Investment/Retirement/Cruising Kitty

[bottleinamessage]

10-20%
20-30%
30-40&
40 and up


How much has your portfolio suffered due to the market turmoil. Will it/has it caused you to make adjustments to your timetable or cruising plans??

[neelie]

Money: down 40+% (that's when I stopped looking).
Gin consumption: up 80%. (co-incidentally also when I stopped looking)
2 extra years in the salt mines.
Changes?... all sharp implements and Leonard Cohen CDs removed from boat.

[RTB]

Nice post, neelie!

[Cheechako]

got lucky, took 95% out of market a year ago and put in CD's. Been through this a couple of times in the past. No longer listen to brokers or money managers (cant afford to when you start to get old) my motto: dont get greedy. ride it up and get out early. It ALWAYS GOES DOWN. The 5% I left in mutal funds is down about 40%. Should have taken it all out.

[James S]

Never did "buy" into that stock market stuff...we live in a cave...the cave is doing fine.

[Glenn C]

In Australia the govt reqires everyone has superannuation to fund retirement plans. It does have some tax benefits, but most people havetheir 'super' in funds that invest in the market. So of course most people have lost a lot. Our plans havent changed a great deal, but realisation may be 2nd hand or new and smaller than the original plan. Depends what happens to the stock and housing markets in Australia over the next 18 months or so. However, readjusting requirejments from 45ft to 40ft is by no means a disarster . The disarster would be to dealy departure until everything was perfect!

[maxingout]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

got lucky, took 95% out of market a year ago and put in CD's. Been through this a couple of times in the past. No longer listen to brokers or money managers (cant afford to when you start to get old) my motto: dont get greedy. ride it up and get out early. It ALWAYS GOES DOWN. The 5% I left in mutal funds is down about 40%. Should have taken it all out.

If you took all your money out and went into CD's, you must have the biggest CD collection in the world. I hope all the CD's hold their value.

[bottleinamessage]

Geesh...should I go into DVD's or Blu-Rays??

[scallywag]

I am now into the stock market for the long haul. I can not afford to bail out now. Will still retire on schedule because I did not believe the market would be there when I retired. The government was pushing too hard for 401's this and that. I felt the baby boomers would take a hit. I felt the housing market was safer. Was I wrong! We have all been hit! I guess it will be a bean and rice diet.

John

[Dave the Canuck]

I'm "dollar cost averaging" in the belief that, while I'm going down in a straight line, I'll come out of it very quickly when the markets recover. That being said, the Admirals Defined Benefit pension plan is looking very nice right now. Fingers and toes crossed that we'll still get out on schedule.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by scallywag

I guess it will be a bean and rice diet.

John

Check out the prices of rice and beans when all the boomers have to eat them

Well call me stupid but I am buying another boat in January. Got the racing bug bad and was offered 50% of a J24.

I'll work till I drop and end up homeless and broke. So what. It'll be a good ride along the way.

[sailsamal]

Just did the poll - I am like the majority. Stopped looking at it and also stopped listening about it on TV. I went through this before - seems to cycle every 10-15 years. People forget very fast, so the cycle happens again and again. What can I say?

[Stillraining]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

I'll work till I drop and end up homeless and broke. So what. It'll be a good ride along the way.

Thats been my plan as well all along...my retirement investing consists of putting my kids through collage...

[kevingy]

The market turmoil has done nothing to my cruising plans. I plan on being a working cruiser for several years - and my employer is seeing average or better growth in most markets. I'm continuing to buy into the market (along with my employer's match). When I'm able to cash out (in another 23 years or so), I'm certain that all of this turmoil will be over.

I find it very odd that all of the individual stocks I own, with one exception, are fairing better than the traditionally safer mutual funds.

[nautical62]

The value of my retirment fund has decreased by about 30% from it's high point, but I haven't lost anything, at least not yet, because I haven't sold any of it. I should add I've also had years where it increased over 20% per year in value.

Like Dave the Canuck, I've always practiced dollar cost averaging.

It does make me reconsider early retirement/cruising options, but I really have to wait and see what happens over the next few years.