I lost $10k in my 401K in the last 2 weeks, LOL

[BlahBlahYouToo]

I knew I should've pulled out as soon as I heard about the debt ceiling crisis.
It's a good thing I have 40+ years until retirement.

 

[Zeze]

You're not retiring until 40 fucking years. I've always wondered why people do this.

40 years from now, it'll make zero difference. If anything, put more into 401k, it's a good opportunity.

 

[GT1999]

I lost 2.5k.... I wasn't really expecting that big of a hit.

 

[BAMAVOO]

I lost 5 thousand the last 2 days...

 

[Saint Nick]

I don't have a 401k. Jerks.

 

[Possessed Freak]

Psssst, you never had that 10k.

 

[threeringbinder]

5k in the last day. =(

 

[TheAdvocate]

yeah knee jerk to paper loss. Ive "lost" about $38k the last few weeks. I only wish I had more free cash to buy back in. Not going to be a quick recovery by any means, but the market is on sale right now. All you've lost is immediate access to those funds.

 

[TXHokie]

What I've lost would've paid for that used car I was thinking of buying

 

[dullard]

And you are back up $1000+ today.

Don't have the frowning face. This is the very best thing that can happen to you. That means your contributions now will buy you 15% more stock than it did last week. That means you'll be tens of thousands of dollars richer when you retire because of this dip.

 

[vshah]

lost a thousand bucks....then again I only have 10k in there.

 

[rcpratt]

I'm sure those in their 40s and 50s could share their depressing 6-digit losses in the last two weeks...for those of us in our 20s, this is irrelevant.

I'll have to post my graph when I get home though, it is pretty depressing. I think mine was down something like $1.7k (buoyed by several holdings not dumping quite as far as the broad market) since three weeks ago.

 

[bfdd]

The signs to pull out were there like a month ago.

 

[edro]

The signs to pull out were there like a month ago.

And now she's pregnant.

 

[paperfist]

You're not retiring until 40 fucking years. I've always wondered why people do this.

40 years from now, it'll make zero difference. If anything, put more into 401k, it's a good opportunity.

Except when it crashes like it did in '29 5 years before your retirement.

 

[Svnla]

You did not lose anything if you did not cash out. It is only paper loss.

 

[Imp]

You did not lose anything if you did not cash out. It is only paper loss.

True. Even if you do pull out, if you put it back in, you can make it back...

 

[her209]

I lost 5% of my portfolio yesterday.

 

[PingSpike]

It isn't a real loss until you actually sell. Then its a huge loss.

 

[krunchykrome]

I haven't checked mine within the last 2-3 weeks. I usually check in on it every other week, but I may not look at it this month.....

I did however purchase more shares of a mutual fund in my IRA and my wife's IRA though. Gotta strike when the iron's hot.

 

[Deeko]

Young people that freak out when their 401k drops are the reason we still need social security....seriously, a one day drop in stocks 40 years before retirement couldn't possibly mean less to your 401k.

 

[Rockinacoustic]

This is why I only contribute up to what my employer matches 100%. It'd take more than these past few days for me to 'lose' any money.

 

[mb]

My 401k is doing worse than the DJI. My 401k value is down 14.15% since 6/30/11, and the market is down 9.46% in the same period.

EDIT: Market is down 12.97% in the same time period. I don't know why google finance displays -9.46% for that range. So still worse but not as extreme.

 

[SP33Demon]

It's just imaginary numbers.

 

[ichy]

I knew I should've pulled out as soon as I heard about the debt ceiling crisis.
It's a good thing I have 40+ years until retirement.

Timing the markets is a recipe for failure. Anyone who thinks that they can "pull out" at the right time is a fool.