I love negotiating - other than shopping, that is. Last December, my colleague and I were discussing negotiation strategies and he wanted to know why I had gotten such an incredible deal on an advertising programme in early 2009. I explained to him that at that time, the market conditions were different and the market was much more desperate back then. It would be close to impossible to get a deal like that today even if you're the best negotiator in the world. Obviously you need to be a good negotiator in the first place in order to be able to get to a good deal, so congrats again to my trading ego. However, the desperation level of the seller must also be very high in order for this to happen.
During my visit to New York in December, I also saw first hand that the US economy has improved. How did I know? I remembered seeing a sign that said: "Recession Special... $1.00" back in May 2009 in some fast food place. In December 2009, I noticed they had put up a new sign that now read: "Recession Special... Save $1.00." The difference is big. It means even mass marketers have started becoming less desperate.
That was the main reason for my recent equity market buying spree.
I have been in a bit of a panic this weekend. I finally ended the week with my standard brokerage account down -1.17% and my Roth IRA down -3.11%. My Roth IRA had a lot of BAC. I kept thinking to myself: what if I end up holding a hot potato again? What if I'm the only one left standing in the game of musical chairs? What if...? You get the point.
I had nightmares about Harry Winston and I kept thinking: what if I had done this or that? Would it have been any different? Though I'm still in some bit of semi-denial, after running the numbers, I can clearly see I am still about 2% better off at Friday's market close than I was 22 days ago. But my biggest mistake was being too greedy. I had thought the recession is finally over and that investor confidence had returned full force.
I suppose the good news is that I still have some cash even with my IPG and DFS purchases. Since I'm uncertain and definitely jittery, I am going to hold off on further buying until the market gets clearer direction on Obama's idiotic proposals. The biggest problem with a panic is that once investors start seeing dramatic declines and fear starts being the predominant market force, even sectors that aren't affected by the proposed banking regulations will experience selling pressure.
I am also wondering how desperate the market will get now. For me, I am a lot less desperate than before because even though I am not yet financially free at the moment, I've travelled a long road and there are but a few more steps. The light at the end of the tunnel is finally becoming brighter for me so I am not going to sell myself short this time.
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