Comments on: Saving in a down economy http://www.knuetter.com/christian/2009/04/03/saving-in-a-down-economy/ musings about life and what I'm up to Mon, 01 Aug 2011 19:45:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: Christian http://www.knuetter.com/christian/2009/04/03/saving-in-a-down-economy/comment-page-1/#comment-124 Christian Wed, 08 Apr 2009 05:16:57 +0000 http://www.knuetter.com/christian/?p=206#comment-124 I was not so proactive as you (I remember the email, and I remember my skepticism over the need to be so aggressive...).<br><br>But that said, I did have about 30% of my IRA (401k) in a cash position so I didn't get hit that hard.<br><br>All told, at the trough-to-date low my investments were down about 30 - 35% which was a pretty big hit. It basically wiped out any gains I've had over the years from my 401k, reducing me to my initial contributions.<br><br>In the past month I've recovered some from that low, and I'm currently down only about 25-30%. Not great, but better.<br><br>I feel fortunate on many levels for sure, but I will say this. I'm questioning this whole 401k thing. I've never worked at companies with robust matching programs, and I just don't see how contributing (even the maximum amount) is anywhere near the amount of cash I'll need. Bring back the pension! I was not so proactive as you (I remember the email, and I remember my skepticism over the need to be so aggressive…).

But that said, I did have about 30% of my IRA (401k) in a cash position so I didn't get hit that hard.

All told, at the trough-to-date low my investments were down about 30 – 35% which was a pretty big hit. It basically wiped out any gains I've had over the years from my 401k, reducing me to my initial contributions.

In the past month I've recovered some from that low, and I'm currently down only about 25-30%. Not great, but better.

I feel fortunate on many levels for sure, but I will say this. I'm questioning this whole 401k thing. I've never worked at companies with robust matching programs, and I just don't see how contributing (even the maximum amount) is anywhere near the amount of cash I'll need. Bring back the pension!

]]> By: Christian Knuetter http://www.knuetter.com/christian/2009/04/03/saving-in-a-down-economy/comment-page-1/#comment-32 Christian Knuetter Wed, 08 Apr 2009 01:16:57 +0000 http://www.knuetter.com/christian/?p=206#comment-32 I was not so proactive as you (I remember the email, and I remember my skepticism over the need to be so aggressive...).<br><br>But that said, I did have about 30% of my IRA (401k) in a cash position so I didn't get hit that hard.<br><br>All told, at the trough-to-date low my investments were down about 30 - 35% which was a pretty big hit. It basically wiped out any gains I've had over the years from my 401k, reducing me to my initial contributions.<br><br>In the past month I've recovered some from that low, and I'm currently down only about 25-30%. Not great, but better.<br><br>I feel fortunate on many levels for sure, but I will say this. I'm questioning this whole 401k thing. I've never worked at companies with robust matching programs, and I just don't see how contributing (even the maximum amount) is anywhere near the amount of cash I'll need. Bring back the pension! I was not so proactive as you (I remember the email, and I remember my skepticism over the need to be so aggressive…).

But that said, I did have about 30% of my IRA (401k) in a cash position so I didn't get hit that hard.

All told, at the trough-to-date low my investments were down about 30 – 35% which was a pretty big hit. It basically wiped out any gains I've had over the years from my 401k, reducing me to my initial contributions.

In the past month I've recovered some from that low, and I'm currently down only about 25-30%. Not great, but better.

I feel fortunate on many levels for sure, but I will say this. I'm questioning this whole 401k thing. I've never worked at companies with robust matching programs, and I just don't see how contributing (even the maximum amount) is anywhere near the amount of cash I'll need. Bring back the pension!

]]> By: Ed http://www.knuetter.com/christian/2009/04/03/saving-in-a-down-economy/comment-page-1/#comment-30 Ed Mon, 06 Apr 2009 08:30:03 +0000 http://www.knuetter.com/christian/?p=206#comment-30 Glad to hear you are doing OK and weathering things. Dude, I sent you an email on 3/17/08 titled, "Worries of a Bad Recession." I actually shifted my 401k to bonds about a year ago, so my 401k is actually up in the last year, but even preparing for a downturn a year ago, my portfolio still got hit by the stupid eBay stock. I thought it would weather the recession better than it did (during the dot com, tons of people signed up for eBay to sell their stuff). Hope things turn around soon, though; I actually know quite a few people who have been hit hard. Glad to hear you are doing OK and weathering things. Dude, I sent you an email on 3/17/08 titled, “Worries of a Bad Recession.” I actually shifted my 401k to bonds about a year ago, so my 401k is actually up in the last year, but even preparing for a downturn a year ago, my portfolio still got hit by the stupid eBay stock. I thought it would weather the recession better than it did (during the dot com, tons of people signed up for eBay to sell their stuff). Hope things turn around soon, though; I actually know quite a few people who have been hit hard.

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