IF YOUR LIKE MOST PEOPLE YOU’VE WATCHED YOUR 401K LIKE A HAWK THESE PAST FEW WEEKS, AND YOU MIGHT BE TEMPTED TO PULL IT ALL OUR, BUT CONSUMER ADVISER CLARK HOWARD SAYS DON’T DO IT.
Jorge: Consumer expert Clark Howard , talking about your 401k. Clark we’ve talked about this before, people shouldn’t have panicked before, but this has gone on longer. Should they take it out now?
Clark: Right, so we’re likely to have at some point through the coronavirus crisis a big decline in the stock market again, and I can’t predict when that would be but companies are reporting pretty crumby earning and ultimately the value of what you have in your 401k is based on collectively what companies are making or not making. The thing is, if you’re under age 50 who cares? It doesn’t matter because you have such a long time period for your money to recover and to grow. And no one can predict when the market hits bottom, what that bottom is and when it starts back up. So, the best thing is keep putting money in each pay period like you’re doing. Divide it out with the choices in there, typically people will do a target retirement fund that does that for you and just know you ride it down and then you ride it back up but you go to the sidelines you miss the ultimate recovery.
Jorge: alright so what’s to do if you already panicked and you took some cash out? Do you throw cash back in do you leave it out? What do you do?
Clark: alright so most people did stay in. there’s a segment of the population that
said this kitchen is too hot for me I gotta get out. If you’re not gonna sleep well going back in stay on the side lines, but an alternative is each month put a little bit of your money back to work in your 401k. Go back into the safest of the investment choices which would be a target retirement fund geared towards the year you expect to retire. Ultimately, we’re gonna be ok. This is a very rough rough era we’re in, but it will pass, and your money will eventually grow again. So that you have more security when you do retire.
Jorge: Alright Clark Howard. always great advice. It depends on how comfortable you are with your 401k. thank you so much.
Clark: sure
