re: DJ down 550 today and over 1000 on the week, is it starting?

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How, if it settles out in a week I just pick back up the funds I was in. No money is lost. If it doesn't it just sits in the settlement fund until it finally starts to rebound and then I get back in.

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Whether you are still funding them or not doesn't really matter. These are retirement accounts, correct? So if you did what you were talking about doing, you sold low and are buying back high(er) - or you'll let the cash sit on the sidelines and do nothing.

As of yesterday's close, you'd essentially be back to where you were a week or so ago. For those of us who have been in the equity markets for longer than you've been alive, just take this piece of advice, if you take no other: DO NOT try to time the market. Develop a plan and stick to it. Do not deviate from that plan (assuming your plan is based on rational thinking). Don't get caught up in making moves based on gut feel or emotion. Those are your enemies.

Good luck.

If I had known what would happen I would have sold a good bit at the end of January. I am not a fortune teller but I like to add when the market falls and so I sold some of my bond funds and cash position and added when the market fell. I will be looking for a point to get back to my preferred allocation when the market gets back close to where it was. I do not try to time the market but I do like buying low and selling high but some times you think you are buying low and it falls some more. Just wait it out as long you are in good stocks, ETF's or mutual funds.

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For those of us who have been in the equity markets for longer than you've been alive, just take this piece of advice, if you take no other: DO NOT try to time the market. Develop a plan and stick to it. Do not deviate from that plan (assuming your plan is based on rational thinking). Don't get caught up in making moves based on gut feel or emotion. Those are your enemies.

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Dave Ramsey mentioned some study that showed a hypothetical situation in which someone invested like $250k into the market in 5 even increments literally right before the worst 5 crashes over the last ~40 years. As longs as said person didn't sell after the market crashed, he came out on top with a very nice profit (like almost $1 million) after 40 years of staying in the market. Point is, just like you said, DO NOT try to time the market, especially if you're in it long term. Just ride it out when things get rough. If anything, put more in it on the way down and never sell at the bottom when the market takes a big hit...

I’ve seen the same thing in a different article and have tried to go back to find the exact figures and never could locate it. But yeah, even investing at the top of a market still pays off if you don’t sell. There is a stat I need to look up once I get home, but if you miss the top say 5 days of the market in a given year you miss out on a majority of the gains.

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This is why small-denomination securities like $50 US Savings Bonds were popular.

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Also the rates paid on savings bonds, and bank CDs then were high enough then that they were a viable investment vehicle for the average person, so stocks were not really needed.

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I’ve seen the same thing in a different article

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https://awealthofcommonsense.com/2014/02/worlds-worst-market-timer/