that I don’t think you already know.
I don’t know what a “ton” of cash is, He said “a bunch of dollars” and that means different things to different people.
I know people that have had excellent success with property managers, and do little other than deposit checks and read their reports on multi units. I realize that it’s not for everybody. It’s only on paper, but their net worth is great based on returns on their original investment.
Had they paid cash for their house, they would only own ONE property free and clear.
I’ll be the first to point out that leverage can make you rich when you are right BUT it will multiply your losses when you are wrong.
Most wealthy people got there by gains in real estate. Either land or buildings. Leverage is the key.
A 10% gain in real estate can be equal to a 50% gain in stocks.
I think having a PILE of cash today is very conservative, but to each his own, Some people are totally risk averse, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Many people are getting less than 4%, and THAT to me IS silly when you can get around 5.5% FDIC insured.
I personally wouldn’t have any money in the stock market that I couldn’t afford to lose 100%, I think that the stock market has more yahoos involved that don’t know what they are doing than the housing market did. They aren’t financing 100% in stocks, but they also think that the “market” only goes up. I wouldn’t WANT to lose 100%, but many people are counting on the stock market for their retirement gravy train. Shades of 1929 all over again.
Some day reality may kick in to the stock market just like it has with housing, except that while housing is regional,
a downturn in stocks will affect every single square inch of this country and beyond our borders, just like the mortgage mess has. Maybe it won’t happen.
Money CAN be made in stocks, but I pity the people that get left holding the bag. Just two short years ago nobody thought that housing bubble would pop, and many people still don’t accept it today.
I also consider metals or commodities risky. One of these days those guys on late night TV that scream about gold being $1000 might be right, but how much will a gallon of gas or milk be ??
Fortunes will be made, and you can make money from panics and manias when you time it right. Many people just don’t understand cycles.
