Author Topic: Is anyone even a little scared to put all their money in investments?  (Read 8655 times)

simplertimes

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Does anyone here have money in savings, and maybe even a stockpile of true cash in a safe at home or safety deposit box or something, in addition to their investments?

Clearly I'm very new to investing, but am I the only one who thinks that it would be nice to have some fallback options if there were some sort of great depression, terrorist attack or other situation (like hackers erasing all account data worldwide or something insane like that)? Not to sound like one of those people stockpiling guns and gold lol, but still it seems it would contribute to a sense of security to have some cold hard cash.  Just as I enjoy gardening and have all sorts of perennial items growing in the back yard (berries, fruit trees, etc.) which would help if there were some sort of natural disaster or societal breakdown...

onlykelsey

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Re: Is anyone even a little scared to put all their money in investments?
« Reply #1 on: December 29, 2015, 08:19:05 PM »
If we're in those sorts of times, I don't think the FDIC or even US Treasury would necessarily stand up.  I think keeping a grand in cash somewhere in case there's a Hurricane Katrina equivalent is not crazy, but ultimately you may have to rely on your skills and frugality to get by in the new post-apocalyptic world, rather than a stash.

kendallf

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Re: Is anyone even a little scared to put all their money in investments?
« Reply #2 on: December 29, 2015, 08:52:22 PM »
^this.  If you are really going to be a prepper, forget the cash, go straight for guns and canned goods.  Also, might want to join the Society for Creative Anachronism and brush up on your skills with a sword and battle axe.  You know, in case civilization collapses after Peak Oil or something weird happens (see S.M. Stirling's Emberverse series starting with Dies the Fire)..

If that all sounds ridiculous, it probably is.  If it sounds fun, go forth and enjoy it!  Just go ahead and invest your money while you're at it, just in case the future is conventional and boring.   :-)

Thinkum

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Re: Is anyone even a little scared to put all their money in investments?
« Reply #3 on: December 29, 2015, 10:07:36 PM »
You really think that if society was at that stage, cash would help? 😂 I think you are mixing up different fears; paradoxical change and investing.

Villanelle

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Re: Is anyone even a little scared to put all their money in investments?
« Reply #4 on: December 29, 2015, 10:42:44 PM »
Yes, in the face of basically a global financial collapse, paper printed with the portraits of old men isn't going to have much value. 

No, I don't worry about it.  That said, I do like the idea of having some money in real estate so that during a bad market downturn, I have some of my money in something else. Of course, when the market drops, so too will real estate, so it isn't much of a hedge, but it's something. 

You might also consider solar panels, if you don't already have them.  They make more sense in some areas than others, but if they are close to making sense for you, they can be a hedge against some natural disasters, especially if you have a battery system.  I wouldn't buy then just for disaster prep, but if you are on the fence and the financial aspect looks at least okay, if it gives you peace of mind, there are worse things to spend money on. 

jengod

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Re: Is anyone even a little scared to put all their money in investments?
« Reply #5 on: December 29, 2015, 11:06:45 PM »
Human civilization has been collapsing and rebuilding itself continually for 300,000 years. Relax, build good soil on your land, and buy stocks and real estate.

Taran Wanderer

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Re: Is anyone even a little scared to put all their money in investments?
« Reply #6 on: December 29, 2015, 11:07:18 PM »
You could list fears about any place you put wealth:
  • I'm scared of keeping my money in investments because they might go down in value.  Or the global financial system might implode.
  • I'm scared of keeping my money in cash because inflation will erode its value each year.  Or someone might steal it.
  • I'm scared of keeping my money in gold because it is a commodity and it is volatile.  Or someone might steal it.
  • I'm scared of keeping my money in real estate because there might be a crash.  Or it could burn down, or flood, or the ground could literally slide away.
  • I'm scared of keeping my money in Legos, because what if nobody wants Legos anymore?
  • I'm scared of keeping my money in guns and canned goods because the apocalypse might never happen, and I'd be out all those 8% gains

Or you could maintain some emergency cash, invest your money, buy a rental or two, and make a mortgage payoff decision that feels best to you (because despite all the debates on here, it's really just about what feels right for you), and stop worrying because worrying doesn't solve anything.

