Soo, how much........

[The HalfBreed]

Did you REALLY loose???

I went back over my records (W-2 Forms) this afternoon, and I've been investing in the TSP since 1992. Not much mind you, just a couple thousand a year, until about 2005, when I started maxing out almost. With all of the gains and losses, I'm still up over 60% of what I've actually put in. So, with those thoughts in mind, I guess this last bear market wasnt' all "THAT" Bad.
I'm CSRS, with no matching contributions BTW.

Rule of 72, or whatever, I guess it could have been worse. Which brings me to my point of conversation........if you haven't lost "ANY" of your money, is it really a loss ??? I understand that, you never really 'loose' anything until you cash out.

[alevin]

time is money, halfbreed. How long will it take some people to get back the cash levels they had prior? How long do they have before they retire to make it back? How long before they have to start pulling it out and living on it? How long do they have to build the cushion big enough so they don't run out in retirement? Time matters, every day. Took Birch 30+ years to build his stash big enough he can survive huge loss with only a couple years to go before he pulls the plug. My stash hasn't lost (so far), THIS time, stash wasn't big enough before the downturn, I lost 25% in the early 00's B&H'ing, I lost about 3 years of growth and earnings on that 25% by not being out of the market during that downturn, and not preserving that capital the way I have this time round. I don't have another 3-5 years to recoup significant capital loss before I retire, I need to building growth and earnings on that capital NOW, every year from now til retirement, not spend that time waiting to get it back to level. IMO, built the hard way.

[The HalfBreed]

Those arguments I understand.

However, my point being was "How much Money did you loose", and gains vs. losses are not the issue here. If one put in XXX amount of $$$, and he/she has XXX + x%, is it really a loss? Maybe you're looking at it in the wrong light.

[Guest2]

I happen to be one of those who benefit from the Maximum 5% matching
that the TSP offers to many of our members. One good way of reminding
a person that we're playing with "real money" is by stopping contributions
to the TSP and see how much your takehome pay increases. I have been
forced to do just that recently and couldn't help but think of the sacrifice
I made for retirement purposes. Boy, that money would've come in handy.
So believe me, from that perspective, the TSP is 100% real money.

The next time I'll be reminded of how real TSP money is, will be when I'm
ready to take said monies and buy a Annuity. The larger the balance, the
better the Annuity will be based on a larger payout. For those who lost
40% last year and now face that reality, the real money inside the TSP
won't pay out nearly the amount it would have in 2007. Thats real money
experiencing real losses.

In response to Halfbreed's question; I believe we invest our money to
achieve a profit and have that profit compound into even greater profit.
If I invest over a 20 year period (say,,,,$20,000) and after that 20 year
period my balance ends up being $20,000,,,, Even through the worse
years that the TSP had to offer, the answer is No ! You didn't lose a
dime of your original investment. But isn't that simply sugar coating the
fact that you wasted time and money by not investing in a vehicle that
(at minimum) offered a (G) Fund style profit over that 20 year period.
Add matching contributions and compounding into the mix and the fact
that you broke even would give nobody an ounce of satisfaction.

BOTTOM LINE: Breaking Even is not Breaking Even when there is a option
to put your money into the (G) Fund and reap a huge benefit at no cost
to you, over a 20 year period. Yes my friend, it truly is a "LOSS". ;)