Seven??

[grassyneal]

The Dow Jones Industrial, which used to be in the 14,000s, is now about half that, closing on Friday at 7,365, and seems to be seeing if anybody dares it to go into 6k territory.

Sigh.

If I ever wished I was twenty again, the retirement portfolio seems to be reverting back to try to help me remember.

Comments

[jen_2004]

It's going to be ok.

I really believe that.

[grassyneal]

I think so, too. I just don't know what OK will look like, whether it will be a result of the economy getting running well again, or some sort of adaptation, where more of us are living together with extended family like we did 100 years ago, etc.

[jen_2004]

That would NOT be my definition of ok.

[richardf8]

My 401K spent most of the plummet in Income funds. I don't think things are going MUCH lower than they are now, so I just moved it to stocks. When I think people are buying into the "nowhere but up" myth again - back into the income funds they will go.

[grassyneal]

A savvy contrarian approach. I think much of our investments were in REITs, which I think is income-ish, right?

You may be right about the low. Things are so volatile right now that when we get a good bounce, we'll probably see a big resurgence.

[nuzzybear]

You know, if the market didn't do this kind of thing, we would never make money off it. People bought a lot of stocks at a high price - now is when we get the chance to lower the average price of the stocks in our portfolios. Buy stock! Warren Buffet sez so.

Grassyneal

[nuzzybear]

Mr. Buffett is a wise man.

Mr. Buffett, I am guessing, is not currently shipping half his after-taxes paycheck off to daycare, and as such has sufficient liquidity with which to speculate. One day I will manage to be as wise as he.

I wonder what Peter Lynch is making of all this. Another book, I imagine..

Re: Grassyneal

[nuzzybear]

Your daycare dollars should be taken pre-tax out of your paychecks! Check with your HR! You don't have liberal guilt and you're not up for a cabinet post, so there's no reason you should be paying taxes.

I don't know who Peter Lynch is, but if he's like David Lynch, the book would involve Isabella Rosselini and a talking coyote...

Re: Grassyneal

[nuzzybear]

Peter Lynch was the guy behind the Fidelity Magellan fund, which weathered downturns and did very well over time. You're right - a David Lynch book on the stock market would be very much different! Maybe throw in Kurt Russell, too.

We are making maximum use of the ability to set some pre-tax dollars aside. The daycare is eating them all with a ravenous OM NOM NOM NOM, and roaring for more. We may get Carissa a job at the drugstore, or maybe she'll take tickets at the movie theater. She'd look cute in a theater uniform, wouldn't she? But she'd probably go crazy with all the popcorn available...