Comments on: Ask the M-Network – Should I Raid the 401(k) to Buy “Safe” Assets?

By: Ryan

Ryan — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 02:55:21 +0000

Jenna: I don’t have an answer for you, Jenna. From what I have noticed, most personal finance bloggers are fairly young. Do it’s probably just a coincidence, or because many people who blog are probably in a similar stage of life and have a little college debt or a few student loans remaining.

By: Jenna

Jenna — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 02:28:14 +0000

One thing I noticed while poking around the web and reading far to many blogs to mention. No matter what we do to cut cost in our homes no matter what we do for a living , we all must be creatures of habit or something because the number of blogs that keep the running debt toll that have right around $20K debt or just over or just under it is scary to say the least, like some how this is America’s magical number for debt. How can that be when some folks have both adult couple members working and other folks have like four or 8 kids? Some have trimmed budgets so far they are now even having two nights per week no electric to cut that bill and save more towards debt. Others are willing to eat popcorn for a month if that is what it takes to find some money to throw at the credit cards. I find it more than wierd that so many folks are all around the $20K number no matter how far apart they all are on living habits or even areas of the county. What is it about this number??????????

By: DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad

DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 02:02:49 +0000

The proverbial house has burned down– too late for the “insurance”.

What’s done is done– forget the past and start rebuilding . . . markets go both ways.

By: Mrs. Micah

Mrs. Micah — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 01:33:21 +0000

@fredct

That’s how I look at it. If there’s such a dramatic revolution that the government is taking our savings, then we’ll probably have a lot more to worry about, like people in Zimbabwe. The odds of such a revolution are incredibly low–but even if it happened, it seems that humans can survive (and sometimes) thrive in extraordinarily bad situations.

(Ryan, would you mind fixing a few typos in my answer? My brain must have been going faster than my fingers when I wrote it. Or asynchronously.)

By: Curious Cat Investing Blog

Curious Cat Investing Blog — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 22:26:18 +0000

Leaving money in retirement plans is by far the smartest move. Tax rates will likely have to increase in the future to pay for all the consumption we have been doing without paying for it the last few decades. But potential increases in taxation is actually a reason to put more money in tax advantaged retirement accounts, not less.

By: fredct

fredct — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:08:26 +0000

Amen. You can’t act like the world is about to collapse. If that happens, you’ll have bigger problems that your 401(k) balance… like finding dinner in a garbage bin so your family can eat tonight.

The government has no right to seize your money, regardless of what some may pontificate, and doing so would have to be the side effects of a wholesale revolution… the odds of which are 0.00000000000001%, and that’s probably an overestimate.

People need to chill out and realize that while the economy is bad, its been bad before, and it will recover.

You need to make sure your investments are appropriate for you and your situation- not all in stocks if you’re nearing retirement. But also realize that precious metals, CDs, savings accounts, and even a box under your mattress have their own kinds of risks.

If you have a while until retirement (10+ years) now will likely turn out to be a terrific time to buy equities at depressed prices. We’re recently seen about 20% gains in less than a month.

And while I’ve no doubt prices will continue to be volatile (perhaps for years, heck if I know), once the chicken little’s stop yelling about the sky falling, you’ll be glad you stuck it out (again, if you have the time to do so).