Just a week ago we met met with our financial adviser to talk about our 'nest egg' and were told that we were down about 25%. What we didn't hear while we sat in his office that morning was the crash on Wall St. Where are we now? Who knows.

We don't have a plan for this; who would? And we don't know what it all means - yet. We only know that we are no longer safely into our retirement. Any cushion, real or imagined, is gone.

But we're lucky. I can't help but think of those who would be glad to have a fraction of what we lost. As a society, we need to be watching over each other, that's what civilized societies do. Yet I didn't hear any candidate talk about raising the minimum payments for Social Security...

Gotta stop. Too much to talk about in a small space.

Hubby and I have been both lucky and smart and have a federal retirement (small) and federal health care and we have no outstanding debt in retirement. Our cushion in the stock market, which was for emergencies has been reduced by 35% over the last year. I took 50% of that out last week and put it in treasuries so I am even more weighted in investments that will be eaten by inflation. All of this does not prevent me from worrying about the employment security for both of my adult children nor seeing the fatigue and fear in the eyes of those folks who are one paycheck from disaster. I am smart enough to know that this will continue to impact me as well.

I was fortunate (or farsighted) about two years ago when I instructed my broker that whenever we made any changes in my 401K that proceeds should be held in cash. When the crash hit I had about a quarter of my 401K in the money market. I have since moved about half of that into laddered CDs.

Nevertheless I am seeing losses in five figures for the past few months on the part that is in mutual funds and the like. Who knows what this month's statement will bring. Yes, it is belt tightening time for us, but, since I'm already long retired and 71-years-old, it would be difficult to have to come out of retirement and get a real job. Perhaps being a greeter at Walmart would be an option. I think we will just take everything up a notch and wait this one out. I have hope that if and when we get a democratic president and congress that they will approach our financial difficulties sanely and we might be mostly out of the woods in three to five years.

Last night I looked at our investment portfolio and it shows a 51% loss for the year to date. '07
was up 25% over the previous year and '06 was about the same so basically we're back to where we were in 2005.
Is that really bad? It could be a lot worse I suppose but the fact is that there is nothing I can do about it now and dwelling on my losses will not do anything for the bottom line. Blaming the guys in Wall St. who caused the disaster through investment strategies based on greed and the pusuit of the quick buck isn't going to do any good either.
Instead, we all have to "Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again."
At 74 I'm not going to find a job that's worth anything at all but I can be more careful with expenses and look for opportunities to improve my financial situation. I know I can't rely on the government to get my money back but I can hope that the new administration will keep a careful eye on the Wall Street Gang in the future.

Ronni,

I am lucky. I am young enough that, as long as the stock market recovers, I can afford to wait for my retirement account to recover with it. (In the meanwhile, I am trying not to think too hard about what that account is doing. It's not a pleasant topic to let myself dwell on. Although, thanks to some laziness - I hadn't moved funds where I thought I wanted them in a while - I have more in cash than I normally would, for which I am now grateful. I still have enough in other investments to not want to consider what is happening.)

I am wary of the next several years for my own sake, but as long as we keep our jobs we should be okay. If we keep just one of them, we will struggle but still survive, I believe...assuming no unexpected expenses.

If my parents were alive today, however, I would be more worried about our jobs. They were dependent on Dad's IRA for part of their retirement income - THAT would be a disaster now. (Why would I be more worried about our jobs? Because the obvious solution would be to help them until the stock market recovered, so they could avoid taking any more out of the IRA than mandatory withdrawals, since anything drawn out now would be a loss.)

I think my job is pretty secure. I am not so sure about my spouse's. I think both companies are secure but, of the two, I work in an industry less likely to have problems in this mess.

We need to replace one of our cars. It is 13 years old and we started the hunt for a good model to replace it last year. Now? Now I am wondering how much longer that old car can go. It is still functional, we are just worried about the day when it won't be. We are probably better off using it until that day and then buying a cheap used car when it does happen, rather than either depleting our savings this early in the mess or taking out a loan (if we could).

And I? I'm blessed. I've got it GOOD in this mess, and I know it. So if I've got it good and I'm tracking this many things and more and looking for ways to save to increase my cushion...I think of our country in general, of where everyone else is, and it's enough to make me want to cry.

What can we do for our neighbors, friends, and community during this time without increasing the burden unduly on ourselves? (For some people that will mean no monetary cost, for others very little.) Are there ways and places to volunteer that will ease costs on an organization so they can put more money into goods that help the needy? I need to look into that.

