Take Comfort, Even a Stock Market Crash Is Not the End of the World

by David@MoneyNing.com · 11 comments

light at the end of the tunnel
Several days ago, I asked readers to share their wisdom with those that couldn’t sleep at night because of the turbulent stock market. Today, I want to share with you two that particular stood out.

From Debt Reduction:
I was a stock broker in 1987. On black Monday the market was down what 27%. The next day, my smart clients were buying like crazy. I had my best day ever. They knew it was going to go back up. So will this eventually.

From Marci:
I don’t feel like I’ve lost anything yet, as I haven’t pulled anything out yet. It will come back sooner or later. I can retire in 6 months or in 6 years – no hurry on my part as long as I am getting this free company health insurance with a 33 hr week 🙂

It’s only money. The worst that could happen is that I lose it all. I’ll still be ok. My house is paid for, I am debt free, and I need under $400/month to survive on a bare bones budget, if I stay healthy.

With that kind of debt free peace of mind, I don’t worry and I don’t stress. I am more concerned with spending quality time with my grandkids and enjoying whatever time I have teaching them the skills they will need to survive financially in this world.

PS – since this has started, I have bought more stocks and upped my 401K contributions. My way of hopefully coming out ahead later on.

Like everyone else, I saw my stock portfolio take a dive this past year. It was disheartening at the beginning, but I’ve since change my view on this because I know that the values will come back up. I know that if I keep investing, I will come out ahead.

I have:

  1. No debt
  2. Enough Income to take care of my expenses
  3. A solid emergency fund
  4. A lovely family

For those that are really worried about the stock market, step back and think about all the so called “standard advices” we’ve spoke about on this blog.  It’s times like these that having that emergency fund, low debt, and being able to live frugality come in handy.  Those things might not be the most efficient ways of increasing our wealth, but they allow us to sleep at night when times are tough.

Take comfort in knowing that it’s never too late.  Start that emergency fund, see where you can spend less money and remember to stay positive.

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{ read the comments below or add one }

  • Cash Advances US says:

    The stock market certainly seems like it’s going up in the next few weeks/months so there’s absolutely no reason to fight it. The only reason that it will go down will be some type of surprising news that no one expected to spook everyone. The foreclosure numbers in a couple months could be it, economy could be it, banks needing capital could be it as well but unless that happens, it’s better to stay long than short.

  • yum cheng says:

    It was interesting to read trough 🙂 keep up the good work and thanks for all the tips.

  • Credit Answers says:

    Great post. The market will eventually rebound. People should always be settting aside funds. Figuring out where they can cut back and monitor there monthly expenses.

  • Nikki Cane says:

    Great information. Thank you very much.

  • Annabelle Gurwitch says:

    I just found your blog following a link, it’s nice, but I hope you can update it more often, hehe, because the information that you have here is quite interesting. Keep going.

  • Max Ray says:

    I don’t think this stock market crash may not be the end of the world for many of us. But for some people who are retired or close to retirement and were perhaps too aggressive with their investments, it is the end of the world. Having no debt is key. Ever since I paid off my home loans, I felt so free. The economy is bad right now but I feel like I’m going to be okay regardless of my job situation because I don’t have people banging on my door for money. A portfolio whose value plummets means little cash available to feed themselves.

  • Jerry says:

    It is good to see this lead some people to start thinking about the things that are the most important to them – which probably aren’t money. Yes, things are bad, but there are always things that we can do to combat financial difficulties, and remembering what we can be grateful for is pretty solid insurance that things are not as bad as they may seem at first blush.
    Jerry

  • marci says:

    Thanks for the kind mention.

    I’ve always been a very conservative investor, not much of a gambler, and my stuff is only down 10% overall. Slow and steady wins the race, as they say 🙂 No big gains, but no big losses either, and that’s a comfort right now.

    I would heartily suggest planting a garden to everyone who has even a container to put dirt in. Tonight I’ll be busy plucking everything before the expected freeze overnight. I just have a tiny tiny city lot with about 120 sq ft in garden. Besides eating from it all summer, I harvested about 80 lbs of produce last night, and tonight need to harvest about 200 lbs more… about half of that is potatoes tonight. I heartily recommend it. The dehydrator will be running all weekend, for sure.

  • UH2L.com says:

    This stock market crash may not be the end of the world for many of us, but for some people who are retired or close to retirement and were perhaps too aggressive with their investments, it is the end of the world. A portfolio whose value plummets means little cash available to feed themselves.

    I’ve lost $70K+ in my 401K and I’m 37 so I have time to recover, but it’s still demoralizing and I still worry that the market may never be the same again. Luckily, I don’t have much money in stocks outside of retirement accounts.

  • Dividend Growth Investor says:

    Same here no debt just flush with cash. With the prices getting lower and lower I have nothing else to do but dollar cost average into some quality dividend names. Just today UTX increased their dividends by more than 20%. I am happy that everyone thinks all dividends will be cut just by looking at one sector – financials. This of course if further away from the truth. But as long as the herd is scared people like me will be buying income producing assets on bargain prices..

  • Joe says:

    Having no debt is key. Ever since I paid off my student loans, I felt so free. The economy is bad right now but I feel like I’m going to be okay regardless of my job situation because I don’t have people banging on my door for money.

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