Continue to Invest?

[zx150]

I invested some more money on Friday for my daughter's college fund. I will keep investing every two weeks in my 457. I maybe a fool, but I look at it like the mutual funds are on a blue light special. Ryan

[MrSplitshot]

I'm young at 30...and one of the good decisions I've made was to start investing in my company's 401K early. I've been in it for 8 years now and I've seen in grow steadily, though nothing earth shattering...just good growth. I'm in a mixed bag of conservative and more risky funds. For the last year, like everyone else, it has fallen...not horrible yet, but bad enough for me to not like it. The problem is that I'm not quite smart enough to know the ins and outs, just enough to be dangerous. I've not moved money around within the 401K on that account. I've let it sit.

Everyone tells me that since I'm young, and have plenty of time before retirement notions, that right now the money I'm contributing every week is buying stocks on the cheap cheap...and it will pay off/come back long before I need it.

I agree that it will come back, but it's still scary to see your money go away. SO, I've taken the "don't look at it" approach. I quit checking my balance about Christmas. I literally have not looked at it. I'll get my report in the mail at the end of each quarter, and that's all I'm going to look at for now. Maybe that's right, maybe that's wrong...I dunno...but I don't have my contribution percentage too terribly high right now.

The folks I feel sorry for are the late career guys, like my Dad...he's 56...and his poor 401K has took an absolute beating. Some of the older guys at work see the market fall and say "there's another year before I can retire"...scary crap.

Burying it in mason jars like Lucius Clay sure doesn't pay the dividends, but as long as you mark the spot it should be there in 30 years.

Of course, with the way the current administration is devaluing the dollar, it won't be worth anything by the time I retire anyway. A gallon of milk will cost $3,217 and it will be like trying to buy a car in pesos.