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Friday
13Feb2009

My Retirement Is Way Down And I Couldn't Be Happier

As of January, my retirement (a mixture of pre, and post tax funds, with the most recent contributions funding as a Roth 401k) is WAAAAY down.  It's down around 30% since the end of 2007.  And yet, I couldn't be happier.

Why? I'm getting a fantastic 30% off sale on all my recent, current, and near future contributions.  If there were ever a time that I'd want my retirement funds to drop way down, it's in my 20s - 30s.  I'm very excited for the next 5 - 10 years when my funds rebound.  I should see some very considerable gains in a relatively short period.

With that being said, my parents (and Dad in particular) have quite the opposite take on the recent drops understandably.  While my dad retired a few years ago, he has not yet started pulling money out of his retirement funds.  Thankfully, they're in a position that they don't *NEED* to just yet, because the drop in funds for retirement-age folks can prove to be quite tragic.  But still, they're both quite worried about how long it'll take to get the market back up to where it was so they can start to get at their money.

However, for those of you that are well away from retirement.. be happy your retirement funds are tanking - it'll be better for you in the long run.

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Reader Comments (1)

if you watch the news, you might feel like the only one investing right now for the long term. I get tired of watching these guys talk about pulling everything out and waiting for the market to recover. Isn't this the time to buy now when stocks are cheap? I don't mean all stocks, but what about index funds or the Vanguard 500 index. This could be a great opportunity, like you stated.

February 17, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterScott @ The Passive Dad

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