The bail out plan failed. Dow was down more than 700 points. Tokyo is down. Singapore is down. Korea is down. And Taiwan is down.
I checked my 401K. I used to have 6 figures in there. Now it's back to 5 figures
I transfered some of my funds to more stables ones last week. I'm glad I did. Otherwise, the damage would have been larger.
I sure am grateful that I am not retiring any time soon. My DH's co-worker came back to work after his retirement because his retirement fund got hit really hard.
Actually, I'm not worried that much, though. Luckly, both DH and I have stable jobs, and I will receive some bonus this year. I will also keep contributing to my 401K, but I need to pay attention to my fund allocation.
Where is the end of this madness?
September 30th, 2008 at 05:35 am
September 30th, 2008 at 01:13 pm 1222776780
Today is a Jewish holiday that Congress observes, so they are not meeting up today. I believe it will meet up again tomorrow, and talks at least will resume.
I think the Dow drop emphasized the urgency of the matter, so hopefully something will get done soon.
I think things are going to be fine, but I prefer not to assume that. "Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst." That's my Boy Scout motto.
September 30th, 2008 at 03:12 pm 1222783937
I think that those of us that hold on will be better for it in the long term - at least I keep telling myself that.
September 30th, 2008 at 03:32 pm 1222785176
Forgive me, but people are not seeing the big picture here. Stock shares (and NAVs) are on sale in one of the biggest single day sale event in nearly two decades! And yet, people are running from it rather than buying into it.
Also, when the market fluctuates, you still haven't lost a single share. Only the value of your shares have changed (paper loss/gain).
The only thing time when it becomes "real" is when you sell. Then, be it gain or loss, the results are locked in. But for retirement, that's decades away. No need for a single day to change the fate your retirement... and possibly for the worse.
My retirement fund took a substantial loss too. However, I didn't change a single thing with it. Why? Just paper loss. It fluctuates along with the market. Up and down, up and down... but still no change to the number of shares I own. If anything, I am not able to buy more shares for my money now than before.
September 30th, 2008 at 06:34 pm 1222796042