Taran Wanderer

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Re: Is anyone even a little scared to put all their money in investments?
« Reply #7 on: December 29, 2015, 11:08:19 PM »
Human civilization has been collapsing and rebuilding itself continually for 300,000 years. Relax, build good soil on your land, and buy stocks and real estate.

Why can't I be that concise and sensible?

jengod

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Re: Is anyone even a little scared to put all their money in investments?
« Reply #8 on: December 30, 2015, 11:11:58 AM »

Human civilization has been collapsing and rebuilding itself continually for 300,000 years. Relax, build good soil on your land, and buy stocks and real estate.

Why can't I be that concise and sensible?

What a nice thing to say. Cheers.

If you want to simplify even further, strike "stocks and real estate" and replace with "appreciating assets." It doesn't really matter what they are.


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The_path_less_taken

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Re: Is anyone even a little scared to put all their money in investments?
« Reply #9 on: December 30, 2015, 11:21:08 AM »
There are always middle paths...

Something partway between the underground bunker with 20 years of freeze dried food, and say a grand in cash and few 'sporting' weapons.

I do think that having a month worth of water stored and six months of freeze dried food is smart...but I probably only have 2 weeks of water due to livestock. I could possibly ride/lead the horse/burros to water but it'd be hell herding chickens and ducks anywhere.

Half of my electric in my house is out today, and I'm waiting on an electrician. That makes the three cords of firewood outside worth their weight in gold to me, since it was 9 degrees last night.

Tyler

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Re: Is anyone even a little scared to put all their money in investments?
« Reply #10 on: December 30, 2015, 11:29:35 AM »
Total societal breakdown is not required for physical cash to be useful.  For example, my mom lives in the recent tornado-affected area in Texas and the power in the area was knocked out for quite a while.  While the money in the bank is all perfectly safe, online accounts and credit cards were useless to her and ATMs were similarly offline.  My brother dropped off some cash to help her out. 

I personally keep a bit of cash on hand at home just for situations like that.  Nothing excessive, but more than just the change in my wallet. 

« Last Edit: December 30, 2015, 11:37:05 AM by Tyler »

Thinkum

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Re: Is anyone even a little scared to put all their money in investments?
« Reply #11 on: December 30, 2015, 05:25:02 PM »
Total societal breakdown is not required for physical cash to be useful.  For example, my mom lives in the recent tornado-affected area in Texas and the power in the area was knocked out for quite a while.  While the money in the bank is all perfectly safe, online accounts and credit cards were useless to her and ATMs were similarly offline.  My brother dropped off some cash to help her out. 

I personally keep a bit of cash on hand at home just for situations like that.  Nothing excessive, but more than just the change in my wallet.

Your example does not make much sense since if she cannot get money because of electricity issues, then stores cannot take payment since all registers are electronic. In what way is physical money beneficial? Why not just drive to an area that has electricity?

On a side note, glad to hear your family was safe after this crazy weekend.
« Last Edit: December 30, 2015, 05:33:58 PM by Thinkum »

Villanelle

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Re: Is anyone even a little scared to put all their money in investments?
« Reply #12 on: December 30, 2015, 05:32:23 PM »
Total societal breakdown is not required for physical cash to be useful.  For example, my mom lives in the recent tornado-affected area in Texas and the power in the area was knocked out for quite a while.  While the money in the bank is all perfectly safe, online accounts and credit cards were useless to her and ATMs were similarly offline.  My brother dropped off some cash to help her out. 

I personally keep a bit of cash on hand at home just for situations like that.  Nothing excessive, but more than just the change in my wallet.

Having $200-300 in cash makes sense for short term emergency situations when there's no access to electricity, but that's an entirely different situation, and clearly it isn't a significant part of one's net worth. 

