[mamatoakd]

Thought I'd pose a question to those that have been reading, researching, etc. the economy. Seems like there are quite a few ladies here that have been following things. Based on my own reading, I believe that there is still quite a bit of downside left before we head towards recovery. Like everyone else, we've lost a lot of money that was invested.

I'd like to stop putting money into the kids college savings accounts (they're still very young) and instead put it into cash accounts for the time being. Is this just fear getting the better of me?

Does anyone have a link to a good graph and/or article(s) about where the economy is (historically)? Although DH agrees that things will continue to get worse, he's deadset that we need to keep putting money into the investment accounts that we already have set up. To prove his point of how reliable the market is, he showed me a historical graph that came with one of our investment account statements. Of course, the graph only went back ten years (started with the tech bubble). I feel like DH is too willing to stick his head in the sand and not face the reality that things may get really bad.

Thanks!

 

[MacroMama]

Suze Orman recommends that if you don't need the money within 10 years, to go ahead and invest it by little amounts each month. That way, if the market goes up, you buy less shares that month and if it goes down, you buy more shares. This averages out at the end of the year to be getting a good bargain.

However, if you need it within 10 years or when you do need it within 10 years, be sure to take it out of investments and into someplace safe.

And remember that the best thing to do with your money is what you feel most comfortable with.

Good luck!

 

[lmonter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacroMama And remember that the best thing to do with your money is what you feel most comfortable with.

Yes to that.

But do you already have your nice little rainy-day cushion of 3-6 months of living expenses and all that?
Maybe I'm a little more paranoid than most (must be FIL rubbing off on me), but we're planning to end up with some money after selling our vehicle, and rather than paying off half the student loans (that and the house are our only debts), we're probably going to keep it in a savings account. Just in case.

 

[velochic]

This is a tough question because it's emotional. There is no way to really say one way or another because it depends on your investing personality. What I think I'm hearing is that you are risk-adverse and your dh is a risk taker. I think you need to come to a compromise about your investing personalities before you move ahead. No amount of graphs will help because the market ALWAYS goes up historically. I've been investing for over 20 years and while it goes up, it's a roller coaster and always will be a bit of a ride on that way up. Can you stomach those downs and also enjoy the scenery without getting too excited while the coaster ticks its way to the top?

If you put everything in cash (and I'm assuming you mean CD's, Money Market, etc. not actual cash) and the market takes off, will your dh blame you for not realizing the gains? If you put it in the market and the DOW goes down to 2500, will you point your finger saying, "It's all your fault"? What about if we get severe deflation? Hyperinflation? I think the first thing to do is to make sure you both feel comfortable with what you do and are willing to consensually stay the course.

 

[McFeelings]

Well we have adjusted our college savings method for our teen since we don't have 10 years to wait for the account to recover. It is a mix of using a Roth IRA to have a VERY conservative growth and prepaying our home mortgage to be able to cash flow the remainder her tuition with what currently goes toward our mortgage. But for our toddler and baby we are still using the 529/stock market account. The biggest problem with 529s is that you don't have as many options on how to invest (usually just a few age-indexed fund.)

 

[mamatoakd]

Thanks for the opinions ladies.

Yes, I would say that I'm a much more conservative investor than he is. The money I'm thinking about putting into a cash account is just what we put into the college savings accounts each month. As sick as it makes me to see how much we're losing each month, I'm willing to keep everything else invested. I'd hate to miss the boat as the market recovers but feel like we're getting robbed in the meantime!