simme
Old Dumb Guy
I retired 3 years ago. I have some cash, some stock index mutual funds, some bond index mutual funds and a few odds and ends. Held in IRA's, Roth IRA's, 401k, and checking account. My plan was to have enough cash to live on for several years, enough in stock funds to have some gains and growth, and some in bond funds. Declines in the market don't last forever- usually a few to several years. My thinking is to have enough in cash to cover living expenses in a down market and don't be selling stock funds in a down market. Replenish cash if needed during a bull market.Is anyone here actually making their living or a good part of their income from the stock market? I don't really know anyone that lives off a 401k retirement plan or gets money from trading stocks, everyone I know just invests for retirement. I'm wondering how this downturn affects someone trying to live off of money invested in the market?
A down market is an opportunity to transfer taxable money from IRA or 401k into a Roth IRA (no future taxes). Get more shares moved for a specific dollar amount when values are down. Let the gain be tax free in the roth account when the market recovers. Pay the taxes due to transfer out of the cash account. Look at tax tables and your misc. income to determine how much to transfer per year and remain in the 12% tax bracket (about $83,500 for joint filers). Consider transferring each year while you have low income even if the market is not down.
You can lower your expenses during a down market if needed for economic reasons or if it makes you feel more secure. Most people spend on some things that are not essential that can be reduced if you feel the need or have to. I figure I could always cut back on the cow hobby if I need to save money.
Minimum required distributions will come into play at around 72 years of age for regular IRA's and 401k's. And taxes must be paid on those. If you have accumulated a good amount of money in those, taxes will be one of your big yearly expenses. Better to plan for that when you are younger while in the saving and accumulating stage. Look for tax free plans like Roth when you are younger to avoid those taxes when you are retired.
Is the market really down? I realize the Dow got almost to 37,000 and now is around 33,000. That does seems down. But here are the average closing values for a few years:
2021 34,055
2020 26,890
2019 26,379
2018 25,046
2017 21,750
2016 17,927
Just seems to me like the market is up, way up in fact. Investing and accumulating requires a long term view. Short term view will cause mental health problems and bad decisions. I went through 1999 and 2008. I just quit opening my statements for a couple years and tried to increase my additional investments. Looking back now at the "losses" I had then, it seems so small compared to where the market is now. It took me several years to learn this principle.
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