Tyler

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Re: Is anyone even a little scared to put all their money in investments?
« Reply #13 on: December 30, 2015, 05:51:03 PM »
Total societal breakdown is not required for physical cash to be useful.  For example, my mom lives in the recent tornado-affected area in Texas and the power in the area was knocked out for quite a while.  While the money in the bank is all perfectly safe, online accounts and credit cards were useless to her and ATMs were similarly offline.  My brother dropped off some cash to help her out. 

I personally keep a bit of cash on hand at home just for situations like that.  Nothing excessive, but more than just the change in my wallet.

Your example does not make much sense since if she cannot get money because of electricity issues, then stores cannot take payment since all registers are electronic. In what way is physical money beneficial? Why not just drive to an area that has electricity?

On a side note, glad to hear your family was safe after this crazy weekend.

Thanks.

Driving was also difficult in certain areas due to all of the debris, roadblocks, and lack of traffic lights.  I'm not even sure the cash was necessary for her but I'm glad she had it just in case it came in handy.  Some of the local stores may have been open and taking cash, and I imagine some traded hands as neighbors helped each other through a tough situation. People are resilient. 

I agree that this is a special case and certainly does not require a large percentage of your assets.  But it's a good example of when a little real cash goes a long way.  Keeping everything in electronic form has its downsides. 
« Last Edit: December 30, 2015, 06:41:31 PM by Tyler »

I'm a red panda

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Re: Is anyone even a little scared to put all their money in investments?
« Reply #14 on: December 30, 2015, 05:56:57 PM »
We keep money in an FDIC insured account, not just investments.
I don't keep cash at home.

GuitarStv

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Re: Is anyone even a little scared to put all their money in investments?
« Reply #15 on: December 30, 2015, 06:09:11 PM »
The reason that it's scary to invest is that there's risk you'll lose money.  People very rarely realize that they're constantly losing money when it's not invested because of inflation.

Think of your money as a truck on a steep hill.  If you do nothing (keep all your money in a safe at your house, or in crappy return bank accounts) you'll slowly slide backwards until you hit the bottom.  Investing is like hitting the gas.  It's possible to hit the gas too hard (too much risk), spin out and end up at the bottom.  However, if you just feather the throttle you can slowly ease your way out of that steep slope . . .

BrickByBrick

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Re: Is anyone even a little scared to put all their money in investments?
« Reply #16 on: December 30, 2015, 06:19:55 PM »
I keep a small stash of physical cash at home, and about two weeks of food and water for the household.  And the ability to defend said stash.

Food and water self-explanatory.  Cash because in the event of natural disaster there tends to still be plenty of 'entrepreneurs' around willing to take it.

Where I live such events are rare but do happen a couple times a decade, usually in the form of hurricanes.  Everyone seems to forget they exist right about the time the next one hits.  I learned my lesson early.

I figured anymore than that and chances are there are much more serious issues going on (take your pick of cataclysm scenarios), and I'm not really willing to devote much of my life and money to worrying about those possibilities.

I also keep a little bit of gold and silver on hand, but that's only for use in my buy/sell side hustle - but I guess it could possibly come in handy.

Otherwise - my money is better off working in my investments.

simplertimes

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Re: Is anyone even a little scared to put all their money in investments?
« Reply #17 on: December 30, 2015, 09:16:02 PM »
Thanks for the replies, I enjoy reading others' perspectives and insights!  I guess a number of things have me concerned about putting most of my money into investments, though I must admit I am still very, very new to all of this and will probably come across as naive and uninformed...

1.  The Great Depression.  Didn't people kill themselves because they lost all of their money during the great depression?  What if those of you who have all of your money in investments and retire early lose your retirements due to some sort of depression?  I have a better understanding of the whole "index funds minimizes your risk" concept, but it worries me to see folks on here seem SO CONFIDENT that their money is safe and secure for decades to come.  Which brings me to number 2.

