It’s 7:30 a.m. Do you know where your 401K is?
Here’s a hint. Look down.
Better yet. Don’t look at all.
Today promises to be a tumultuous day for Wall Street, following the historic decision late Friday to downgrade the U.S. credit rating for the first time in history. And that means workers across the nation will spend a lot of time logging into their 401K retirement plans to see just how bad the bloodletting is.
Markets in Europe already have tanked. The fear is that U.S. markets will do the same when the bell rings at 9 a.m.
Interest rates are likely to be hiked, which means it will cost more to use those credit cards, get a loan for a car or house, or to borrow in a home equity loan, or to get money for college.
Most experts suggest you do nothing with your portfolio on a day like today. That’s especially true if you’re still young. You have to look at this as a long haul. Then again, if you’re approaching retirement, those butterflies you feel in your stomach are real, and get a little more real with each gut-wrenching twist in the market.
In the meantime, the good folks who represent us in Washington are happy to simply point fingers at each other as opposed to actually getting something done.
Buckle your seatbelts, folks, it’s going to be a bumpy day.
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