My initial take is we retired at a good time, but not a great time. I retired late summer and we all suffered a pretty good market drop that Fall. So my personal start was difficult, but I didn't panic. If you retired year end, you have seen very little down since then.
A few things, though.
- If you stayed the course, your NW is likely up.
- If you panic sold during Covid, your NW may be up, just not as much.
- If you at least owned your home, then good, because real estate is whacked.
- If you invested in tangible real estate, good for you!
- Interest rates for savers (and bonds) is a concern for long term well being
Unless you went 100% into bonds and CDs, you are good and you've now burned off 3 years of the FIRE chart. Less life in us left to experience downturns.
All of this is great. But, well, there are some nagging issues in there like hidden inflation, government debt, etc. So although I'm happy to see NW up, I think hidden inflation is tempering it a bit, and thus it is somewhat an illusion. And, of course, since this economy is doing unusual things compared to the last 40 years or so, it gives me a bit of unease.