Author Topic: Face punch me. I blew $2200 on Crypto  (Read 6189 times)

jamesbond007

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Face punch me. I blew $2200 on Crypto
« on: January 17, 2018, 10:33:28 AM »
So I fell for it. Constant conversations at work, social gatherings, etc. got the best of me. I bit the bullet and invested $3500 on various crypto currencies. Invest is the wrong word. Speculate is more appropriate. Obviously, lost about $2200 in about 2 weeks.


The the dilemma is, shall I hold on to the remaining $1300 or just cut the losses and learn an important lesson to not to give in to temptations? I am not in debt or anything. This money, I would've invested in some individual stock for this year and I will not do that now. I am not going to hugely miss the $2200 but I just feel bad that I gave in. It's just not me. I've very disciplined for the last 5 years investing in VTSAX.


What should I do? Cash out or hold on? I bought ETH and other altcoins, if that matters.

YoungGranny

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Re: Face punch me. I blew $2200 on Crypto
« Reply #1 on: January 17, 2018, 10:38:38 AM »
"If you wouldn't buy it, you should probably sell it"

Learn from your mistakes and move on. Personally I'd take the money out, dump it in VTSAX and never look back.

BrandNewPapa

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Re: Face punch me. I blew $2200 on Crypto
« Reply #2 on: January 17, 2018, 10:44:17 AM »
Buy and Hold.

If you don't care that much about the losing all the money, keep the investment.

Its possible one or more of the coins you bought could explode over the next 10 years, giving you a return far greater than VTSAX (or most individual stocks for that matter).

In my opinion, you already spent and lost the money, so just ride it out and see what happens. All markets have corrections. This could be one or it could be the demise.

EconDiva

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Re: Face punch me. I blew $2200 on Crypto
« Reply #3 on: January 17, 2018, 10:49:15 AM »
Accidentally deleted my own post :P

What I said was:

Disclaimer:  Like most I don't fully understand how cryptocurrencies work.  With that said, yes I do have a little money (like...very very little!) between bitcoin and litecoin.  My philosophy about buying cryptocurrency is:

1-I'd put in an amount I cared very very little about losing
2-I'd plan to leave it in for a lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng time and certainly would not be checking the account all of the time

ETA: I just checked :) 

I see how much it's down and my reaction was "Time to put in another 20 bucks!" lol

Your reaction is to sell sell sell right now...and although I'm a bit inexperienced something tells me this isn't the right mindset for investing for instance.  (??)  Why not wait a few weeks?  You know these things are going to be all over the place...for a while.

trollwithamustache

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Re: Face punch me. I blew $2200 on Crypto
« Reply #4 on: January 17, 2018, 10:50:42 AM »
what did you expect when they said it was volatile? Just like stocks, it could go down further or it could go back up.

I recommend mining some alt coin on an old computer to learn more about the process in general and how cryptos work. Then figure out if you really want to use real money.

MrThatsDifferent

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Re: Face punch me. I blew $2200 on Crypto
« Reply #5 on: January 17, 2018, 12:43:31 PM »
I agree with Buy and hold. Treat it as a learning experience. Crypto has a place, it’s just what, when and what the value will be. It won’t kill you to look at this like an experiment to understand what’s going on. Don’t add to it, play around with it. Keep educating yourself about it. Don’t kick yourself, it’s about the journey, not the destination.

JacobEhrgott

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Re: Face punch me. I blew $2200 on Crypto
« Reply #6 on: January 17, 2018, 12:57:50 PM »
Very similar experience had some major FOMO and invested some
Last week. I knew it was a bad idea tho and only did $500. Down 50% but I’d hold its been all
Bad news for cryptos this week.

marty998

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Re: Face punch me. I blew $2200 on Crypto
« Reply #7 on: January 17, 2018, 01:28:59 PM »
Oh boy so many issue here...

Peer pressure, FOMO, speculation. Buffet is right - this cocktail results in only one thing - shit hitting the fan.

Learn your lesson, take your smack on the wrist and don't do it again.

Very similar experience had some major FOMO and invested gambled some
Last week. I knew it was a bad idea tho and only did $500. Down 50% but I’d hold its been all
Bad news for cryptos this week.

FTFY

Cpa Cat

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Re: Face punch me. I blew $2200 on Crypto
« Reply #8 on: January 17, 2018, 02:01:39 PM »
I think you should leave it in there.

Why?

Because you succumbed to the hype already, and it's probably not over. If you sell out, you run the risk of falling for it again. By leaving your $1300 there, you will feel confident that you have Crypto coverage in your portfolio and you won't feel tempted to try again.