2.  The Housing Market Collapse.  I was personally hit very hard by the housing market collapse (long story but lost $50k in principal/investments in a home we purchased in 2006 at the peak of the market, ended up with deed in lieu of foreclosure as our neighborhood was hit very hard and home lost 50% of its value).  Before the collapse everyone said that buying houses was a sure investment and people were SO CONFIDENT appreciation would go on forever and you would almost always come out ahead.  Those who bought before/after the collapse are probably fine, but people who were affected (like me!) learned the hard truth that things like this do happen and do hurt.

3.  Relying on the same economy people on MMM try to minimize their participation in.  It seems so strange to me that the folks on here who hate consumerism, materialism, corporatism etc. are relying on these institutions to fund their futures.  Investing in businesses with the assumption that they will always improve and get better and make more and more money or what have you, while working personally to shop less and buy less crap and leave the workplace permanently, this has to be some sort of paradox or irony or something no?

I guess this whole philosophy seems so strange to me (even though I'm striving for the same goals and lifestyle as most of you!).  I guess I am definitely financially risk-averse after what happened to my family during the housing crisis, which has also made me more skeptical of advice from people who are SO CONFIDENT that their way is the only right and best way.  Anyways I'm eager to hear more thoughts on this.

I think that as my husband and I get closer to retiring, I always pictured us having a huge amount of money in savings, real money that is not tied up in investments, even if some or most of our money IS in investments (I get the whole "cash loses value due to appreciation" thing).  Like once we get closer to retirement, build up a huge savings account fallback just in case our investments or my husband's pension disappears into thin air.

aspiringnomad

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Re: Is anyone even a little scared to put all their money in investments?
« Reply #18 on: December 30, 2015, 09:49:08 PM »
Not I. Over the very long term, I'm incredibly bullish on the global economy, and on the US economy in particular. Why? Because of technology. The spoils of the productivity gains offered by new technology are best captured by the average person either through consumption or investment. Mustachians and most others interested in FIRE should seek to maximize the benefits from the latter in order for FIRE to work most quickly and effectively. For one consumption example, imagine if someone told you in 1985 that you could send a "letter" to anyone in the world in a nanosecond from a device that sits in your pocket and that does a thousand other things as well. From an investment perspective, if you invested in the S&P at that same time, you'd have pulled in a 1,523% cumulative return with dividends reinvested. I'd think the 1985 version of you would be pleased with either. And I think we're just scratching the surface of the digital age. If/when machines surpass human general intelligence, it'll be much better to be invested in equity capital than in your own labor or in cash.

As for the downside risks over the long term, I think others are right that they're mainly catastrophic scenarios where holding cash is not likely to help you out much. But if anything is going to give you anxiety, it should be the potential human and/or environmental loss that result from those scenarios, not your FIRE plans being waylaid by them.
« Last Edit: December 30, 2015, 09:51:01 PM by dcmustachio »

jengod

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Re: Is anyone even a little scared to put all their money in investments?
« Reply #19 on: December 30, 2015, 10:48:54 PM »
(1) This chart always brings me comfort when freaking out about economic collapse. You can see The Great Depression in here, and the fear that the Axis Powers were going to win the war, and the fear the Soviets were going to nuke us all, and the gas crisis and the stagflation of the 1970s. Fear is normal and necessary, but don't let it rule your life.

Right now it seems like ISIS is going to have us all beheaded, but you can't do anything about that. It's not in your control. You can control saving $100 a month and investing it in something with a good long-term track record.

http://www.fedprimerate.com/dow-jones-industrial-average-djia-history.gif

(2) Sharon Astyk's books are outstanding guides to acting on your anxieties (I have them too!) in productive ways. She talks about pantry storage, long-term security planning and so much more. Highly recommended. That said, she points out that most likely crisis/emergency any of us will ever face is a PERSONAL health problem or a PERSONAL employment crisis. Community-wide disasters and total economic collapse are statistically unlikely, and even if the system is a mess, it doesn't necessarily indicate that you personally will be affected. Diminished standard-of-living isn't the worst thing that can happen to a soul.

