October 9, 2007 might have been the best and the worst day for many people in the United States. In the previous few years, people were making money. People felt comfortable and were celebrating. People looked at their houses as a great source of disposable income, and they spent it. Their portfolios seemingly could do no wrong. But that day was the end… at least for a while. Seven months to the day, the DOW had dropped to 6547, losing a total of 7,617 points. This is a 53.77% drop. If you had $50,000 (Which, according to this 2006 report was the average amount people had invested in their retirement programs) your portfolio would have dropped to less than $27,000. Dark times, to be sure.  It was tough on all of us. Some people sold, other people held in the hopes that there would be a recovery. This last week, we can safely say “We’ve recovered our losses!” We have weathered this storm, as challenging as it has been. On January 29th, 2013, the DOW closed at 13,954 - the highest since ’07, and a gain of 7407 in just over 4 years. If you don’t plan now, the next time the market crashes, you’ll crash, too. Private Lending can be your ejection seat. But you need to use it before the crash!

Continue Reading…