BuildingmyFIRE

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Re: Face punch me. I blew $2200 on Crypto
« Reply #9 on: January 17, 2018, 02:03:43 PM »
You could reframe your question as:

I gambled and lost about $2K.  Should I continue to gamble and see if I win some money back, or leave the casino and go invest the remainder?

When phrased that way, do you see your way to the answer?

Eric

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Re: Face punch me. I blew $2200 on Crypto
« Reply #10 on: January 17, 2018, 03:55:12 PM »
Cut your losses and get your money back into an investment.  Speculation is for suckers.

damyst

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Re: Face punch me. I blew $2200 on Crypto
« Reply #11 on: January 17, 2018, 10:34:09 PM »
In your place I'd hold for now.
I'm not touching crypto with a ten foot pole, but the amount you have locked in there is, in the grand scheme of things, pocket change. Whether it drops to zero or goes up 10x in value, it won't affect your future in any meaningful way. So why sell at a loss when no one is forcing you to?

Rubic

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Re: Face punch me. I blew $2200 on Crypto
« Reply #12 on: January 18, 2018, 09:49:56 AM »
Book recommendation: https://www.amazon.com/Devil-Take-Hindmost-Financial-Speculation/dp/0374138583

Note this book was published before the dot-com crash and the Great Recession,
but it could have served as a guidebook for either event, and of course our current
crypto currency bubble.

Now go forth and sin no more.  ;-)

WoodStache

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Re: Face punch me. I blew $2200 on Crypto
« Reply #13 on: January 18, 2018, 10:23:33 AM »
I'd leave it, personally. I know people here don't like cryptos but you've stated the $2,200 doesn't mean much, the additional $1,300 likely doesn't either. The potential risk/reward is imbalanced in my mind, so even if the E(V) is low or more accurately unknown it warrants putting a little bit in.

I commented something of this sort on the article, but cryptos are kind of like the lottery. Some people here will tell you to never play, but I personally get enjoyment from playing when the potential jackpot is super high. I see these the same way, and it's the reason I have a (small) amount in. Even with the giant crash I'm still about 4x on my money. I told myself I wouldn't sell for at least 1 year and that's what I'll do.

jamesbond007

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Re: Face punch me. I blew $2200 on Crypto
« Reply #14 on: January 18, 2018, 10:47:03 AM »
Thanks, all. I am holding on. $3500 overall is not a big deal for me. I'd rather ride the dip and cash out when I, at least, break even. The lesson I learned will be with me though.

makinbutter

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Re: Face punch me. I blew $2200 on Crypto
« Reply #15 on: January 19, 2018, 08:01:31 AM »
So much sunk cost fallacy going on in this thread.

This is - mathematically, umambiguously, demonstrably - a simple question.  Would you spend 1.2k on crypto today?  Or would you rather have 1.2k in your bank account (or other investments).

If yes, you'd spend 1.2k on crypto, HODL.  If not, sell.  It really is that easy.

Now, that said, I'm with the other poster who pointed out that *even though this is a mathematically inferior choice, potentially*, it might make sense to just maintain some exposure so that way you don't let the FOMO-beasts rule your investing decisions goign forward.  Consider that 1.2k insurance against you making a sub-optimal investing (errr gambling) choice in the future.

Either way, if 3k is a rounding error for you, you'll likely be fine either way so long as you don't bet the farm and go long on ETH or something (please do not do this).

ETA: I also fell for the hype (sigh) and threw 2k at crypto.  Lost like $300 before I realized I didn't want to gamble with my hard-earned dollars, so I called those little green soldiers home and put them to work in the salt mines making me mo' money.

GuitarStv

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Re: Face punch me. I blew $2200 on Crypto
« Reply #16 on: January 19, 2018, 08:45:50 AM »
Hey guys, I just lost a big chunk of change betting on red.  Should I take the money I have left, or keep betting on red?

BuyAndHoldGuys - Yeah dude, keep betting on red and don't worry about the losses.  You might make your money back.

Me - Stop throwing good money after bad and get the fuck out of the casino.



There's always the chance that speculation will pay off.  That's the allure.  If you've really realized that you made a mistake, stop gambling, take it out and invest your money properly.

partgypsy

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Re: Face punch me. I blew $2200 on Crypto
« Reply #17 on: January 19, 2018, 08:57:46 AM »
In your place I'd hold for now.
I'm not touching crypto with a ten foot pole, but the amount you have locked in there is, in the grand scheme of things, pocket change. Whether it drops to zero or goes up 10x in value, it won't affect your future in any meaningful way. So why sell at a loss when no one is forcing you to?

