401K is in the drink....

[MIbasser]

A little rant....

I don't know about the rest of you and how you're doing but I wish I would have cashed out what I lost and bought bigger boat!! It's something about losing 25% of your retirement in 6 months. I really don't want to see it after this first quarter... It will take about 2+ years of matching from my company and my investment to come close to where I was. I guess I'm lucky that they still match, but it just sucks to see all that money gone...

To you young guys, start saving (well feed the monkey a little no and then). To the older folks, I wish you the best of luck in these hard times. And to the middle aged guys (me) don't open your statements for another two years!!

[doc]

30% is what I lost last year, I've only been at my job 9 years so it wasn't as bad for me as it was for some of our more seasoned employees. I can see it taking a couple years for me to get back even, but we have 2 30+ year employees that this will be their last year.

[aikenyounggun]

yeah it sux for you guys but as a younger person i am not so happy that our country is going to have trillons of dollars of debt and all of that is going to be dumped on my generations shoulders.... but every generation gets some huge problem from their parents or grandparents generation.... sorry for your losses

[CMorg]

I have lost alot myself in the last 6 months..but thats part of investing , you take a chance... I had the option of putting it in a guaranteed fund , I didnt. I got another 30+ years of work ahead of me , I figure it will come back in time..

[cassidyta]

a few months ago I made the choice to quit opening the statements. Of course I had to look when I was doing my taxes and like everyone it was not good. However CMorg is right it will come back. The issue is not for those of us in our 40's and younger but those who are retired or looking to so in the immediate future are the ones for which I am concerned.

[bassinbob]

I took a terrible hit. Don't think I'll recover as I only have 7 more years till retirement. Should have put part of the 401 in gold. I could have retired now. You can also invest in realestate. I was told realestate (in your 401k) is the way to go now since it is so cheap. Not too sure about that though.

[Bender]

I cashed out what little I had 2 years ago, glad I did. A guy I know lost more than I can imagine, plus his company just announced a 4% pay cut across the board and they are no longer matching at all. I guess that's not too bad, since 3 out of 4 friends of mine in MI are without jobs.

[Bubba_Bruiser]

Well, I am down 48% down in the past year. But I am only 33, so I hope I have a few years left to regain. But I got a bombshell this morning on the rig when we got a call and they told us to pack all our stuff, and wait by the phone to see if we were cut or not. So now, if I do lose my job, and I run out and have to cash out my 401K, I don't even want to think about it. After taxes and the penalties might keep me floating for a year or so. I don't think they allow hardship withdrawals though after you leave the company to help with tax purposes. Whatever I cash out, Uncle Sam will get about 40-45%. But that is a last resort anyways.
I know I am young, but younger guys and older if your not too set in your ways, listen to some Dave Ramsey or Clark Howard podcast or downloads from the web. I also would recommend Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover". He is not out to get you rich quick, but he has a lot of common "cents" in my opinion about managing money. I had a guy tell me about him and I got to listening to him. I paid off over 25000 in debt in a year just by cutting some corners. Now I don't have to worry about a credit card payment and stuff. I know it's tough to hold back when everyone else has it, but it can crash you hard. I see a lot of these young guns out here on the water that I know won't make the cut. Now they have to worry about 200,000 homes, 50,000 diesel 4x4 truck notes, and (forgive me for saying this) high $$$ boats. This stuff is going to be real cheap on the side of the road in the next couple of months. Just stop in any little town off of I-10 between Mobile and Galveston, I am sure you will find a deal.
And fellas, I hope you have enough time to regain your retirements, and I hope it doesn't prolong your passions and plans. I am going to stay put, because I don't feel as though I have a choice in my investments. All I can hope for is a rebound. But if everything crashed tomorrow, it won't matter how much money you have, because it won't be worth a cent. It'll be time for bartering then.

[bassintom]

I don't have a lot in my retirement fund so I pay little attention to it and just kind of take things day by day.It sucks that I'm 57 and know I will be slugging it out till the day I die.