ECON Negative Rate of Return - I feel sorry for those retiring soon...

Just checked my own 401k..

Personal Rate of Return from 01/01/2008 to 10/07/2008 is -36.4%

Man, if I were within a couple years of retirement and was relying on the comforts of my 401k...these would not be good times.

I'm curious...if anyone is (or knows somebody that is) in that situation - retiring in a couple months/years - what kind of steps are you taking? Going to ride it out? Get it in cash and hope inflation doesn't eat away at it too quick? Buy PMs? But everything you'd ever need for retirement while you still can?



.

I feel better...

...with only a 20.4% decline over that same period - ugh!

While I'm never happy to hear of someones monetary loss, etc
AT LEAST THEY GET TO RETIRE

Just checked mine:

Personal Rate of Return from 01/01/2008 to 10/07/2008 is -35.5%

It's the new paradigm friends. Your all going to be drones in the new system. Work until you die....

Drones do not work.

They eat. They provide nice pheremones for the queen. Their only real function is to mate with the queen. They are exclusively male. And that's about it. They get kicked out of the hive in the early fall.

Miriam Webster: Drone

1: the male of a bee (as the honeybee) that has no sting and gathers no honey
2: one that lives on the labors of others : parasite
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Now the worker bee, that's an apt description. They literally toil until they die.

We will all be retiring soon.