If you need a car, you need a car, even though you know it's a lousy investment. The value of it plummets quickly, you have to overpay for insurance, overpay for gas and overpay for parking... but if you need a car, bad as an investment as it is, is worth it in it's own, money- draining way... so it makes sense.
About a decade ago, the promise of satellite radio was all the rage and when it launched, shares went for about $60 each. Well, reality is that about 2% of radio listeners bother with satellite and now the stocks are worth about $3 a share. Like any stock, satellite radio was a gamble. As far as cars go, they are, in this country in particular, a necessity, so while they suck as an investment, they have a benefit.
But then, there are those things that are so incredibly stupid as an investment that it defies logic... take for example the production of currency. It's well documented that a penny is valued at exactly one cent... but it costs 1.9 cents to produce. The nickel is valued at 5 cents, but cost about 9.8 cents to produce. Long and short of it, we lose about $105 MILLION dollars a year producing this stuff.
Today's question: WHAT DID YOU PAY FOR IT AND WHAT IS IT WORTH NOW?
