All My Children Discussion Group -- Wall Street Blues

All My Children Discussion Group

Topic: Wall Street Blues

Topic Posted by: Holly
Date Posted: Fri Oct 10 20:46:49 2008
Additional Comments:
Is anyone else worried about our financial crisis? I can't sleep at night. I woke up this morning and I turn on the news to watch the Dow take a tumble to below 8000. They said that 8000 would be the bottom but then it went below that. They say that we haven't reached the bottom yet.

As a middle class American, my savings is in stocks and bonds.

Posted by: Genie
Date posted: Sat Oct 11 16:18:27 2008
Message:
I've been worried sick too, but more about keeping our jobs. My 401K has lost so much, it's awful. We've always thought if we lost our jobs or became disabled, our 401K would be there in a dire emergeny. I've never really believed I would be able to retire, I'm almost 40 and don't think Social Security will be solvent that long, but I would like to be able to keep my house and feed my kids. The way the economy's going and businesses are closing, it doesn't look good. I was more optimistic after 9/11, continued reasonable shopping, and got some good deals. Now though, I'm scared. We are in good shape as far as having a good mortgage and not a lot of debt, but we're not rich by any means. I really feel for so many people who have it worse than I do.

Replies: (list all replies)

Hi, Genie, I'm praying that it will get better. My Christian faith is what keeps me going. Holly

Genie, hopefully you can keep your job but If I were you, at your age, I wouldn’t worry about your 401K, because you have plenty of years for it to come back. If yours keeps reinvesting you are getting stock really cheap right now and eventually that will make up for the loss you’re seeing now. That’s what the experts are all saying. Back in ’87 I had a Bellsouth Savings Plan (similar to a 401K). I thought I had quite a bit of money in it and then overnight most of it disappeared because we had a stock market crash. It took a lot of years but it did come back. So, it’s really only the people who are near retirement or have retired that need to worry about their 401K. On the other hand losing your job is a different matter and I hope it doesn’t happen to you. I think a lot of people are worried about that. / Vivian

Posted by: Shea
Date posted: Sat Oct 11 8:47:36 2008
Message:
We're luckier than most because we don't have as much. Odd position to be in, isn't it? Our house is paid off, and what retirement savings we've been able to put aside over the years is in IRAs. Our money still doesn't go as far as it did, and raises are apparently a thing of the past because of budget shortfalls caused by (a)the huge decrease in home assessments, and (b)the electorate jumping on the tax cut bandwagon. We do worry about the health of the Florida pension fund. If that is lost, there isn't much hope of a happy retirement in this house.

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Hi, Shea. I believe that we will get past this worrisome time and it will be okay for all of us. Holly

Posted by: Vivian
Date posted: Fri Oct 10 22:21:23 2008
Message:

Yes, I’ve been worried for quite some time. One thing I was lucky about is I had taken all my money that I had in mutual funds and put them in CD’s. They aren’t making much but they won’t go down and they are insured. Although I don’t see how the government can insure everybody’s money. A few months ago I even took some out of one bank and put it into another. That was before they said they would insure up to $250,000 in one bank.

I do have stock in ATT and Verizon and that worries me. They’ve both dropped and I don’t even want to keep looking them up. A year ago they were both at a high and I had thought about selling it but I didn’t. I heard about a week ago that ATT was having trouble getting its hands on cash.

My daughter just told me today that her 401K has dropped over 50% , but she has a long time before she needs it so she’s just keeping it where it is. All the years that I worked I lived frugally, brown bagged it almost every single day, and was able to save and invest quite a bit. If I lose it now I’ll be sick. I did lose a lot right after 9/11, but now I’m afraid of losing the rest of it. I’ve been wondering about my pension. I keep thinking I’m going to get a letter from ATT telling me there is no pension money.

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Hi, Vivian, you have been smart with your money. I believe that it will get better. We are going through tough times right now. Holly

Posted by: Miss Harold
Date posted: Fri Oct 10 21:27:16 2008
Message:

Yes, I am worried. We have always socked away as much as possible in our 401K, and we've always followed the experts' advice about having a mix between stocks and bonds. Our savings have taken a serious hit. We also have regular bank money market accounts, but I don't feel all that secure about banks anymore either. I know all about the FDIC, but it's still just the government insuring our money, and I don't have total faith in the government anymore. I'm trying not to dwell on it, because I really don't think there is a better alternative than diversifying between stocks, bonds, and the money market.

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Hi, Miss Harold, it's a tough time that we are going through so it helps to commiserate with each other and pray for better times. I do believe that it will get better. Holly

Posted by: Peace
Date posted: Fri Oct 10 21:06:40 2008
Message:

Holly, you are not alone. My nest egg is dropping every day ....so fast. I cannot believe it dropped so fast. There is nothing to do now but sit tight and hope it stops dropping soon.

I know what you mean about not being able to get a good night's sleep. I never dreamed that at my age I might end up living on just Social Security, but it may come to that. Now I'm wondering how secure that is.

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Hi, Peace, I think that we can take comfort in going through this together. I try to take comfort in my Christian faith.