anyone else have anxiety over the us markets opening this morning?

I'm not really planning on selling anything right now but it makes me sick to think of what my losses will be again today. My 401k is turning into a 301K
It is however a good time to get a COD delivery of home heating oil, probably the best price since the summer.

Re: anyone else have anxiety over the us markets opening this morning?

The foreign markets plummeted and stock futures are way down. All of this because of the instability of our economy. Oil per barrel has gone down but I'm not seeing any change at the pump or in home heating yet. We pulled what we had invested and put it in a safe fund for now. We have a bear market now and until housing, consumer spending, unemployment and food costs turn around it is going to get much worse before it gets better.

Re: anyone else have anxiety over the us markets opening this morning?

Not really, since we are not going to be retiring any time soon. It will go back up eventually.

Plus DH's firm and our personal accts are mainly in fixed income so we should be ok.

Message edited 1/22/2008 8:27:51 AM.

Re: anyone else have anxiety over the us markets opening this morning?

Bernanke cut rates 75 basis points this morning already to salvage the market.

I plan on buying some stock today - and i dont plan on looking at my mutual fund in the future but im only 25, so i have to ride out the lows!

Re: anyone else have anxiety over the us markets opening this morning?

yes! My DH is sick to his stomach

ETA: although this is the time to BUY, BUY, BUY

Message edited 1/22/2008 8:43:39 AM.

Re: anyone else have anxiety over the us markets opening this morning?

a little worrried...but it will go back up

Re: anyone else have anxiety over the us markets opening this morning?

I took all my unrealized gains out of the market several weeks ago. But, I plan on buying a few specific stocks while they're lower. Interestingly enough, we have our annual meeting with our advisor this week. I wonder what she will advise.

I also don't want to look at my 401(k) balance at the end of the day today but I don't think I will be able to help myself.

Message edited 1/22/2008 8:57:00 AM.

Re: anyone else have anxiety over the us markets opening this morning?

I have a good % of the 401k money in bonds- so it seems to balance it out a little.

I was listening to bloomberg this AM b/f the markets opened and a lot of the "experts" think we're already 2 months into the recession and that it won't be a long one.

Re: anyone else have anxiety over the us markets opening this morning?

i am actually ok with it... DH and i are planning on buying a house this summer and as horrible as it sounds, this market will be great for us, b/c of the low interests rates and the prices of homes going down.

Re: anyone else have anxiety over the us markets opening this morning?

It will go back up. I am not TOO worried. If you talk to my mom she thinks the sky is falling.

Re: anyone else have anxiety over the us markets opening this morning?

Posted by KPtoys

It will go back up. I am not TOO worried. If you talk to my mom she thinks the sky is falling.

Re: anyone else have anxiety over the us markets opening this morning?

Posted by Blu-ize

Posted by KPtoys

It will go back up. I am not TOO worried. If you talk to my mom she thinks the sky is falling.

well your mom has a shorter time horizon. Those with 20 years left shouldn't panic, those who are retiring in the next few years should be a bit worried.

Re: anyone else have anxiety over the us markets opening this morning?

Am I worried about what's happening just today? No. I don't consider changes throughout the course of 1 day to be significant to me, unless I'm planning to liquify this afternoon.

Stocks for me are a long-term investment, and I'd never trade on a day like today. People are trading our of fear right now (as is common) -- but trading out of fear is no good. It makes for very poor decisions. What's happening today is like a stock market panic attack - scary while it's happening, but certainly not fatal. (I am paraphrasing someone else's words, but I think the comparison is very good.) It may be terrifying to even look at my 401(k) balance today (I haven't, yet, and I may not), but it's a bad day to buy, sell, or make huge investment decisions, IMHO. It's difficult to sit back and do nothing today, but I know FOR ME, that's exactly what I need to do. I have to remove the anxiety from the equation and think about it from an investor's POV. What makes the most sense for my portfolio right now? Every sign points to me staying put and riding it out... so that's what I'm doing. (Like I said, this is b/c it's best for ME. I'm not advising anyone else....)

I'm more worried about longer-term trends in the stock market and the particular sectors in which I invest... but I'm honestly not even that worried about the potential recession. Don't get me wrong, I DO care about people and employment and all that stuff. I'm not heartless. From an investment standpoint, however, I think all phases of the economy cycle offer opportunities, especially downturns, and I think saavy investors can survive an economic downturn okay. LIke I said, I'm speaking from a strictly investment POV. I DO care and worry about people's jobs, abilities to pay their bills, consumer confidence, etc.

Re: anyone else have anxiety over the us markets opening this morning?

Posted by Blu-ize

Posted by KPtoys

It will go back up. I am not TOO worried. If you talk to my mom she thinks the sky is falling.

well your mom has a shorter time horizon. Those with 20 years left shouldn't panic, those who are retiring in the next few years should be a bit worried.

Re: anyone else have anxiety over the us markets opening this morning?

I'm not selling today but still, I'm upset to see my account down $10K

Re: anyone else have anxiety over the us markets opening this morning?

My mom wigged b/c she is so close to retiring that if the 401K takes a dive she is not in as good of a position to retire as she thought she would be.