More Ugh

My taxable account has reached an unpleasant low today. The balance hasn't been this low since October of 2010. So almost a year of growth wiped out in a week or so. This market really requires a stomach of iron.

One thing that hasn't crashed and seems to be moving along nicely is my Lending Club account. Making me think I should invest more in there and lower my stock positions even more. I'm already like 60/40 investments/cash. Maybe I'll start taking more of the investment money and put it into loans. I like the idea of investing in people.

Where to Invest?

I think this question is on a lot of people's minds. It is definitely on mine. Between my bonus and then a CD that comes due in March, I have to find a place to park a decent amount of money. I am not sure where to put it. I don't want to earn minimal returns that most of the no-risk places like CDs are throwing off right now, but at the same time I don't think I want to dump the money into the market. Stocks are so volatile right now, and I keep hearing that interest rates are going to rise and bond prices go down.

One "alternative" investment that I have begun is Lending Club. So far only a few thousand dollars, but I like what I've seen. The one thing I don't like is that the terms are so long. I think like 3-5 years. Would probably be better for a 401K investment.

The other thing that I've really been meaning to do is diversify by currency. I've checked out Everbank products, but they seem kind of risky.

This will be an ongoing question I try to answer over the next few months.

General Update

So I usually only update my NetworthIQ on a quarterly basis. I just did Q3 at the end of September. That said, I just updated it again. I can't believe how much the market has gone up this month. So much for sell in May and go away. I'm just so glad that I never took any money (barely) out of the market after September 2008. I've been fully in (while also building my cash position) the whole time, which has allowed me to recover A LOT of the value that I lost two years ago (on paper). I also wanted to update my NetworthIQ so (I am ashamed to admit this) I could resume the top position on the page that ranks networth in NY (I'm on the top of the 5th page). I am really motivated by moving up the list. I do not know why. I wish those other people success, but I guess it's just nice to have a visual way to be rewarded for saving more. Since it's not like anything really changes in my life when I save more money.

I'm also excited to try some new investing strategies. I'm going to open up a Lending Club account. I have also meant to buy some foreign currencies (being all-in on the dollar scares me) and maybe some gold. I'd like to buy shares in a REIT, but that's a little more complicated. I also think about buying some GLD. The last time I thought about this it was at 1K and today I saw it's at 1,300. Insane.