(3) I absolutely do not worry about losing everything in a New Great Depression. We are diversified in our savings and investments. If one thing explodes, the others can shore it up until the problem is resolved. Deposits are insured. Stocks and real estate are like elevators: they go both up and down. If they are down for a while, fine. I believe they will go up in the future. We don't invest in single stocks, so the catastrophic failure of one company shouldn't effect us, and even the catastrophic failure of a whole industry wouldn't necessarily be the end times for our portfolio.

maco

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Re: Is anyone even a little scared to put all their money in investments?
« Reply #20 on: December 30, 2015, 11:21:49 PM »
^this.  If you are really going to be a prepper, forget the cash, go straight for guns and canned goods.  Also, might want to join the Society for Creative Anachronism and brush up on your skills with a sword and battle axe.  You know, in case civilization collapses after Peak Oil or something weird happens (see S.M. Stirling's Emberverse series starting with Dies the Fire)..

If that all sounds ridiculous, it probably is.  If it sounds fun, go forth and enjoy it!  Just go ahead and invest your money while you're at it, just in case the future is conventional and boring.   :-)
Eh, ours are rattan covered in duct tape. You want to learn to fight with a real steel sword while wearing real steel armor? Armored Combat League. You could join your country's national team! For example, I know several people on the USA Knights ('course, the ones I know are also SCA fighters...)

kendallf

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Re: Is anyone even a little scared to put all their money in investments?
« Reply #21 on: December 31, 2015, 07:29:28 AM »
Eh, ours are rattan covered in duct tape. You want to learn to fight with a real steel sword while wearing real steel armor? Armored Combat League. You could join your country's national team! For example, I know several people on the USA Knights ('course, the ones I know are also SCA fighters...)

That seriously sounds like a challenging and fun thing to learn.  It has to be extremely physically demanding! 

Thanks for the replies, I enjoy reading others' perspectives and insights!  I guess a number of things have me concerned about putting most of my money into investments, though I must admit I am still very, very new to all of this and will probably come across as naive and uninformed...

I understand your worry, but I think there are some things you need to consider.

Quote
1.  The Great Depression.  Didn't people kill themselves because they lost all of their money during the great depression? 

Speculators who were investing on margin (i.e., borrowing money to invest) lost everything.  If you had invested throughout the crash and afterward, you would have been OK in a relatively short time, believe it or not.  Joshua Kennon has a good blog post on this:

http://www.joshuakennon.com/it-did-not-take-25-years-for-the-stock-market-to-recover-from-the-peak-of-the-1929-crash/

Quote
2.  The Housing Market Collapse. 

I have personal experience here.  Again, the lesson is to not over leverage (borrow more than you can afford to cover, hoping for appreciation to fill the shortfall).  I refinanced my house and took 50k out to buy 10 acres of property because "they're not making any more and it can only go up in value, right?"  Not so much...  the value of my house tanked, I owed more than it was worth for nearly 10 years, and the property value is also much less than I paid.

You know what though?  It's OK and I'll survive that too.  I kept paying the mortgages, I'm planning to finally sell that house in 2016, and I bought another house near the bottom of the crash and will profit from the appreciation of the recovery, making it hurt a bit less.  I didn't over leverage and thus I could afford to think long term.

Quote
3.  Relying on the same economy people on MMM try to minimize their participation in. 

Spending wisely in accord with your values doesn't mean not spending at all.  MMM has a good post addressing this, in fact:

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/04/09/what-if-everyone-became-frugal/

Quote
I guess this whole philosophy seems so strange to me (even though I'm striving for the same goals and lifestyle as most of you!).  I guess I am definitely financially risk-averse after what happened to my family during the housing crisis, which has also made me more skeptical of advice from people who are SO CONFIDENT that their way is the only right and best way.  Anyways I'm eager to hear more thoughts on this.

