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After the downgrade: Protect your retirement
msn money/Forbes ^ | 8 Aug | Novack

Posted on 08/08/2011 1:16:14 PM PDT by flowerplough

Avoid panic selling. As Forbes columnist Richard Ferri suggests here, don't make hasty moves when the stock market has a bad day -- in reaction to an S&P downgrade or any other news. ...

Play tax arbitrage. Review your IRAs and taxable accounts to see if you can at least wring some long-term tax savings out of the market's recent decline. ...

Maintain -- or increase -- your 401k contributions. Don't curb your contributions (or reduce the amount you're putting into stock funds) just because the market is down. ...

Fund a Roth IRA. If you want to boost retirement savings but are worried about locking up too much money in a 401k in these uncertain times, a Roth IRA is the perfect solution. ...

Get smart about Social Security. Most retirement planning programs plug in your promised benefits from Social Security under current law -- but also give you the opportunity to fill in a lower number. If you're under 55, shave the number. ...

Plan to work longer. The problem with this advice -- which Forbes and others have been giving for years -- is it's easier said than done. ...

Prepare for a "tax increase" in the form of higher Medicare premiums. True, Republicans seem determined to block all tax increases, even for the rich,...

Make your adult kids pay rent. There's no question that today's young adults are having a rough go of it, ...

Learn to play poker. If all these other saving and investing strategies fail you, learn to play poker and then challenge Barack Obama to a high stakes game. Sorry, I just couldn't resist.

(Excerpt) Read more at money.msn.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Government
KEYWORDS: barrackolypsenow; downgrade; economy; obamageddon

1 posted on 08/08/2011 1:16:18 PM PDT by flowerplough
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To: flowerplough

LMAO...I dont care if you are at the bottom...DIG DAMMIT KEEP DIGGING!

Yeah...pump more money into your 401k...brilliant!


2 posted on 08/08/2011 1:23:38 PM PDT by Crim (Palin / West '12)
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To: flowerplough

Bull crap! This might have been true while we were still AAA rated, but not anymore. We’re heading down the road Argentina did. I asked some relatives who suffered through the Argentine economic collapse what they would have done differently and they said, “Pull your money out of the bank and hold on to your cash. Cash is king.”


3 posted on 08/08/2011 1:25:28 PM PDT by ironwill (III - Molon Labe)
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To: ironwill
I would want to be holding something more valuable than cash if Argentine type inflation kicks in.


4 posted on 08/08/2011 1:32:13 PM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
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To: flowerplough
Don't curb your contributions (or reduce the amount you're putting into stock funds) just because the market is down.

Just because the Titanic is sinking doesn't mean you shouldn't book passage for the return trip from New York to London!

5 posted on 08/08/2011 1:35:22 PM PDT by 6SJ7 (atlasShruggedInd = TRUE)
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To: flowerplough

I wonder if I should make my adult father who is retired (oil worker, 31+ years), and cannot find a job for the past 4-5 years pay rent? He had to sell the house I grew up in in February (collapsed sewer line, cracked foundation).

Family takes care of family - period. Money ain’t all that.

(I realize some of the article is sarcasm, but if a family member is without a home, and you have the room, you take them in. Even if you don’t have the room, make the room, and take them in.)


6 posted on 08/08/2011 1:38:59 PM PDT by Ro_Thunder (I sure hope there is a New Morning in America soon. All this hope and change is leaving me depressed)
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To: Ro_Thunder

Yep. Old fashioned ethics. Hope there is some left in this society.


7 posted on 08/08/2011 1:45:11 PM PDT by varina davis (Life is not a dress rehearsal)
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To: flowerplough

bmfl


8 posted on 08/08/2011 1:46:10 PM PDT by DarthVader (That which supports Barack Hussein Obama must be sterilized and there are NO exceptions!)
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To: flowerplough

That is correct, protect your retirement, do not listen to free advice.


9 posted on 08/08/2011 1:55:55 PM PDT by org.whodat (What does the Republican party stand for////??? absolutely nothing.)
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To: Crim
If anyone has kept his money in Stocks, he is deluding himself.

All money from the 401K should be in cash.

The elites are counting on using our money to keep them afloat.

Our money will be the first one wiped out while they sell off.

10 posted on 08/08/2011 1:57:32 PM PDT by fortheDeclaration (When the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn (Pr.29:2))
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To: Ro_Thunder

No one should ever charge their parents for ANYTHING.


11 posted on 08/08/2011 1:59:53 PM PDT by fortheDeclaration (When the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn (Pr.29:2))
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To: flowerplough

Why? What about Silver, Gold, Platinum, etc? They’ve proven pretty solid for the past decade or so. Read Article 1 Section 10 of the US Constitution and the 1792 Coinage Act. If THOSE laws were enforced we would not be in this mess right now.


12 posted on 08/08/2011 2:01:39 PM PDT by Bluesmover (When the people fear the govt, there is tyranny. When the govt fears the people, there is liberty.)
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To: fortheDeclaration

All money from the 401K should be in cash.”

I went all cash at 12,100.

I thought it was the right thing to do then. Then it bumped up to 12,500...and I still thought it was the right thing to do, but not “quite” as strongly.

Now, I guess I can see clearly that going all cash was the right choice.


13 posted on 08/08/2011 2:19:00 PM PDT by ConservativeDude
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To: flowerplough

People are positioning to make millions off of the buying opportunities that are being presented. George Soros sold off ALL his gold, and if you get past his politics, the guy knows how to make tons of money. He’s hoping to force an increase in price of some other asset that he’s already bought a lot of.

You’ve just got to be smart.


14 posted on 08/08/2011 2:24:27 PM PDT by bigbob
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To: thackney
Precisely:


15 posted on 08/08/2011 2:32:22 PM PDT by ironwill (III - Molon Labe)
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To: ironwill
I would also include stocking up on some other metals.


16 posted on 08/08/2011 3:08:41 PM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
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To: thackney
I already have plenty of that metal. ;)
17 posted on 08/08/2011 3:15:44 PM PDT by ironwill (III - Molon Labe)
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To: fortheDeclaration

Then why charge your children?


18 posted on 08/08/2011 5:50:34 PM PDT by Ro_Thunder (I sure hope there is a New Morning in America soon. All this hope and change is leaving me depressed)
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