People are saying keep on buying as it keeps going down.  Great time to buy.  But for the first time I question this sentiment?  Why? Because I think that you have to look deep down and see will you panic?  If the market drops another 10-20% or more will you immediately hit the panic button and sell.  Will you reach out and catch the falling knife as the market starts to drop rapidly? If we go into a depression can you withstand the pain of watching newly invested money drop even more?

Right now?  I can't.  I can sit tight and not withdraw any more money from any of my accounts.  I've lost a lot.  I've been investing since my 20s. I never sell. I have held stocks from 2000.  DH and I have original investments in ETF as well as things like paypal and google in our roth.  We've never sold.  We've never sold a share of certain stocks and ETF like VOO we've owned now for 20+ years.  Our tech investments have 100x.  We literally have held it through all the markets. 

But in 2006-2010 we were buying in our 401k on the way down and on the way up.  We maxed out our 401k since 2005 and Roth IRAs.  We've plowed money into our taxable brokerage.  DH's 401k at his old job we left literally in the same investment 75% VOO and 25% Index International since 2021 February when he left.  We weren't able to add, but we could change.  We've left it.  We have invested our 401k since then.  

I don't believe in changing the course. I believe in staying the course.  Once invested that money isn't for me to spend until retirement.  It's gone to the market.  

I've invested the kids in VOO since birth and reinvested the divedends and never sold a share since i started buying for them in 2012 and 2010. I just buy more every time I add to the ESA $2k or the 529.  Nothing.  They own only VOO and QQQ and APPL as a gift.  I've never sold APPL either.  One kid went from $600 (2 shares) appl to $12k in 15 years (61 shares).  

If I need money it's in a money market/treasury bonds, etc.  That I do keep cash on hand.  So I look long term.  But this time, I am afraid.  I'm actually afraid of putting money in and feeling a sinking feeling my stomach as I watch it go down.  Yes it will go up long term, but do I need to feel that bad in 6 months or could I just be like well in 6 months if it's even lower I'll be going sure it's time to start buying again?

I guess for me another part of it is that I'm so heavily invested at this point that maybe that's another reason I am holding back.  Do I need to keep to my 90% stock portfolio?  Where do you stand?

Not panicking.  A can feel the fear in a lot of clients.  Telling them not to panic.  I'm not sure if they are going to listen. I am now 45 years old and for the first time I feel the fear.  I suspect it's age.  It's the fact I worry how long this recession/depression will be.  Yes we have lots of time, but time seems shorter since we want to retire in 10 years.  20 15 20 years ago in 2006/2007 I kept on plowing money into the market.  We were trying to save as much as possible, but we just had less to invest.  Now we have a lot more to invest and it's hard to pull the trigger. 

I set aside actually about $100k in cash tied up in a CD until June to see where the market goes. I have another $50k in a savings account because I thought I would be moving it into my 401k in April.  But I find myself hesistating.  I find myself worrying did we bottom out.  Before I would have thrown it in and just said let it ride.  I know I am a firm believer in not pulling money out of any of our accounts. If we can't afford it we don't buy it.

I've never worried about tapping our investments.  I still don't.  But for the first time I don't want to put money into our investments because I'm worried.  I'm actually nervous.  I'm actually a little unsure if I can stomach buying more.  how much have i lost?  a lot. Seriously a lot of money.  Multiples of our annual income.  

I do understand  you can't time the market.  I am a firm bogelhead and buffet devotee.  However this is the first time I sit and think maybe I should wait and try to catch the market on the up instead of on the way down.  And sitting in cash isn't so bad.

I don't want to pay off our house.  it's at 2%.  We have no other debt.  And this year I was thinking of possibly getting another car.  But personally it's off the table because our portfolio is way down.  As for my mom?  Well she voted for trump and doesn't like to hear that we're losing money and he is directly causing it.  She watches only fox news so she has no idea what is real.  But it's really hard to not point out that right now our stock market problems are directly caused by the president.

Well if things are scary now hold on. I think a recession is coming.  I hate the fact so many people didn't vote.  I think we are getting what we deserved because more people voted for the guy making the decisions.  I did not.  But i'm holding on for the ride.  But what really pisses me off more is that so many people (they say 90 million americans) didn't vote. It's frustrating.  Why isn't voting on a weekend?  Or over a weekend? 

But more than that explaining to foreigners that yes Americans voted for this is all true.  We did.  Not all of us, but enough of us did.  So we have to accept the consequences of our actions.  The consequence is 47 said he was going to trim down government so when he closes SS offices and fires workers NOT SORRY at all.  Cry me a river if you voted for him and lose your job well he is doing what he said.  Making the government more efficient.

If things are more expensive from Tariffs, again NOT SORRY.   He told us what he was going to do.  It was pretty clear he was going to use tariffs, his favorite word. The most beautiful word in the dictionary.  

Your portfolio tanking?  Well you agreed to the short term pain for long term gain if you supported 47.  No take backs.  We can only move foward.  The only thing worse than someone crying about voting for 47?  Someone who didn't vote at all.  

Not a joke but i'm sure many people have lost a good chunk of their portfolios. I have sat tight and refused to panic or sell and so i'm just watching things drop.  I'm actually about to transfer a good chunk to my solo 401k in April and max it out for 2025.  $23,500.  I'm not sure what the best thing to do it. 

Being a business owner and DH in a start up we probably have more cash on hand than most people.  I do sometimes think perhaps it's not efficient.  But really does it matter?  The question I asked a friend today. I said to her does it really matter to be making the absolutely maximum return on your money?  Today her and her husband are meeting with a "fidelity" financial advisor to help them invest more and pay 1.5%. I told her to stuff it and dump her money into VTI and BND and VXUS.  Go bogelhead.  3 fund portfolio.

I told her that we are mostly bogelheads. I play our money a little but the bulk of it is in VOO (I'm a bit more aggressive than VTI).  I told her if they want to play then decide how much they can lose.  And instead go boring, and why pay 1.5% to an advisor?  If you are going to lose money might as well do it yourself right?

DH 401k - 80% VOO and 20% VXUS ( because I didn't rebalance it) 25% of portfolio

DH Roth - 50% VOO and 10% small, mid, global, and REIT 17% of portfolio

Brokerage Account 25% QQQ, 25% VOO, 10% small, mid, global, REIT 30% of portfolio

Kids 529 - VOO 100% kids total investments 15% of portfolio

Kids ESA - VOO 100%

Kids Taxable - VOO 100%

LAL's 401k - risky stock picks and QQQ 15 4% of portfolio

LAL Roth IRA - risky stock picks 4% of portfolio

Robinhood less 1% of our portfolio - this is where I've been stashing my extra mortage money.  And I've been buying literally risky stocks, crypto, etc. I probably shouldn't have since this is the money in theory I would add to our ARM mortgage, but I like having fun play money. 

Lately though I've been moving my Roth to something more boring along with my 401k to VOO and QQQ.  Those are long term investments.  And i might just focus on playing with the Robinhood brokerage.  I feel like I am conservative with most of our investments and just a little play money.