Lost money in stock market.... what now?

[JDawg1536]

It's a ****ing casino bro.

If you don't know how to short stocks, you are one of the sheep the MMs will continue to take money from.

NOONE should be in anything other than cash unless you are a pro.

Seriously, reading some of the posts on this thread make me want to vomit...Telling you to hold 5-10 years, or 20+ years because "it will come back" is false hope.

Cash out of everything, take the tax loss now, and buy back your holdings in 35 days if you REALLY want to gamble.

I don't quite get how you equate the stock market to a casino. And what "false hope" would you have by holding on to shares? Tax break is only 30 days, so reinvest on day 31. 35 works too though.

[daem]

I don't quite get how you equate the stock market to a casino.

The market makers are the house. They don't lose, and most of the time it means selling overpriced shares to suckers in the retail space. They influence the direction and trading range every day, so you are always playing against the house instead of other retail investors. The house has far more leverage than you or I ever will, so they will win nearly every time.

And what "false hope" would you have by holding on to shares?

This is largely dependent upon what he's holding. If he is holding bank stocks, their valuations will never reach the peak in 2007 again. EVER. There are thousands of stocks that will NEVER see 2007 levels again. Just look at the companies that recovered after the dot com bust in 2001. You just WON'T make money on stocks that are now more likely to fall or trade sideways than appreciate in value.

Tax break is only 30 days, so reinvest on day 31. 35 works too though.

You're wrong. It's 31 days, and when you add 48 hours for the stock to "settle" in your account in most major brokerages, you arrive at 35 days. Try to harvest a tax loss and see what happens if you don't take the settlement period into account with your timing. It's an expensive mistake that you'll only make once.

35 days is the de-facto time you are guaranteed not to be robbed of the tax loss sale. Once again, this is a rookie mistake.