I think that as my husband and I get closer to retiring, I always pictured us having a huge amount of money in savings, real money that is not tied up in investments, even if some or most of our money IS in investments (I get the whole "cash loses value due to appreciation" thing).  Like once we get closer to retirement, build up a huge savings account fallback just in case our investments or my husband's pension disappears into thin air.

Finally, I'm going to address the last part I bolded above.  Transitioning to safer investments as retirement nears is definitely part of many people's plans.  How to do so and the composition of those safer investments is a topic beyond the scope of a reply here.  However, large amounts of cash (in proportion to your investments) is actually a *riskier*  choice.

If you haven't tried it so far, I encourage you to run some of the retirement calculators and simulate this.  CFireSim is a great one, written by a member here, which uses actual historical market returns to calculate your probability of success (i.e., not running out of money) over many periods.  If you run simulations with increasing proportions of your money in cash vs. invested, your probability of success goes *down*.  Heavily.

http://www.cfiresim.com/

Finally, here's a great blog post from Jeremy at Go Curry Cracker on retiring at the worst time ever; this would have actually been in 1965, right before a long period of stagnant market returns and high inflation.

http://www.gocurrycracker.com/the-worst-retirement-ever/

hypocrispy

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Re: Is anyone even a little scared to put all their money in investments?
« Reply #22 on: December 31, 2015, 08:20:03 AM »
^this.  If you are really going to be a prepper, forget the cash, go straight for guns and canned goods.  Also, might want to join the Society for Creative Anachronism and brush up on your skills with a sword and battle axe.  You know, in case civilization collapses after Peak Oil or something weird happens (see S.M. Stirling's Emberverse series starting with Dies the Fire)..

If that all sounds ridiculous, it probably is.  If it sounds fun, go forth and enjoy it!  Just go ahead and invest your money while you're at it, just in case the future is conventional and boring.   :-)

+1 To joining the SCA. I've heard it said (though I haven't tried hard to find a reliable source to quote) that it is the largest standing private army in the world.

And you can learn nifty skills outside of fighting. I learned how to make my own bows, arrows, and bow strings as well as some leatherworking and fiber crafts (still working on spinning and weaving, I do better with that after a few tankards of mead).

stlbrah

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Re: Is anyone even a little scared to put all their money in investments?
« Reply #23 on: December 31, 2015, 08:25:56 AM »
It took me a long time to get over this fear. I missed a lot of opportunities in 2013-2014 to invest more heavily.

I am still scared of doing lump sums, so I dollar-cost average. I did, however, do a 30k lump sum at one point.
« Last Edit: December 31, 2015, 08:27:42 AM by stlbrah »

Uturn

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Re: Is anyone even a little scared to put all their money in investments?
« Reply #24 on: December 31, 2015, 09:25:34 AM »
If you don't feel comfortable just doing one thing, then don't do just one thing.  The key is don't go to extremes.  All cash will fail you.  All gold will fail you.  Fuck it, spend it all now because the future is uncertain will fail you.  And realize that no matter what your plan is, someone out there has data to back up the their hypothesis that you are doing it wrong and will fail. 

I keep about $10k in cash stashed around my place.  I've actually had to bug out twice in my life due to storms, and found cash to be king in those situations.  There are plenty of folks here that will strongly argue my decision because inflation is killing my $10k, but it makes me feel better.  I'm sure there are others that are laughing at my mere pennies of bug out cash.

I have a week's worth of provisions in my house because I live in a volatile weather area.  No it is not enough to survive a total collapse of society.  I'll deal with that if/when it happens.

