16 responses so far ↓

• 1 Stacey // Nov 26, 2008 at 2:39 pm

  Perhaps you should stop setting goals based on your total retirement amounts, and focus on the amounts that you did contribute. Maxing out your Roth and 401(k)s is awesome! I wish I could say the same.

  You can’t control the market, but you can control how much you contribute. Think of it this way: If during the recovery your stocks suddenly shot higher, would you stop contributing just because you’ve broken $100,000? Of course not – you’ll probably continue maxing out the accounts, regardless of what the market is doing.

  Best of luck, and keep up the good work! The market will turn around eventually.

• 2 fengshui // Nov 26, 2008 at 3:22 pm

  Yowzers…. that is hard to swallow. However, we are young, and if you were planning to retire in 2009, then I would be extrememly worried and upset, but time is on our side, hopfully…..

• 3 Kristy // Nov 26, 2008 at 3:47 pm

  You and I had the same goal. We too have maxed our all of our retirement accounts and like you, we are down to about the same number in retirement. Our taxable accounts are also down about $25,000. Yikes! And I haven’t looked in about 2 weeks. I peeked a couple of weeks ago and I refuse to look again…at any of our accounts.

• 4 The Digerati Life // Nov 26, 2008 at 7:43 pm

  All I can say is that I lost the equivalent of 4 to 5 years’ worth of living expenses for a family of 4. Or a nice downpayment for a second house in 2 months’ time.

  From last year alone, our losses were greater — maybe 7 years’ living expenses for a family of 4? ugh.

  Best way to deal with this is to continue an investment plan in order to accumulate shares at these lower levels.

• 5 Fabulously Broke // Nov 26, 2008 at 7:48 pm

  *sigh* That is depressing.

• 6 Sean // Nov 27, 2008 at 9:27 am

  Agree with Stacey: measuring short-term output for long-term goals is a mismatch, all you can do is max the input. I’d also add that you’re young, you’re smart, you’re earning, you’re learning… the future is yours, life is good.

• 7 LivingAlmostLarge // Nov 27, 2008 at 12:27 pm

  Nah, but it was a nice goal and thought. We only started saving for retirement really in 2006 when we got a real job (DH) and he was eligible for a retirement account.

  Previously I had contributed $6k but lost most of it in 2000-2003. Then I wasn’t eligible either from 2003-2005.

  So I guess I should be happy we’re doing something instead of nothing.

• 8 Alice // Nov 27, 2008 at 7:16 pm

  sounds to me, in reality, you really are doing nothing. you lost $6000 in 2000-2003 then went back in again and ‘invested’ again and lost more than 50% of your money.

  geese, you sound like a real smart gal.

  not!

• 9 fengshui // Nov 28, 2008 at 2:11 am

  Wow Alice, retract the claws….. Everyone has lost money in the market lately, so we are all idiots??????

• 10 LivingAlmostLarge // Nov 29, 2008 at 11:09 pm

  Sorry to disappoint Alice. I never claimed to be perfect or a financial guru. If you read my disclaimer, I’m just a normal person.

  I make mistakes. I’m not perfect. And I can’t help my own stupidity.

• 12 alice // Nov 30, 2008 at 10:47 pm

  Well, duh? Wall Street is unregulated. Remember junk bonds, the dot com and now the housing mess? How can you invest your hard earned money with companies that are basically thieves, dishonest and crooked? Unless Obama puts in stringent laws and enforces regulation, you’re just being, well, yeah, sorry to say it: stupid.

  When you send your money to these investment brokerage houses, do you really know what they are doing with your money? Apparently, they are gambling with it. What kind of a return is that? Might as well go to Atlantic City and do your own gambling.

  I don’t think a person who considers themselves normal would keep going back to Wall Street, keep on sending them money, keep on investing in the hopes they make a profit, when in reality they keep on losing their investment. Just doesn’t make any sense.

  Surely there must be a better way?

• 13 LAL // Dec 1, 2008 at 11:38 am

  Alice, I am not investing in Wall Street. I am investing in individual companies. Now by having in my 401k in actively managed and index funds, based on my choices in the 401k, I do have some wall street.

  A good chunk of my investing is in ETFs. Those are funds that track indexes but trade like stocks.

  I also do hold individual stocks because my DH wanted to do it this year. I agreed as a compromise.

  Do I believe that every company has corrupt people running it? No. I am not sending my money to investment brokerage houses.

  I think you are sort of not understanding the difference between investing in a brokerage house like Smith and Barney (ie owning their stock) versus using them to purchase mutual funds.

  You need to understand that no company controls an index fund like the S & P or Nasdaq or total market index fund. They track the indexes and hold the stocks based on it’s weight in the market. This is an unbiased investing strategy.

  Each index fund invests in different things. There is a total market bond fund index. There is an MSCI which is the European version of our Dow.

  I believe that many people invest in the stock market or else we would not have an economy. The average return for 80 years is 10% in a total market. So if you had invested in 1930 after the crash you would have made an average of 10%.

  Do you understand the difference between investing in brokerage houses you are talking about Alice and index funds or individual stocks?

  Also you can buy individual bonds and bond funds.

  You need to read investing for dummies. To fully understand the difference between what you think is Wall Street and what people invest in.

  By the way to invest in brokerages you need typically a minimum of $500k, or at least a $1 million to get help.

• 14 fengshui // Dec 1, 2008 at 4:07 pm

  “Well, duh? Wall Street is unregulated. Remember junk bonds, the dot com and now the housing mess? How can you invest your hard earned money with companies that are basically thieves, dishonest and crooked? Unless Obama puts in stringent laws and enforces regulation, you’re just being, well, yeah, sorry to say it: stupid.”

  OMG. Someone who actually thinks the same way I do!!!! I’m so happy. I say these things to people and I’m deemed a socialist and get harassed…… Many many crooks out there… for example, put options, etc. Look at the events surrounding 9/11…. many, many very crooked people made a killing off of put options based upon the predicted/ planned events surrounding 9/11…. and that is just the tip of the ice burg. Many people got rich prior to the housing crash and pulled out just in time, while the rest of us have lost our life savings. I’m feeling a little “delayed” these days as well when it comes to investing…… but I’m trying to learn from mistakes as well.

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