Is the money ever really lost?

[Brentp]

If you have something worth $100 and it decreases in value by $50, you have lost 50% of your investment, realized or unrealized. It would then take a return of 100% to get back to the original value. If you sell and then immediately buy back in an equal $ amount, the loss is still realized as it has been in effect marked to market at that point but you have not lost in quantity of head or shares or whatever. You may not think you've lost but the bank sure does and they'll stop playing the game once you've used up too much of your equity and start getting close to losing the bank's equity. The most dangerous thing is to make panic based decisions that cause you to have more trading losses than gains.

With that being said, the most financially safe strategy is still buying and selling constantly as it averages out gains and losses. More people have gone broke timing the market than riding it out and investing steadily.

 

[js1234]

If you have something worth $100 and it decreases in value by $50, you have lost 50% of your investment, realized or unrealized. It would then take a return of 100% to get back to the original value. If you sell and then immediately buy back in an equal $ amount, the loss is still realized as it has been in effect marked to market at that point but you have not lost in quantity of head or shares or whatever. You may not think you've lost but the bank sure does and they'll stop playing the game once you've used up too much of your equity and start getting close to losing the bank's equity. The most dangerous thing is to make panic based decisions that cause you to have more trading losses than gains.

With that being said, the most financially safe strategy is still buying and selling constantly as it averages out gains and losses. More people have gone broke timing the market than riding it out and investing steadily.

yes.

 

[herofan]

Do you not understand what the poster is saying regardless of how it's spelled?? Maybe I need to turn my spell check on....but would it know if I meant sell, sale, or sail?? No but intelligent being do. :cowboy:

True, it is a sign of intelligence to be able to read a passage, even if it has many mistakes. I'm a teacher, and while I may get bent out of shape in the classroom about it, it doesn't bother me in the least on a forum. I see this a lot on forums; someone will totally change the subject because someone didn't put a question mark after an interrogative sentence or the correct spelling isn't used. It doesn't bother me.

 

[1982vett]

Auto correct can do some amazing editing too....

 

[herofan]

An English teacher at my school was talking about similar things lately, and gave the following sentence as actually being grammatically correct, even though a lot of people would frown upon it:

"The additional training he had had had had no effect on his performance."

 

[Son of Butch]

True, it is a sign of intelligence to be able to read a passage, even if it has many mistakes.

Not ralely, the hmuan barin is ainmazg and as lnog as the frsit and lsat leettr of a wrod are in paclec eevn a psreon wtih agerave igtenllcene can raed and unsatdrend tihs sntenece wtih llttie pborelm no mttear how mnay mtskiaes it coitnans.

 

[herofan]

True, it is a sign of intelligence to be able to read a passage, even if it has many mistakes.

Not ralely, the hmuan barin is ainmazg and as lnog as the frsit and lsat leettr of a wrod are in paclec eevn a psreon wtih agerave igtenllcene can raed and unsatdrend tihs sntenece wtih llttie pborelm no mttear how mnay mtskiaes it coitnans.

Very true. I take my statement back. Your example helps prove the point even more.

 

[Bigfoot]

Seemed like an appropriate time to bring this topic up. The market has dropped continually since I started this thread. Honesty is always the best policy. I've been taking a beating on all the feeder calves I've bought. Got several more to sell, and the whippin is going to be even worse on them. I've been turning calf checks back in to calves. I keep thinking this steady slide down hill will stop. Feed is cheap right now, and for once in my life, I have plenty of hay. Crazy market has the heavy calves softer than the lights. Strange times were living in.

 

[ram]

I'm at a loss on guessing what's going on with the market. And I'm not going to be trading any cattle till I think I have a feel for what's going on. I keep thinking about putting an add on Craigslist for grass or grain finished beef and see how that plays out.

 

[skyhightree1]

You all know I trade calves and I can't afford to sell any now im waiting till spring and feeding them some steers will be darn near slaughter sizes and I am headed that route RAM I can make a substantial amount more by selling halves. If I sell one half I can atleast get what I got into the purchased steers and other half im sure I can sell it quickly because someone heres always asking if I have something ready to be killed. I have backed off calves unless its heifers im looking for to add to the herd. I have went into the buying bred cow mode.

 

[js1234]

Crazy market has the heavy calves softer than the lights. Strange times were living in.

Time is not on their side.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Crazy market has the heavy calves softer than the lights. Strange times were living in.

Time is not on their side.

Local bottom fishing approach is to buy 3 wts and take them to grass.

 

[js1234]

Crazy market has the heavy calves softer than the lights. Strange times were living in.

Time is not on their side.

Local bottom fishing approach is to buy 3 wts and take them to grass.

In a similar vein we have been buying Mexicans weighing about 350 lately.

 

[RanchMan90]

Time is not on their side.

Local bottom fishing approach is to buy 3 wts and take them to grass.

In a similar vein we have been buying Mexicans weighing about 350 lately.

