PERSONAL FINANCE

How To Protect Yourself

Depending on your age, what you should do now.

By Linda Stern | NEWSWEEK

Published Oct 6, 2008

« Return to Article

Discuss

Posted By: cani77 @ 10/09/2008 7:20:48 PM

Comment: In a few weeks we will make a choice that will decide our future.
I follow an economist named Bob Proctor. He has called the top and bottom of every market crash since the 70s correctly.
Also, he perfectly predicted the current real estate market meltdown and the picture he paints about what will happen in the next couple years
is terrifying.He thinks it will be worse then the great depression.
The banks in the U.S. are going under one after the other. Countrywide ,Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch , Fanny and Freddy Mae ,AIG
The government took them over because they are essentially bankrupt. Even with the goverment nationalizing hundreds of billions of dollars in debt the stock market is crashing
the credit markets are frozen and all of us may suffer beyond anything in the last 80 years.
McCain just like Bush " doesn't understand the economy".
That not just my opinion its his own words. Not only does he not understand how to fix it but he does not understand exactly what is broken.
It is no surprise that he doesn't. The people that make up these securities use complex mathematical models very few people understand.
Bush and McCain both can take the credit for this mess since they helped deregulate the laws that were protecting us.
Bush's economic advisor Phil Graham wrote the deregulation bill that allowed banks to take huge risks with all of our future.
Now, Phil Graham is the head of McCain's economic policy.He is also McCain's choice for the next secretary of the treasury.
No one in this country can afford for that to happen. The last time Bush met with his economic advisors was in March. He didnt realize that anything was wrong. Phil Graham had the guts to say that we are in a mental recession after he helped create the worst economy meltdown in our lifetime. Check out this link to the truth http://my.barackobama.com/keatingvideo
It will take the best and brightest minds in the world to get us out of this nightmare. As bad as Bush has done, McCain would be
even more destructive because things are in much worse shape. The next president will not inherit a surplus like Bush did but a crashing economy and a 11,600,000,000,000 (trillion) dollars deficit. Most of it Bush created and it will take decades to pay it back.
If you do what you have always done then you will get what you have always got.
When it comes to policy Bush and McCain are the same 90 percent of the time.
So why are the polls even close then ?
Mccains team just said they no longer want to talk about the economy.Instead they would like to spend time talking about obama
which means running the biggest smear campaign in history.
They think they can just tell you lies and you wont be smart enough to see through it
Let's teach him we are smarter than that .
Elect Obama Biden 2008

Check out this video of sarah palins interview and ask your self if she understands what she is talking about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r36Xc0GG4iQ
Posted By: cani77 @ 10/09/2008 7:20:37 PM

Comment: In a few weeks we will make a choice that will decide our future.
I follow an economist named Bob Proctor. He has called the top and bottom of every market crash since the 70s correctly.
Also, he perfectly predicted the current real estate market meltdown and the picture he paints about what will happen in the next couple years
is terrifying.He thinks it will be worse then the great depression.
The banks in the U.S. are going under one after the other. Countrywide ,Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch , Fanny and Freddy Mae ,AIG
The government took them over because they are essentially bankrupt. Even with the goverment nationalizing hundreds of billions of dollars in debt the stock market is crashing
the credit markets are frozen and all of us may suffer beyond anything in the last 80 years.
McCain just like Bush " doesn't understand the economy".
That not just my opinion its his own words. Not only does he not understand how to fix it but he does not understand exactly what is broken.
It is no surprise that he doesn't. The people that make up these securities use complex mathematical models very few people understand.
Bush and McCain both can take the credit for this mess since they helped deregulate the laws that were protecting us.
Bush's economic advisor Phil Graham wrote the deregulation bill that allowed banks to take huge risks with all of our future.
Now, Phil Graham is the head of McCain's economic policy.He is also McCain's choice for the next secretary of the treasury.
No one in this country can afford for that to happen. The last time Bush met with his economic advisors was in March. He didnt realize that anything was wrong. Phil Graham had the guts to say that we are in a mental recession after he helped create the worst economy meltdown in our lifetime. Check out this link to the truth http://my.barackobama.com/keatingvideo
It will take the best and brightest minds in the world to get us out of this nightmare. As bad as Bush has done, McCain would be
even more destructive because things are in much worse shape. The next president will not inherit a surplus like Bush did but a crashing economy and a 11,600,000,000,000 (trillion) dollars deficit. Most of it Bush created and it will take decades to pay it back.
If you do what you have always done then you will get what you have always got.
When it comes to policy Bush and McCain are the same 90 percent of the time.
So why are the polls even close then ?
Mccains team just said they no longer want to talk about the economy.Instead they would like to spend time talking about obama
which means running the biggest smear campaign in history.
They think they can just tell you lies and you wont be smart enough to see through it
Let's teach him we are smarter than that .
Elect Obama Biden 2008

