[Mark]

I’ve lost a significant portion of my 401(k) recently, and I’m unsure whether to stay invested or pull out of the market.

Given the current economic conditions, is it wiser to ride out the volatility or cut my losses?

I’d love to hear different perspectives and strategies. What would you do in this situation?

[Brian]

I’m increasing contributions while market is down.

[Justin]

How is anyone in a FIRE and not committed to buying low cost index funds and holding in perpetuity?

That’s the whole point of this venture. Change nothing.

If you’re within 5-10 years of retirement the only thing that may change is your bond amount.

As always…pay a fee only advisor if you want to sanity check your specific situation.

[Emmanuel]

Be greedy when people are fearful, be fearful when others are greedy. I think we will bottom this week.

It’s just tariff fear, trump is strongarming so he can get what he wants from the other countries.

I see the bottom this week, probably another 5% dip for the S and P then back up.

Selling now won’t get you anything. This too shall pass

[Jake]

Pullbacks are healthy and with an account you don’t plan to touch for another 20 years I wouldn’t recommend trying to time the market, you’ll drive yourself nuts if you liquidate and then it goes back up in the next few days.

Stay the course, keep dollar cost averaging and you’ll be good to go.

This will just look like a blip on the radar years from now.

[Aaron]

The market is for long term money. Stay the course and keep investing. You now get to buy new shares at a discount.

[Mike]

When the people are asking if they should sell it’s usually an indication that it’s a good time to buy.

[Lydia]

Why would you leave now, especially with a loss, when you have 20 years to go.

You never sell when the market goes that low…you’ll never recoup those losses if you leave now.

Everything is always temporary and patience is key.

[Javier]

Hold on your investments. The market will recover once Trump is out of office in 4 years

[Zach]

Do you avoid buying items at stores when they’re on sale and wait to buy them again when they’re back to full price?

The market is down a whopping 2%ytd after 2yrs of 20%+ gains in a row.

This is not a big deal at all.

[Tabitha]

I never stopped contributing to, nor did I sell off, during the 2007-2009 time period. Glad I didn’t too.

Keep at it!

[Jeff]

Markets drop to certain levels when in distress. 10% = correction 20%= recession 35%=depression.

Personally I hope for these levels to present themselves and build cash reserves to buy at these levels as well as dollar cost averaging in taxable and none taxable accounts.

I suggest looking back on charts and measure the retracement levels for yourself.

Helps give me peace of mind.

[Bill]

Stay in. You won’t know when to get back in and you will miss the roaring comeback.

[Berry]

Seriously? This is a great time to stay in and buy. Even better if/when it goes lower so I can buy a lot more at a cheaper price

[Shirri]

I usually stay in. I took my loss now. Trump at this time is destroying everything. If you have 10 years or more, you will see a loss and eventually it will come back.

But with him dismantling everything and of course lied to everyone, I am taking my chips off the table for now. I left some in the coal mine, but the canary is singing.

[David]

You haven’t lost a dime until you sell. Please study the market graph over the last 25 years and remember to buy low and sell high.

You should be buying MORE.

[Tom]

I’m retired. The only thing a correction means to me is we can move more shares in our Roth conversions while staying in the same tax bracket.

Then they recover tax free.

Intentionality is a powerful thing.

[Clayton]

Don’t sell low. But do rebalance when your portfolio no longer matches your target investment mix.

Everyone who sold in 2008 and 2001 regrets it.

[Ric]

Yes! If you plan on working until 70 or 75…this is nothing more than a buying opportunity. If you have thoughts about retiring before then, you might want to think: can it get worse?

China grabs Taiwan, Ukraine falls to Putin & then pressures Baltic states?

Full fledged global trade war?

Things can get worse…much worse.

[Lori]

Suck it up buttercup is my motto. If you have no risk tolerance you don’t belong in equities. Been through this many times.

If you cash out you ink the Losses and have no idea whether the bottom is here (which I doubt but what do I know) and someone can sneeze and it will zoom up and cash holders miss the return.

Keep short term needs in cash and ride the waves.

[Author]

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