I am 64. I lost 43% of my 401K this year so far. I moved everything into treasury bonds last week. Everyone told me I was crazy, especially on Monday and Tuesday with the stock rebound. But it was down again yesterday. Treasury bonds won't make me money but I won't lose at the level I was losing.
I own my house, still paying a mortgage cause I stupidly refinanced 3 years ago when the real estate market was high. My house had increased in value by 4 times what I paid for it. I used the money to fix up the house and thought I would retire by 66 (if women retire at 65 now, the monthly stipend is nothing, if you wait to 66 and 10 months it doubles (2 times nothing) and if you wait to 68 it triples). But SS may not be around in 4 years if McCain gets in. My house is now devalued by half thanks to the housing market decline.

Bottom line: I cannot retire in the forseeable future. If everything rebounds, it will still take at least 2 good economy years to recoup losses and start increasing savings again. But that is only IF. I can't even live on the 68 year old SS if my house doesn't rebound also. I thought that would be my nestegg.

I cannot watch the news, look at stock market prices or frankly even think about the economy. I have 5 grandchildren and another on the way. My children are happy and healthy. This is the bounty that gives me hope.

I have to add that when I started watching the debate last night, for the first 30 minutes or so, I thought McCain would win and rebound, I was so depressed. Polls late last night showed more favorable response to Obama. I can't wait for the election and am counting on a new beginning for all of us.

I want to add that I love my job and the people I work with, that is my solace also. But I have worked practically all my life (since 16). I am tired. I wanted to travel and play with my grandchildren. But I recognize that I am luckier then most to have a job with a solid company that actually values us "older folks" and there is no retirement policy. You can work here forever as long as you do your job well. For that, I am blessed.

Please read Robert Reich's latest post on his blog: (robertreich.blogspot.com)
It is the clearest and most insightful comment on the "crash" that I've seen anywhere.

Most of my good friends are retired or about to be so, so we're reeling under opening those quarterly statements, but we sure won't be tapping into IRAs next year even if penalty-free. The biggest annoying expense I notice is in gas and groceries. When was the last time you splurged and bought an avocado!? We are very conscious to combine trips to town twenty minutes away, and try definitely to limit our travel. Budget items are first in the basket for groceries and we've cut way back on treats of any sort. Ditto dinners out, movies, even regional travel.

With many suffering far worse, and the damned wars still raging, how cna the election be anything but a landslide for Obama and new thinking?!? (If people were really thinking and not seeing things just thru fear.)

I've probably lost 20% via Edward Jones and A.G. Edwards' stocks, and will have to live to be a 100 to see them come back to what they were a year or so ago. Sheesh....

We've been on a strict budget for a long time now. With the current financial crisis, we have no more wiggle room for any more cuts. Everything has gone up - bills are behind and it is on a rotation as to who gets what and when.

Rent has been increased on the apartment as well as on a necessary work space for domestic partner.

We didn't have any investments in the market. Yet, I hold deep empathy for those who did and the losses I read about. Change in finances and downslides happen very quickly. Almost in a blink of an eye sometimes. Catching up is quite the challenge as once you catch your breath, sometimes you coast breathing normally and them oops along comes an unexpected necessity.

These days I admire the self-sufficient, the self-employed who have contributed to a better marketplace as well as to their own lives. I think we are all going to need to learn how to grow food (or at least some food), start mending clothing, learn to shop thrift shops or yard sales to replace broken appliances and so on and so forth.

Even without a recession or worse decline, measures such as this can be first steps in taking back control of one's life as well as saving some money.

I was struck by Rain's comment: "What makes this hard for most Americans is that we don't know enough ourselves to be wise in our investing. Many of us count on someone else to know and they didn't either this time."

I'm reminded that investor Warren Buffett has said that he invests only in what he understands. So, even though Bill Gates is a good friend of his, Buffett says he doesn't invest in tech companies, for example, because he doesn't understand them.

I have lost 50% value on a very small token investment in a publicly traded company, but it's still worth twice what I paid for it. I don't know what that means though as I haven't taken the time to figure out how cost of living and inflation are reflected in that gain over recent years. Have I really just broken even or has my investment's dollar value actually eroded? There have been yearly dividends to be considered, too.

I have very real concerns that cost of living and inflation will take a toll on my other monthly income reducing my dollar's value. I consider myself fortunate to have a profession I can practice and can still work to earn what I need to cover the rather high dollar expenditures required to keep it current yearly in my state and nationally.

We have to keep making the issues with which we are concerned known, pursue obtaining meaningful representation in our Congressional offices, states, counties and cities. We do this not only for ourselves but for future generations including our children and grandchildren. What greater legacy can we give them?