Check out this video of sarah palins interview and ask your self if she understands what she is talking about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r36Xc0GG4iQ
Posted By: LLiving10 @ 10/08/2008 4:33:36 PM

Comment: Sorry, www.CareerSitesCompany.com lists them. that is a lot of jobs and i recognize most of the companies.
Posted By: LLiving10 @ 10/08/2008 4:32:52 PM

Comment: At least there are a whole lot of jobs out there, so no excuse there.. this one currently lists 3.7 million. www.CareerStiesCompany.com
Posted By: phiomalibumalibu @ 10/08/2008 12:29:15 AM

Comment: I would suggest taking some of your portfolio and invest in Gold and precious metals. Also, now is a good time to buy Domain Names (especially International Domain Names) They are the only items which are increasing in value these days.
Posted By: Nowforthetruth @ 10/07/2008 3:47:03 PM

Comment: Time we started to talk about Biden's long standing ties to the credit card industry lobby.

http://redtape.msnbc.com/2008/10/how-credit-card.html
Posted By: mhorn515 @ 10/07/2008 3:28:27 PM

Comment: No information if you in your fifties? Guess we're screwed too!
Posted By: sound off @ 10/07/2008 2:57:44 PM

Comment: the world markets wash out., raising inflation, with all that EXXON STOCK goes up, way up.The market loss 5000. points. the oil giants stock went up. The hole market deal is given off a terrible stench.
To the ones that look for the guarantee safe place for there money ( treasury notes, bank acc, in the mattress ) if you safe 1000 $ and loaf of bread is 999.99 $ your 1000$ is still safe but worth nothing.
Posted By: ModAct07 @ 10/07/2008 2:51:43 PM

Comment: The article didn't really address my situation. I'm 56, definitely above the 30's and 40's group. But what qualifies as "approaching retirement"? For me, that's still 10 years away. I don't have any illusions about retiring early.

I've already made my decision - I'll keep my mutual funds and not panic into dumping everything into a fixed fund (i.e., selling low and buying high). And I'm making the maximum allowable contribution under the catch-up rules. I just wish the article would have adressed those of us in our early-to-mid 50's.
Posted By: punger @ 10/07/2008 2:02:18 PM

Comment: can the mandatory retirement IRA withdrawal rule be softened for a time? that would help we old ones scale down with our battered retirement portfolios
Posted By: punger @ 10/07/2008 1:52:25 PM

Comment: decreasing withdrawals from a largely IRA retirement portfoilo is made less effective because of the mandatory withdrawal rule with its draconian penalties. can these be eased, at least until there is some recovery? if I write my congreeman I'll probably be dead before that could occur
Posted By: Nowforthetruth @ 10/07/2008 12:09:34 PM

Comment: The link below contains a purported list of the top 25 in Congress who got contributions from the folks at Fannie and Freddie. Obama is listed third, after Dodd and Kerry, even though Obama is just a junior Senator. Obama is followed next by Clinton. Barney Frank and Nancy Pelosi are on the list as well.

http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=16&artnum=1&issue=20080918

Then there is the Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd who allegedly got special mortgage deals from Countrywide, who gave preferential rates to 'friends' of company's chairman.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25140560/

For an interesting article purporting to detail the House Financial Services Committee Chairs long history with Fannie Mae, See http://www.businessandmedia.org/printer/2008/20080924145932.aspx

"House Financial Services Committee Chair promoted GSEs while former 'spouse' was Fannie Mae executive."

The link below describes how some in Congress tried to use the original version of the bailout bill to divert money eventually recovered to groups like ACORN, a group Obama has a long association with. See:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122247015469280723.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

And then there is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who allegedly has directed nearly $100,000 from her political action committee to her husband's real estate and investment firm.

http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/oct/01/pelosis-pac-pays-bills-for-spouses-firm.
Posted By: mrkid72 @ 10/07/2008 10:26:22 AM

Comment: I think that everyone in power has to take some of the blame on this one. Who cares about pointing fingers..let's figure out how to fix it!
Posted By: sieg6529 @ 10/07/2008 9:31:54 AM

Comment: I'm a twenty something, and even though I just started a Roth IRA, I've lost 3% on my 401(k) and 12% of my house value. If I stand to benefit from this meltdown, it isn't terribly apparent to me.