As for investments, again it's what you feel comfortable with.  I personally don't like all my eggs in one basket.  I have some at Fidelity, some at Betterment, and about 15% is in private equities and REIT's.  Plus the equity in my house, which again, can be debated through eternity.  There is no end all be all correct way to handle your money. 

simplertimes

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Re: Is anyone even a little scared to put all their money in investments?
« Reply #25 on: December 31, 2015, 12:07:52 PM »
I really appreciate all of the thoughtful responses!  I do think we should strive to have some cash at home (versus the $0.75 I have on hand right now...daughter was not happy I had to borrow five dollars the other day to give the Craigslist buyer change for his $15 purchase lol!).  I guess my personal goal for now, to help mitigate future risks is to:

1.  Own our home in full before retiring
2.  Monitor husband's government pension over time
3.  Open/max out IRAs each year
4.  Invest other savings through Vanguard or similar
5.  Keep $5-10K in savings in case of home/auto repairs or unforeseen medical expenses (maybe more...want to check out that recommended investment calculator, thanks kendallf!)
6.  Maintain term life insurance policies for husband and myself
7.  Keep $500-$1000 in cash at home
8.  Stock up pantry (right now we only keep about 1 weeks worth of groceries in the house)
9.  Stock up on natural disaster/medical emergency supplies (woefully unprepared here with the exception of candles and band aids!)

Right now we are saving up to buy a home in April 2017 (lots of research on this, we are definitely doing this).  Then we will be able to work towards goals # 1, 3, 4, and 5 and I will feel better about our situation!

Thanks everyone for helping assure me that investing is not as risky as it may appear.

Edited to add:  Thanks jengod for the insight into the likelihood of a PERSONAL crisis over an economic crisis.  It puts things into perspective and gives me an area to focus on and prepare!
« Last Edit: December 31, 2015, 12:11:27 PM by simplertimes »

Late_Bloomer

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Re: Is anyone even a little scared to put all their money in investments?
« Reply #26 on: December 31, 2015, 01:31:43 PM »
In my personal situation, I was of the "investing is a gamble you will probably lose at" mindset and all throughout my 20's and 30's I lived my simple life and spent what I should have invested. Now I'm in my 40's and just beginning to invest. What I ultimately learned is that in the end, you are better off investing because you are only going to make things worse, or in MMM cases, a longer road for yourself if you don't.

I have to live with the realization that it is universally impossible for me to "retire early" at this point in my life. But, I can make up enough time through investments that I can still retire at an earlier age than what society deems "average," i.e., at age 65, and even that is becoming later and later with each passing decade. Within the next 14 years of maximizing investments, I can still retire at age 57 without social security serving as a crutch, and I don't need an astronomical income to do it.

What is regrettable is not investing earlier. I could have retired 2 years ago if I did. And what have I gained by not investing? Absolutely nothing. I still live my simple life with simple friends and simple aims. I have no luxuries that would of been worth the price of long term investment gains. Now when I think about it, there is no reason to fear because even if the world goes to shit and I lose my investments, I will still be living the same life I live now. I'll just have to keep on working.

Do I still think it's a gamble? Yes, to some extent, but I no longer have the luxury of time to persuade me against it.
« Last Edit: December 31, 2015, 01:34:27 PM by Barrett73 »

jengod

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Re: Is anyone even a little scared to put all their money in investments?
« Reply #27 on: December 31, 2015, 07:18:21 PM »
Thanks for all the very interesting links kendallf. Cool resources.

maco

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Re: Is anyone even a little scared to put all their money in investments?
« Reply #28 on: January 01, 2016, 02:59:19 PM »
^this.  If you are really going to be a prepper, forget the cash, go straight for guns and canned goods.  Also, might want to join the Society for Creative Anachronism and brush up on your skills with a sword and battle axe.  You know, in case civilization collapses after Peak Oil or something weird happens (see S.M. Stirling's Emberverse series starting with Dies the Fire)..

If that all sounds ridiculous, it probably is.  If it sounds fun, go forth and enjoy it!  Just go ahead and invest your money while you're at it, just in case the future is conventional and boring.   :-)

+1 To joining the SCA. I've heard it said (though I haven't tried hard to find a reliable source to quote) that it is the largest standing private army in the world.

And you can learn nifty skills outside of fighting. I learned how to make my own bows, arrows, and bow strings as well as some leatherworking and fiber crafts (still working on spinning and weaving, I do better with that after a few tankards of mead).
My Laurel says she practices "the drunken arts":  spinning, weaving, dyeing. She also happens to brew.