Boy did I ever pick a great month to retire! #StockMarketDrop

[RetiredAt49]

Sitting here watching my all stock portfolios crash .

 

[aja8888]

Sitting here watching my all stock portfolios crash .

You are in fine company here. Look at it as a early Spring sale.

 

[OldShooter]

Relax. These things happen, and in history the markets have always recovered. I look at these as periods where some of our equity money is temporarily unavailable.

 

[Dash man]

Sitting here watching my all stock portfolios crash .

Turn off the tv!!

 

[Jerry1]

In March of 2020, the S&P was 2585. I’m assuming you were in the market then. If you were able to retire then, you should still be in pretty good shape. If since then, you rode the wave up to your retirement “number” and no more, then hang on, this might get a little scary.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

I announced my retirement in late October 2018 and then watched as the markets did a pretty significant correction through the end of that year. I never considered changing my mind, but I certainly took note of it. Then I moved on. Then the markets went back up and onward. This too shall pass. I'm taking advantage of the current correction to do some tax loss harvesting and asset allocation adjustment.

 

[steelyman]

You don’t really have to do anything if you don’t need immediate cash. I have some uninvested cash (not a lot) that isn’t burning a hole in my pocket.

I know the cliches about “putting your money to work” but it’s OK with me to give mine a little time off.

 

[Souschef]

Same here. I am down about $400K from the peak, but will ride it out. No need to panic.
I get SS and a small pension to cover my expenses,

 

[RetiredAt49]

In March of 2020, the S&P was 2585. I’m assuming you were in the market then. If you were able to retire then, you should still be in pretty good shape. If since then, you rode the wave up to your retirement “number” and no more, then hang on, this might get a little scary.

Like the title says, I retired this month (Jan 2022). I had 401k’s and IRA’s in the market for 25 years but I put nearly $2 million in last April when I sold a home. My portfolio just dropped below the initial amount so hanging on for the ride

 

[OldShooter]

... hanging on for the ride

Yes. That's all you need to do. Next time it will be easier.

 

[EastWest Gal]

We will probably do some tax loss harvesting. Given a pandemic, inflation, an over-valued market, and maybe an impending war, this correction is not really a surprise.

 

[aja8888]

We can live on SS alone here if we are careful. The nest egg is for the married daughter some day. Someday is a long way off (I hope). The nice thing about corrections is the compounding effect with reinvestment at lower prices.

 

[MarieIG]

I retired 12/31/21. While I'm not enjoying the drop, neither am I surprised. I did consider SORR, and had previously announced to DH that my withdrawals to start would be very small while I got used to this retirement thing. (I also pre-funded a cash account to cover tax for Roth conversions this year.)

I also insisted that we sell the marital (primary) residence (and move into an inherited home) before I retired to cut our overhead. We got nowhere near your $2 million; so congrats on that! The proceeds from the sale of our home are earmarked for the eventual purchase of our retirement home.

I put in some (small) limit orders since I am a rather timid "investor."

 

[Jerry1]

Like the title says, I retired this month (Jan 2022). I had 401k’s and IRA’s in the market for 25 years but I put nearly $2 million in last April when I sold a home. My portfolio just dropped below the initial amount so hanging on for the ride

Seems like April was a bad time to sell the house because it’s always a good time to retire. You’ll be okay. Don’t forget, the budget can always be tightened while things sort themselves out. Hopefully, it won’t come to that for you.

 

[razztazz]

Didn't this happen a few months ago....?

 

[aja8888]

Well, the Dow is only down 700+ points right now and that's only a shade over 2%. Ho Hum!

 

[statsman]

Well, the Dow is only down 700+ points right now and that's only a shade over 2%. Ho Hum!

Try being ultra-conservatively invested in these times. The stock markets go up? Bond funds get whacked. The stock markets go down? Bond funds get whacked.

 

[Fermion]

I wish I could have bought more than $40,000 in I-bonds...I would buy $400,000 if given the chance.

 

[aja8888]

Try being ultra-conservatively invested in these times. The stock markets go up? Bond funds get whacked. The stock markets go down? Bond funds get whacked.

There is some kind of message in your post!

 

[Drewjd]

I’m planning on doing some Roth conversions this year. If the drop continues, I may do them sooner than later.

 

[yakers]

Retired March 2008, didn't buy on the way down but didn't sell. Doing fine.

 

[Romer]

I’m planning on doing some Roth conversions this year. If the drop continues, I may do them sooner than later.

Thats a good thought

 

[perez99]

On the same boat, as I just retired this month. Was 70% stock at retirement, but now is more like 63%. I'm resigned that the roller coaster is price of admission for my target allocation.
I do have some extra cash from my bond/cash allocation available and thinking about deploying that to go back as close to 70% as possible. Of course the whole 'catching knife' issues is stopping me as of today.

 

[Freedom56]

When junk like Gamestop (GME) trades below $5, the market correction is over. The market was in a massive bubble and far more than the one in 2000. It will take a while to unwind. I am sitting on loads of cash and still see no bargains.

 

[luckydude]

Days like today are a good reminder to have a few years worth of expense set aside in cash or equivalent to ride it out without having to touch one's portfolio.