Can’t Retire Because the Market Dropped? Too Bad!
Thu 9 Oct 2008, Written by Eden
Categories: Investing, Rants
Retirement money needed within the next five years should NEVER be in the stock market. Any money needed for any reason at all within the next five years should NEVER be in the stock market.
I’m sorry, but I can’t watch any more ’sad’ stories on the news about people who suddenly can’t retire because the market has dipped. What in the world were they thinking? That the stock market only moves up and they could just sell off some stocks when they need to pay their bills each month?
For as long as I can remember, the conventional wisdom has always been to NOT invest in stocks if you don’t have at least a 5 year time horizon. Were these people being greedy or stupid? I don’t know the answer, but probably a little bit of both.
It’s time to take personal responsibility here. If YOU decided to keep your retirement money in an asset that can go down at any time AND you need that money to live on in the near future, you were either greedy or stupid. I’m sorry, that’s the way it is. Stop blaming the market and stop asking the government to bail you out. Learn the basics of investing in the stock market or don’t do it at all.
If you have money invested and need it within five years, you should put it in cash or CDs. If you don’t, I don’t want to see you on the news crying about your stocks dropping.
