Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Financial crisis: What you should know

I found this article and thought I'd share. These are scary times, but it doesn't look like our personal finances (savings and checking) will be affected, at least not right now. Unless you have a lot more money that I do.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I haven't read the attached article, but my understanding of our personal finances not being affected is a different than yours Meech.

Our interest rates for our savings are (and will continue to be in the near future) lower than what they have been. Anyone who is putting money away in a 401k or any form of retirement that places money in stocks (which is nearly all forms of retirement) is also taking a severe hit from the decreasing price of their shares purchased. Finally, even if you have money to purchase a home (as a 1st time buyer), good luck getting a mortgage.

Basically, this market affects everyone.

Lee

Michi said...

I guess I was thinking more along the lines of 'should I withdraw all my money out of Bank of America now'. Which according to this article, it seems the answer is no.

Michi said...

In other words, what I meant by "not affected" is we don't have to pull all our money out of our checking and savings accounts if our bank if FDIC insured. I know how everything else is affected...interest rates, credit, retirement, etc.

Anonymous said...

I understand Michi... BTW if anyone wants LANGHORNE SLIM/HEARTLESS BASTARDS ticket for tomorrow night, let Michi & I know.

Lee

Olivia Hein said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Olivia Hein said...

i used to work in investments and although the price of each share has decreased, you have not lost any money unless you cash in your shares.

so withdrawing money out of your 401K, mutual fund, IRA, etc will result in your loss of money.

if you keep the cash in the funds, then you technically have not lost any money. it all depends on when you cash out the shares.

does that make sense?

Anonymous said...

one more opinion: young people, like us, typically have their retirement savings in riskier things, most likely 75-80% in stocks. therefore, and i can definitely attest to this, retirements have taken a very hard hit the past 12 months... on the order of at least -10 to -20%. however, on the bright side, the monthly deposit we make now buys more shares, which will eventually make us more money once the market regains its strength in 18+ months. (pretty much what olivia said.) if we were to withdraw our money from these areas, we should have done it months ago. now, it's probably one of the better places for our money.

Michi said...

Yay, comments.

Yes, my dad was explaning this to me a couple weeks ago (about possibly being better off in the long run).

Unknown said...

You people and your 'savings.'

My advice: get an extra degree, sink yourself into inescapable debt, and then get out of school right when the economy / job market is in the toilet.

وليد العروي said...

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