Hmmmm...would love to share in the jokes and bravado. Just retired a year ago and implemented 72t in February. I'm not panicked, but also not excited at the downward slide. We have our 2-year cash reserve, but still feeling angst ?
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I agree - when it comes to these occasional stock market breaks, some of the comments on the forum can be pretty flippant. But the way I look at it is ...
..I benefit from others' experiences. Some on this forum have been investing for decades and have seen worse than this and have turned out just fine, which is exactly why they can joke about it. Keep things in perspective.
..You sound like a smart person. With your 2 year cash reserve, you are prepared for a downturn like this. This is why you have the cash reserve!
.. You can only control the things you can control. The stock market will go up and down in the short term, it always has, and sometimes the downs will be more painful that we would like, but in the long term the market most likely will go up, which is why we invest in stocks in the first place. In the meantime, watch your expenses, cut back where you can if it makes you feel better, and turn off the 24/7 doom-and-gloom news outlets.
.. The market was overdue for a correction, historically. It's been 4 years since the last -20% bear market (late summer 2011, S&P 500 intraday bottom), and 6 years since the 2009 market bottom (March 2009). So, let's hope this is the correction we have been waiting for and that we get it over with quickly - so we can get going on the next recovery!