Comments on: Stocks: What We Really Own

By: Sunday Link Love! | The Ultimate Money Blog

Sunday Link Love! | The Ultimate Money Blog — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 23:50:15 +0000

[...] Micah reminds people what we really own in stocks: shares, not [...]

By: Friday Link Love - Haunted Play-Doh Edition | One Caveman's Financial Journey

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:53:52 +0000

[...] Stocks: What We Really Own [...]

By: Funny about Money

Funny about Money — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 23:44:51 +0000

Well said. That’s exactly what I’ve been told about the plummeting value of my two houses: a loss isn’t realized until you sell. So…don’t sell. Eventually (in someone’s lifetime, surely) things will get better.

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:35:59 +0000

Go further! You don’t own a “share”, you own so much cash, accounts receivable, real estate, CDOs and everything else on the public company’s books.

By: That One Caveman

That One Caveman — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:02:42 +0000

You’re spot on, there. A stock’s reported value is just what you might expect to earn if you sold it at that very moment. Dawn’s right – just like a house, that number’s only important if you’re selling (or buying) right now.

By: Rich

Rich — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 19:59:11 +0000

I too have been thinking alot about what it means to “invest.” You’re spot on about the idea that you own a number of shares, not a certain value. I believe this is where the idea of dollar cost averaging came about. When the market was down you could buy more shares for the same investment amount.

By: Dawn

Dawn — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:09:29 +0000

This is the same advice I have been reading for people concerned about their home values dropping – really, that number is meaningless unless they are planning on selling their house right now.