DOW PLUMMETS ANOTHER 678 POINTS

[bobquasit]

A thought just occurred to me.

Should I still be contributing to my 401k?

I mean, every paycheck some chunk of money goes straight to my 401k - and therefore, to the stock market. I have it set for the most conservative option possible, I think, but still it's probably losing money.

Okay, the company is matching my donation. So I may not be actually losing money yet, in some sense. I mean, my losses would have to be 50% to negate the company's contribution, right? But at the rate things are going, I have to wonder if the economy is going to tank completely.

I've been predicting utter disaster as a result of Bushonomics for a long time. Now that it looks like I'm right, I'm not entirely sure what to do.

...

Comments

[joiseyguy.livejournal.com]

I just read a blogger who quadrupled his 401K contribution with the reasoning that so many stocks are super cheap now.

[ckd]

Yup. If you think it's going to come back up at all, consider it bargain hunting. If you don't think it's going to come back up, presumably you're already converting your retirement savings into canned goods or something.

[wingedbard.livejournal.com]

At the moment I'm not in ANYTHING investment-wise, and don't plan to get back in until after the first of the year. I want to see what happens to the banking industry over the next few months before I trust anybody with my money. The market's just too wonky right now for my taste.

[audacian.livejournal.com]

I'd keep contributing at least the minimum, but I'd also put some money in something FDIC insured.

I know people who have lost between 15-20k in the last quarter from the stock market plunge in their 401ks, but if its conservative it's probably pretty safe, but feeling the effects like everything else is. I think it'll bounce back.

[unquietsoul5.livejournal.com]

As Jim Cramer said, do not put anything in to the stock market that you are going to need in the next 5 years.

(At this point, you'd have better odds at a casino in many cases.)

[fireheart.livejournal.com]

I'd certainly do it if I were you. The 401K is presumably diversified. Unless the company tanks completely, it will bounce back. This is just a panic. That's a bubble, upside down. It will spring back up just like any bubble springs down.

Buy low, sell high. This is the low part. The alternative to the market bouncing back is total financial and civic collapse, in which case your money would be worthless anyway.

[klyfix.livejournal.com]

Assuming we don't have a true Apocalypse Collapse where one of the major food groups is Roast Neighbor stocks of companies that don't die will recover as the economy recovers. You'd be screwed if you were planning to retire now, but five or ten years from now you'll likely be fine.

[(Anonymous)]

Don't trust talking heads. They are always, ALWAYS behind the curve. Try www.marketoracle.co.uk. I have been reading their articles since june 2007 and they have been right every step of the way. Although it is already too late. Stock market may recoil up after this latest collapse, but that'd be only a bear trap. The long term bear market is just starting.

[(Anonymous)]

Well, markets DID recoil. As I'm writing this on monday Dow Jones is up 500+ points. Marketoracle.co.uk had this article about Jim Cramer's get-out-now-declaration as an immediate buy signal. Of course in the long run markets will go down, as this is just a bear trap, but it goes to show that you should never trust TV's commentators, pundits and talking heads. They are always wrong, even if they appeared to be right. You can either analyze markets or you can rehearse your next broadcast, but you can't do both. That's why you should never trust TV, when it comes to economy.