No, the sky isn't falling (PSA)
Posted
Monday, March 17, 2008 2:33 PM
To my fellow nestie bloggers...you have given me many hours of amusement and encouragement from reading your entries over the past few months. I just wanted to share a little fodder with you on this dreary Monday morning. This is a PSA (public service announcement) of sorts...
As many of you have woken up to news reports about the stock market dropping again and a fire-sale of brokerage house Bear Stearns, I just wanted to say...DON'T FREAK OUT!! ;-)
I am a business consultant, purchasing analyst and economics junkie at heart. I follow the overall business conditions as part of my job. What I see going on right now is that the media is scaring the US into a recession. While yes, the economy has slowed down, and there is a mortgage crisis in play...this is part of the natural ebbs and flows of the market. What goes up must come down. The 90s and early to mid-2000s showed extreme growth of wealth in the US via wage growth and real estate investment. Obviously, this could not sustain itself forever! I mean...did you think your neighbor could really buy another Porsche Cayenne SUV and keep buying new Coach purses everytime they were having a bad day? (Okay, I live in Chicago...so this is what I observe).
Please *DON'T*...
1) Sell off your 401ks and stock accounts - This is not the time to do anything crazy with your investments. Remember buy low, sell high! Most nesties here are in the prime of their lives, or not even at that point, being in their 20s and 30s, and even 40s...meaning we are all a long ways away from retirement. Just keep in mind, that while the market might be bottoming out right now, it will go back up, so don't look at your 401k account today...it won't help in any current TTC initiatives at home ;-)
2) Don't think that you have to stop buying - Just because "the Joneses" are not going to the store as much anymore and don't buy as many lattes every week (according to the media) doesn't mean that you have to do the same. Yes, gas prices have spiked and your soy milk costs more at the grocery store. But many of us are excelling at work at this point in our lives and are experiencing serious wage growth - it doesn't mean that we have to cut back if not needed. If you have the money and are looking to buy some things for the house, i.e. furniture, dishwasher, etc...go for it! There are great deals out there. For example, DH and I have experienced a 30% wage growth in the last year. While we have slowed down a bit on the buying side, it has had nothing to do with the economy and everything to do with our life changing event of late 2007 - getting married and paying for our own wedding ;-) We are finishing paying off the credit cards, but just recently bought a new dishwasher, curtains and a pimp wine fridge. Do what suits your situation!
Just remember...it's a normal Monday. Go back to work! :-)