Stock Markets Exposed

Can you actually lose money in the stock market?

Can you in real life lose money in the market unless you sell lower than you bought? Any loss that you ever have is only on paper until you sell...it is all just a state of mind is it not? NONE EVER MAKES MONEY PANICING

Public Comments

1. duh.........
2. The company could go bankrupt and you could lose your investment.
3. Doesn't matter to someone who is a 21 year old millionaire, right? You are such a poser.
4. Yes, a state of mind. Pass me some of your numbers, please!
5. Yes. I know people who have lost millions.
6. A LOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
7. yeah
8. True, you cannot lose money unless you sell at a lower price than you bought, or the company went under.
9. Yes
10. Given that money is an article of faith as you say, still, you can sure lose it! Even the value of real property can swing wildly up or down if we say it does. So the stock market is not the only place you can lose money like that, but yes you do lose the value, which is the larger question, even though you don't turn it into money until you sell. You could also use the stock as collateral for a loan and that power is lost too, so real value is lost.
11. or course we did. if the stock goes down you compleately loose your money that you invested.
12. you can lose money if you sell lower than you bought, yes. I put a couple thousand in the stock market, and they have decreased in value, but until i sell them i havent really lost anything.
13. What kind of question is this, if not, everyone is in the stock market.
14. Yes, my sister lost a bundle!!
15. If you're not diversified properly and have all your money in risky stock, then yes. But if you have a mild portfolio and leave your money in over time, historically, the market always goes up and thus you will make money. And yes, the market is based on percieved value of the company and it's stock offering. Very subjective, but if you keep that in mind, you can use it to your advantage.
16. Ever heard of the Great Depression. How about the 80's. ENRON. Dude - I don't think you're ready to invest. You have much to learn.
17. if ur saying its just a number on papaer, then i guess when u look at Bill Gates' bank acount and the number has 7 followed by 10 zeros on a computer means nothing too? of course u lose money.
18. You give the broker funds... lets say $10,000. You spend it all on stock "A". The next day it drops to half the price you paid. So now "A" is worth a total of $5,000, if you keep it and the next day it comes back up to $10,000, then in that case you only lost the money on paper...
19. Your right I have $30.000 in the market and at times it goes down,1 quarter I lost over $400.00 and I did almost panic and tell them to sell but I am glad I didn't it was just brief moment of oh my god my money's gonna be gone.but it has gained it back and I don't worry too much now when I open my statements any more.
20. sure and not only money but ur property and family or on the other hand u can just sleep on million of dollar pillows!!!
21. When stocks that you own outright (not talking margin accounts here) go lower in value, you have lost actual money. Your net worth is lower; your ability to obtain credit based on stocks held is lower, and you have lost 'actual' wealth. Just because you haven't sold the stocks doesn't mean you haven't suffered the loss. "Paper" losses are very real. Stocks that you own on margin accounts can cost you cash money as well when they drop, because your broker will come to you with a margin call (assuming the stocks drop low enough). He will demand that you deposit more money in the account or sell the stocks (where you would still be liable for losses incurred).
22. Just ask people who invested in companies such as ENRON, Railtrack, etc. IF the company you plonked your money on goes tits-up, the money you bought the shares with usually goes with it.
23. The whole point of the stock market is buying and selling. So if your stock goes lower than what you have paid for it, then you do lose money because you put the money into it. So actually you do lose the money because you have already put your money into it the. It is like if you have a savings account at you bank and the bank is not doing that well and takes some of your money out. It is still your money and you still lose it even though you didn't have the money in hand.
24. It's called money time value. You can spend twenty years rotting in a position that's chronically down 5%. As to whether you can lose money? Yep. Just buy some out of the money short term options. You won't even know you owned them.
25. No, you can absolutely never lose money in the stock market. Ever. 100% guaranteed. Foolproof. Enron and Worldcom were myths created by the government, like the moon landing or dinosaurs or Buddy Hackett. Also, you can never lose money gambling. That also always works. I've never met or even heard of one person that ever lost as much as one penny gambling. You should look into it. I actually have a bridge for sale, it's completely no risk as well. And I give seminars, coming to an airport hotel near you. It's called "No-risk investing: How to only ever make money and never, ever lose it, even when everyone else is." For just $499.99, you'll get a pass to my 4-hour seminar, which is guaranteed to changew your life. You can trade anything you want from home and become a millionaire in 3 weeks. Stocks, Foreign Currencies, Houses, Beanie Babies, Soy Futures, you name it. Sign up now!
26. Your immediate loss may only be on paper, but you are forgetting about opportunity cost. While you are waiting for years for a losing stock to recover, what other more profitable investments could you have made?
27. Ask those who invested in Enron that question or World Com or Global Crossing or a gross of other bankrupt companies. You can loose a LOT of money. I personally know people who lost almost everything in the internet bubble. Hundreds of thousands of dollars. Almost all of their life savings. Every investment has risk. Do you think that the people who bought GM, which at one time was considered a blue chip, at $90 in 2000 will ever see most of their money again? I don't.
28. That's exaclty the State of Mind that every investor at Enron, MCI Worldcom, Adelphia, Delphi, Tyco and all the Airlines were when they decided to hold on to their shares forever.