That's how I feel too. getting that 1.5K in change is not going to make a big difference, let it ride. Just pretend it's your lottery ticket budget for the next 5 years : )

JacobEhrgott

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Re: Face punch me. I blew $2200 on Crypto
« Reply #18 on: January 19, 2018, 10:08:40 AM »
My crypto bounced back basically flat now. I find it interesting and worth the $500 I put into it. Makes me research and think about a new subject. I think 99/100 cryptos will be worth $0 in five years but it’ll be interesting to see what happens to them in between.

ooeei

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Re: Face punch me. I blew $2200 on Crypto
« Reply #19 on: January 19, 2018, 02:09:50 PM »
The lesson I learned will be with me though.

I disagree.

Telecaster

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Re: Face punch me. I blew $2200 on Crypto
« Reply #20 on: January 19, 2018, 02:30:32 PM »
Thanks, all. I am holding on. $3500 overall is not a big deal for me. I'd rather ride the dip and cash out when I, at least, break even. The lesson I learned will be with me though.

What happens if you don't break even?   

jamesbond007

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Re: Face punch me. I blew $2200 on Crypto
« Reply #21 on: January 19, 2018, 04:13:35 PM »
Thanks, all. I am holding on. $3500 overall is not a big deal for me. I'd rather ride the dip and cash out when I, at least, break even. The lesson I learned will be with me though.

What happens if you don't break even?   

Well, I'd lose all of it. But as I said, I put only the money that could afford to lose. So yeah, although a stupid decision, I wouldn't lose sleep over it.

Anyway, I am up $700 so overall I am down $1500 as of now and not $2200. I've been trading more vigorously with whatever money left to make up for losses.

JacobEhrgott

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Re: Face punch me. I blew $2200 on Crypto
« Reply #22 on: October 13, 2021, 11:15:45 AM »
Bump - I made $900,000 on that investment.

Oh boy so many issue here...

Peer pressure, FOMO, speculation. Buffet is right - this cocktail results in only one thing - shit hitting the fan.

Learn your lesson, take your smack on the wrist and don't do it again.

Very similar experience had some major FOMO and invested gambled some
Last week. I knew it was a bad idea tho and only did $500. Down 50% but I’d hold its been all
Bad news for cryptos this week.

FTFY

dandarc

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Re: Face punch me. I blew $2200 on Crypto
« Reply #23 on: October 13, 2021, 11:26:58 AM »
Did you sell to a more diversified portfolio? When you've won the game you should stop playing.

JacobEhrgott

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Re: Face punch me. I blew $2200 on Crypto
« Reply #24 on: October 14, 2021, 03:27:39 PM »
Did you sell to a more diversified portfolio? When you've won the game you should stop playing.

I ended up investing $13,000 in total. Ive cashed out $44,000 in total. Not super interested in fully cashing out due to the tax hit and also I believe in crypto going forward. I plan to move profits soon into USDC and earn interest on it from places like Celsius, nexo etc.

jamesbond007

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Re: Face punch me. I blew $2200 on Crypto
« Reply #25 on: October 14, 2021, 04:40:47 PM »
Wow. More than 3 years since I asked this question. Just an update on what happened. As I mentioned above, I help on to my "investments". I think about a year later, I made a little bit of profit, so I took out my principal and let the profit invested. Gambling on house money. That grew quite a bit last year and I eventually made close to $5000 in profit. I sold everything around July/August last year and put everything in VTSAX.

It was a happy conclusion, but I learned a valuable lesson.

MustacheAndaHalf

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Re: Face punch me. I blew $2200 on Crypto
« Reply #26 on: October 17, 2021, 10:24:40 AM »
You mentioned ETH and alt coins.  Did any of the alt coins crash to zero?  How much of your recovery was due to putting money in ETH?

To me, ETH and BTC are the biggest crypto currencies, and least likely to crash to zero (but possible).  They have a lot of volatility... but for small ("alt") coins, it's volatility squared.

Mr. Green

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Re: Face punch me. I blew $2200 on Crypto
« Reply #27 on: October 17, 2021, 12:57:41 PM »
*face punch*

You're welcome.  :)

RunningintoFI

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Re: Face punch me. I blew $2200 on Crypto
« Reply #28 on: October 17, 2021, 07:48:36 PM »
Bump - I made $900,000 on that investment.

Oh boy so many issue here...

Peer pressure, FOMO, speculation. Buffet is right - this cocktail results in only one thing - shit hitting the fan.

Learn your lesson, take your smack on the wrist and don't do it again.

Very similar experience had some major FOMO and invested gambled some
Last week. I knew it was a bad idea tho and only did $500. Down 50% but I’d hold its been all
Bad news for cryptos this week.

FTFY

Well this worked out rather nicely.. I'd say the moonshot worked for someone. Congrats on the windfall!