Is now a good time to go big? Say for example my trading money is $20,000, half mine and half borrowed. I keep around 40 head of #1 lightweight black heifers til I can make $100 profit after expenses on them, whether that be 9 or 90 days. I could pay off my line of credit and use the rest for 20% down on a $50,000 line of credit and jump to 100 head. Would that be a smart move or should I just keep plugging along at what I'm doing? Also all my other input costs come out of my pocket

 

[Margonme]

I was discussing cattle with a gentleman this evening, and he had an interesting theory. He views feeder calves, like I view the stock market. If someone where to say, put $100,000 in an unmanaged index fund, and the market went down. The only way they would lose money is to get out then. He views the cattle market the same way. He buys calves, and keeps them 90 days. All different sizes, and tries to add frame and value. He wasn't concerned at all about the recent drop. Even though he currently owns several bought before the drop. He said as long as when he sells the calves, he turns around buys more calves, the loss will never really be realized by him. I never really thought about it. He potentially started the year with $100,000 worth of calves. He has $80,000 now. He plans on buying $80,000 as soon as their gone. Just a conversation starter here, but does anyone else view the market this way?

Looking back to Sat October 03, 2015:
Bigfoot. How is your Gentleman friend doing? In hindsight, appears to me his theory did not work. If he keeps holding, his cattle may die of old age before the market turns around.

At least if you hold a stock certificate, it does not die! Lol.

 

[Rafter S]

Local bottom fishing approach is to buy 3 wts and take them to grass.

In a similar vein we have been buying Mexicans weighing about 350 lately.

Is now a good time to go big? Say for example my trading money is $20,000, half mine and half borrowed. I keep around 40 head of #1 lightweight black heifers til I can make $100 profit after expenses on them, whether that be 9 or 90 days. I could pay off my line of credit and use the rest for 20% down on a $50,000 line of credit and jump to 100 head. Would that be a smart move or should I just keep plugging along at what I'm doing? Also all my other input costs come out of my pocket

I'm sure others will disagree, but I don't think it's ever a good time to buy cattle with borrowed money.

 

[Bigfoot]

I was discussing cattle with a gentleman this evening, and he had an interesting theory. He views feeder calves, like I view the stock market. If someone where to say, put $100,000 in an unmanaged index fund, and the market went down. The only way they would lose money is to get out then. He views the cattle market the same way. He buys calves, and keeps them 90 days. All different sizes, and tries to add frame and value. He wasn't concerned at all about the recent drop. Even though he currently owns several bought before the drop. He said as long as when he sells the calves, he turns around buys more calves, the loss will never really be realized by him. I never really thought about it. He potentially started the year with $100,000 worth of calves. He has $80,000 now. He plans on buying $80,000 as soon as their gone. Just a conversation starter here, but does anyone else view the market this way?

Looking back to Sat October 03, 2015:
Bigfoot. How is your Gentleman friend doing? In hindsight, appears to me his theory did not work. If he keeps holding, his cattle may die of old age before the market turns around.

He filed bankruptcy.
At least if you hold a stock certificate, it does not die! Lol.

 

[Margonme]

I was discussing cattle with a gentleman this evening, and he had an interesting theory. He views feeder calves, like I view the stock market. If someone where to say, put $100,000 in an unmanaged index fund, and the market went down. The only way they would lose money is to get out then. He views the cattle market the same way. He buys calves, and keeps them 90 days. All different sizes, and tries to add frame and value. He wasn't concerned at all about the recent drop. Even though he currently owns several bought before the drop. He said as long as when he sells the calves, he turns around buys more calves, the loss will never really be realized by him. I never really thought about it. He potentially started the year with $100,000 worth of calves. He has $80,000 now. He plans on buying $80,000 as soon as their gone. Just a conversation starter here, but does anyone else view the market this way?

Looking back to Sat October 03, 2015:
Bigfoot. How is your Gentleman friend doing? In hindsight, appears to me his theory did not work. If he keeps holding, his cattle may die of old age before the market turns around.

He filed bankruptcy.
At least if you hold a stock certificate, it does not die! Lol.

I guess buy and hold don't work well with livestock. :lol:

 

[farmerjan]

An English teacher at my school was talking about similar things lately, and gave the following sentence as actually being grammatically correct, even though a lot of people would frown upon it:

"The additional training he had had had had no effect on his performance."

The only thing that I would have to question on that being grammatically correct is, to say it, you need to put a comma after the first 2 had had's ..you have to take a breath there to say it properly. My grandmother was a teacher WAY back when, and she always told us that "ain"t " isn't in the dictionary...we couldn't wait to show it to her when they did include it. :secret: :secret:

 

[Bigfoot]

Looking back to Sat October 03, 2015:
Bigfoot. How is your Gentleman friend doing? In hindsight, appears to me his theory did not work. If he keeps holding, his cattle may die of old age before the market turns around.

He filed bankruptcy.
At least if you hold a stock certificate, it does not die! Lol.

I guess buy and hold don't work well with livestock. :lol:

He meant when you sell low, turn around and buy low. An ugly divorce was mostly the cause of the bankruptcy.