To bail or not to bail

[DETRoadster]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Some good points here. Much appreciated. And my account does have a fair amount of interest already, and most of that has been generated in the last 5 years or so. The more you have, the more you make, as they say. So I guess as long as we don't see a repeat of 1929, in which case we're all screwed, maybe things will work out.

Wifey warned me when I started watching the markets daily on my desktop ticker that I'd be sorry I did. Maybe she knows a thing or two.

Maybe I missed it but if you care to share:

1) How old are you
2) When do you plan to retire
3) Roughly how much $ are we talking about in this account
4) What % of your net worth is represented by this account vs. other investments such as stocks, 401K, IRAs, Bonds, your house, etc.
5) Are you the sole contributor to your retirement or does your wife work and contribute as well?
6) How much are you able to invest per year towards retirement?

Not that you should really bank on financial advice from a bunch of car guys on a web forum, but without knowing the above it's impossible for any of us to really say what we would do if in your situation.

[******]

Originally Posted by DETRoadster

Maybe I missed it but if you care to share:

1) How old are you
2) When do you plan to retire
3) Roughly how much $ are we talking about in this account
4) What % of your net worth is represented by this account vs. other investments such as stocks, 401K, IRAs, Bonds, your house, etc.
5) Are you the sole contributor to your retirement or does your wife work and contribute as well?
6) How much are you able to invest per year towards retirement?

Not that you should really bank on financial advice from a bunch of car guys on a web forum, but without knowing the above it's impossible for any of us to really say what we would do if in your situation.

You forgot to ask for his account password and atm code.

[DETRoadster]

Originally Posted by Herdalum

You forgot to ask for his account password and atm code.

Shut up! You're wrecking my scam here...

M_Six If you want to keep it high level it would be helpful to know:

1) Your age
2) When you plan to retire
3) What % of your retirement nest egg is wrapped up in the market vs. your house
4) Your total investment in the market represents X years of your annual income.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by usshelena725

You should never be watching the markets for retirement accounts. Pick some good funds, then review them once a year or so. Anymore than that, and you are just asking for trouble because your heart is going to try and outvote your brain.

Pretty much sums up what has been going on. Don't know if I can go cold-turkey now, though.

Originally Posted by DETRoadster

Maybe I missed it but if you care to share:

1) How old are you
2) When do you plan to retire
3) Roughly how much $ are we talking about in this account
4) What % of your net worth is represented by this account vs. other investments such as stocks, 401K, IRAs, Bonds, your house, etc.
5) Are you the sole contributor to your retirement or does your wife work and contribute as well?
6) How much are you able to invest per year towards retirement?

Not that you should really bank on financial advice from a bunch of car guys on a web forum, but without knowing the above it's impossible for any of us to really say what we would do if in your situation.

Just looking for generalities here. Any more specific and I'd feel obliged to pay you a commission.

[M_Six]

I feel better about things now. I'll take a deep breath and go back to worrying about my FTP and average speed on my bike.

Thanks all. Again, advice/knowledge much appreciated.

[Run Silent]

Originally Posted by M_Six

I feel better about things now. I'll take a deep breath and go back to worrying about my FTP and average speed on my bike.

Thanks all. Again, advice/knowledge much appreciated.

Check your PM's.

[UncleWede]

THIS is why I don't normally even open my statements. I selected a few target date based funds and . . . hey, look a new squirrel in the neighbor's tree!!!!!

[c1pher]

Originally Posted by OkieSnuffBox

/thread

Yep, the people who get rich are the ones who buy low....be patient and it will pay off....this assumes you aren’t invested in one company though. Dollar cost averaging and dividend reinvestment are also your friends.

[c1pher]

Originally Posted by M_Six

This what I'm saying. My current target account seems to be pretty damn risky. That's why I was thinking about principle preservation by moving to a less risky fund. I was not planning of withdrawing or leaving the investment firm. Just looking at something safer and maybe cutting back contributions.

You should try to review your portfolio at least annually or during major life or market events. I usually do a review after my annual pay raise and bonus period. This allows me to increase what I put in plus take stock of how well performing everything is. I don’t gut everything, I may get rid of one fund for another if I don’t feel it’s performing as it should.

[Maynard]

I'm "bailing" myself - just moved my TSP fund into the bond fund for now to see what happens. If things tank, I've 'missed' losing all that value. If not, then I will have lost some earnings growth for a few months. I'm not trying to micromanage and time the market for small swings - this is a brief hedge to ensure I don't take a bad fall. Things look pretty frothy and prone to some wild swings that could really hurt me - that crash in '08 took out around 50% of the value, and it didn't occur against a backdrop of a potential global financial war (potential for some really wild rides from political manipulations of oil prices, Chinese currency manipulations and US debt, etc.). Lately the market seems to be riding on attitude and situational factors like the buybacks and tax breaks, rather than fundamentals.

On a general note: I can't help but get suspicious that us little investors are the sheep being farmed - the 'big money' players always come on TV at these times to loudly proclaim 'keep your money where it is, ride out the swings (don't start a selloff until we are ready)' yet they also lobby for billions so they can have a fiber-optic line to do THEIR trades a few microseconds quicker on a day-to-day basis. We wait for the water level to gradually rise, while they capitalize on the tidal action.

[other_evolved]

Mostly good advice in here (I manage trust/institutional investments for a living) except for those trying to time the entrance and exit of the markets. If you do it once successfully, kudos but statistically you would be better off reallocating on the dips in accordance with your tolerance for risk (mix of stocks to bonds) versus getting all in or all out of the market. Selling out now just locks in those near term losses.

Time in the market > timing the market