Topic: I am about to do something massivley stupid - page 2. (Read 24167 times)

No, it still looks very very stupid.

my first Bitcoin purchase was the result of a University tuition refund from taking excess loans. tybg

Assuming the OP made his purchases relatively soon after posting here, he's done pretty well already. With no payments due for a few years at least, it makes leveraged BTC purchases using student loans look like a good deal.

+1
Nice post

If you want to be a billionaire someday than carnage is right, definitely do put all of your eggs in one basket. However many of us are more interested in establishing a nice little nest egg than conquering the universe. Remember 1000 other highly competent people tried the exact same thing as carnage, and none of their names are remembered because in most cases they simply wernt as lucky.

Guys like evolve called everyone participating in the dot com bubble an idiot. Unfortunately people started saying this in 1995.. and their shorts got buried for another 5 years until the music finally stopped.

Repeat in the housing bubble.. and probably now in the US treasury bubble, which will no doubt pop someday but that day could be 5 years away.

Now hes been saying bitcoin is a bubble since $20 or whatever it was.

Well he'll always be right eventually.. however, in all those examples above there were thousands of 'idiots' who saw the trend, rode it for years and made millions from it. Then one day it ended and im sure many lost some money.. but alot of them came out hugely ahead. Unlike the spineless, mostly broke internet armchair economists who were 'right all along'.  

Some opportunities are just so huge and you just happen to be in the right place at the right time in history... I believe we are at one such time now and to choose this time to be conservative if you have a strong belief in the system and have done your research is truly idiotic...

Strong risk-taking combined with skill and luck results in millionaires.
Strong risk-taking combined with stupidity or very bad luck results in hobos or window-jumpers (unless you know how to game the system, then it results in a banker).

That's my simple take on it.

You gave me extremely risk-averse advice. The kind that I mentioned is one of the reasons so much of our country's old people depend on social programs to survive. The difference between your advice and mine is yours comes from the popularly accepted "common sense," and mine is what wealthy people (millionaires) do and recommend (and often write about). Also, although I do have a stop-loss at $50, that doesn't mean the cash is going anywhere but back into BTC again when it bottoms. Also, please make sure to bump it again when it comes back up to $75 and surpasses it to $100 and above. Or do you believe that bitcoin will crash and never come back up again, like it did when it crashed from $30 to $2 a few years ago?

You know, I had a whole thing typed up as a response to this, but fuck it...it's less annoying to just move on.  When the bubble pops, I'll be sure to bump this thread... I tried to give you solid advice, but you ignored it with a shitty smug attitude. Enjoy the grinding poverty, man... You deserve it.

It's ok Rassah, let them continue to be poor. 

Cash out to pay off debt means I'm at $0. Statements like "paying off debt is never a stupid thing to do" is the type of common sense thing that most of the country (USA) believes. Most of the country also reaches retirement age with savings of under $100k, and are dependent on Social Security or work way into the old age. And the type of stuff I had to make people unlearn when I worked as a personal financial analyst.
Rule #1 - have an emergency savings account (which would be gone if I use it to pay off debt)
Rule #2 - paying into a 4% debt is EXACTLY like paying into a 4% investment (seriously, calculate it out). So put your money into whatever has the highest interest, be it debt or investment (based on your risk tolerance).
People think debt is the worst thing ever, and should be gotten rid of first, and it's a really stupid misconception that needs to die, because when you reach 65, with no debts, and nothing but $100,000 to your name, you are most definitely NOT a winner.
Source - my goddamn financial analyst degree and years of experience with a ton of people who do what they think is common sense

You are never out of debt. Even when you die, there will be a debt to be paid by you. Money is just a numbers game, not an intelligence issue. As the billionaire Dale Andrew Carnegie said, "put all your eggs in one basket, and watch that basket."

Really? I feel exactly the opposite. (Reddit is no dream, but the forums are a cesspool).

It's nice to see this kind of post on the bitcoin forums.

You are giving solid unbiased advice. Something I doubt you would see on the bitcoin subreddit.

this times 1000. If you cash out now you will forever be a winner. You are already a winner, dont push your luck.

I'm in a similar situation. I've paid off all but my unsecured debts. Because of my previous obligations, I was unable to acquire as much coin as I wanted. However, I feel much more confident in Bitcoin than my country's willingness to honor it's debt to me in my old age when I am unable to work. They can garnish my debts from my non-existent social security that I've paid into all my life. Hell, even my children are a safer bet than anything provided by the state or any private institution. Besides, I don't think I am in the minority in the opinion in how the banks have operated the last couple of decades.

Your first option is still the best, most financially responsible one. Take that extra money you save from not making monthly payment to loans, save some of it, invest the rest wisely. Congratulations, you now have no debt, but you do have savings, and a retirement fund.  That is a good financial spot to be in.

Of your three other options, not all of them have the same probability of happening.  #3 is more likely than the other two, and is the one the puts you in the worst financial spot possible (debt, no savings, no retirement).  #1 or #2 could happen, but are not likely. Dont buy the hype, this bubble is going to pop eventually.

Bottom line, whenever you get thrown a break, pay those debts down. Betting/Gambling is for suckers.

except when you pay off your debt.. your monthly payments that have to be made go WAY down, making it a LOT easier to stay up to date if your income level drops for whatever reason.

You also forgot that if you start paying loans late, it will screw over your credit rating, something that is IMPOSSIBLE to happen if you have good credit...

Highest loan is 6.75% (student loans)

If i decide to pay off the debt, my one outcome is that I now have no debts, and no money. I have to live paycheck to paycheck, starting my savings account from scratch, even if I get to keep a bit more off every paycheck.

If i decide to keep the coins, I actually have three possible outcomes:
1) Bitcoin price keeps rising considerably - I make minimum payments on the debts, and come out way way way ahead.
2) Bitcoin stays at the rate of my debts, or stabilizes - I continue making minimum payments, and once I pay off my debts, my Bitcoin wealth, though not large, still remains.
3) Bitcoin price plummets - I may be able to sell off whatever coins I can before the value is gone to help pay down the debts, then continue making minimum payments on the debt while having to start building up my savings from scratch.

Now let's see which is the least risky option:
Let's say for some reason I lose a job or hit an economic hardship (get hit by some big expense).
If I have paid off my debt, there is only one outcome: I'm screwed.
If I have held onto my coins, there are three outcomes:
1) I have plenty of money, can still easily pay my debt payments with my BTC, and don't even have to worry
2) I have some money, and maybe should be worried, since my bitcoins may not last too long, but there is enough to cover my debt payments and sustain me.
3) I'm screwed.

So, if I sell, (the supposedly safe thing to do), if I get in trouble, there is one outcome: screwed.
If I don't sell (the supposedly risky, gambling option), there are three outcomes, and in only one of them I'm screwed.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I make the big bucks