I’m just back from a national meeting, my first in 6 years.
Spending time away from the office and the inbox, while attending educational sessions, was invigorating. Returning to a week’s worth of messages and to-do’s is not.
Right now, looking at my work load, retirement sounds mighty attractive. However, while I was away, the stock market decided to jump off a cliff.
I have finally checked my brokerage account, ignoring lesson #2 from dealing with market crashes. My net worth is still respectable, but definitely not where it was in February, when I had that talk with my boss.
After losing so much money, with no guarantee my portfolio total might not drop lower, I’m glad I will still be employed in a few months. What a way to dodge that sequence of returns risk.
I am torn between hunkering down and looking at cutting expenses like it’s 2009 vs going ahead and spending as I had been planning, mostly on the house and maybe travel. I suppose I can do both if I like: cut back on the stuff I don’t care about but still make my life a little nicer if the money is there.
How are you dealing with the stock market drop? (No politics, please, tempting though it is to discuss why the market tanked.)
I’m trying not to look. Honestly, we’re okay for this year’s spending and have enough in cash investments to get us through the end of next year. I won’t panic yet. 😂
No panicking!
After several days of financial news (including stuff Mr. PiN was telling me), I just had to look. Normally I would advise not looking at all.
It did make me feel better about my decision to keep working, since I was tired and grumpy after a long trip home, and didn’t feel like going in to the office today.
Clearly, I am not yet comfortable with my cash investment total yet; I guess that will be part of my focus as I slide towards a retirement. (Of course, as long as everything doesn’t go up in smoke, this may be a good time to keep investing in the market…)
(This leaves aside a lot of unhappiness that is coming down the economic turnpike)
I looked just at my brokerage account and this past weekend had lost over $60K. Since that is more than I was able to save last year that kind of sucked. However, I have been trying to “rebalance” into bonds for the past year and a bit anyway because… I don’t want such a heavy stock allocation when I retire. In my brokerage account that means that’s where new money is going. So… my dollar cost averaging will continue. However. I had mimicked a vanguard target date fund for my allocation, except that the bond portion was entirely US bonds, as opposed to the US and international bond portion the target fund actually had. Given the shenanigans I’m rethinking this and will be putting all my future bond buys into international.
I’m having more anxiety though because I hadn’t had a significant cash cushion, but that is resolved at least to the extent that I now have 6 mo. worth plus more at a pinch.
I am worried about my job though because I do federal research. Not sure I’ll be able to save enough by the end of the fiscal year to make up for these losses and get to coast FI any more though, but hopefully I will be able to work for a bit more. I was *so close* to coast FI.
Regardless, I am glad, once more, that we already paid off the house. I think I could manage for a leaner FIRE if need be but I like actually having money and think it will be even more useful to have a lot with the havoc of the tariffs. And I’ve never been more glad that I’ve been saving early and often because woah I’d be flipping out otherwise with the risk to my job.
Good to hear from you, C, though the news isn’t awesome.
It is sooo tough seeing your investments drop in days by more than you can save in 1 year. I feel your pain.
Yay for the cash cushion! Knowing you can cover expenses for 6 months or more takes a ton of pressure away, especially since your job is at risk.
Lastly, as regards Coast FI and future plans. We can zoom out and look at two extreme futures for the stock market:
(1) The stock market regards this as a tiny blip when we look back on this in 5 to 10 years (whenever you want to retire for real), and your portfolio looks awesome for your needs. In fact, you have more than you need and you don’t know what to do with the rest. Score!
(2) The economy has totally tanked, the stock market has not done well and you can’t retire in the style you wish to become accustomed to. You still have money saved–probably more than most people–and you know how to live on less than you earn. And you live in a paid-off house. This is not the future you were planning on, but it still looks better than it could have been. A part time job might help a lot with financial pain without the burden of a full time job. Sucky, but could be worse, and a lot of people will be worse off.
I am leaving out all sorts of other scary scenarios, because I said no politics would be allowed.
Anyway, I am hoping for a future for you that looks closer to #1 than #2.