Regarding these right-wingers trolling the comment board, DON'T FEED THE TROLLS.
- Posted By: cajademierda @ 10/08/2008 1:32:35 PM
  
  Comment: You've only lost 3% on your 401K? How can you even tell? The market swings by that much every day in these volatile times.
Posted By: clear thinking @ 10/07/2008 7:39:36 AM

Comment: every decade there is a crises which wipes out the gain of previous 10 years.this equity investing for retirement is losers game .the only winners are the money managers who get handsome compensation for not allowing you to sleep good at night, they are taking advantage of our lack of clear thought and education .lets get out now
Posted By: collegevoter @ 10/07/2008 3:12:09 AM

Comment: Oh my Lord. Are their really right-wing trolls on here, going on and on about how great the Republican Party is and trying to blame this on the Democratic Party AGAIN? Linda Stern was just trying to provide financial advice. Not get into your continual need to intellectually justify yourself and your failed policies, AGAIN. Get over it.
Posted By: topcat2001 @ 10/06/2008 11:17:23 PM

Comment: Cantabrigian - it is quite simple. The democrats have only had a majority for the last 2 years and that too a simple majority (49-49 in the Senate with two independants one of whom is McCain pal Leiberman) with Republican Bush as President and this crisis started in 2007 right even as the democracts were being sworn in. With a Republican president the Republicans still control the legislative agenda as the democrats need a two thirds majority to override a Presidential veto.
And remember for the 6 years before that, the Republicans had unfettered control of the country with a Republican Senate, a Republican House and a Republican President where they killed all regulations and let Wallstreet run wild
- Posted By: Tabi @ 10/06/2008 11:48:17 PM
  
  Comment: By posting this, you have to also be willing to place the earlier "tech bubble" at the feet of Bill Clinton. You cannot acknowledge a bubble starting in an earlier administration in one case but not in another.
  
  Secondly, there were also a fair number of Republicans pushing for greater support of the mortgages industry. They were blocked by a combination of bought democrats and republicans (though mostly democrats, if one were to look at who Fannie and Freddie gave the most money to). The Republicans may have had the majority in the three branches of congress, but they were unable to prevent a filibuster--something the Democrats were very willing to do.
Posted By: topcat2001 @ 10/06/2008 11:16:35 PM

Comment: Cantabrigian - it is quite simple. The democrats have only had a majority for the last 2 years and that too a simple majority (49-49 in the Senate with two independants one of whom is McCain pal Leiberman) with Republican Bush as President and this crisis started in 2007 right even as the democracts were being sworn in. With a Republican president the Republicans still control the legislative agenda as the democrats need a two thirds majority to override a Presidential veto.
And remember for the 6 years before that, the Republicans had unfettered control of the country with a Republican Senate, a Republican House and a Republican President where they killed all regulations and let Wallstreet run wild.
Posted By: Cantabrigian @ 10/06/2008 8:08:13 PM

Comment: Barney Frank (Democratic) has been in Congress since 1981, and is the Chairman of the Financial Services Committee.

THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY ALSO HAS THE MAJORITY IN Washington:

[Congress] D=230, R=205

[Senate] D=55, R=45

So, can someone please tell me how the Democrats and NObama can feed the public the untruth that this economic fiscal disaster is the fault of the Republicans?
Posted By: cani77 @ 10/06/2008 4:50:35 PM

Comment: In a few weeks we will make a choice that will decide our future.
I follow an economist named Bob Proctor. He has called the top and bottom of every market crash since the 70s correctly.
Also, he perfectly predicted the current real estate market meltdown and the picture he paints about what will happen in the next couple years
is terrifying.He thinks it will be worse then the great depression.
The banks in the U.S. are going under one after the other. Countrywide the largest morgage bank in the world,Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch which are 3 out of the top 5 wall street firms. Also, Fanny and Freddy Mae which hold 50 percent of the home loans in the United States.
The government took them over because they are essentially bankrupt.If they didn't the entire financially system would virtually shut down, the stock market would crash and we would suffer beyond what any of us have seen before.

McCain just like Bush " doesn't understand the economy".
That not just my opinion its his own words. Not only does he not understand how to fix it but he does not understand exactly what is broken.
It is no surprise that he doesn't. The people that make up these securities use complex mathematical models very few people understand.
Bush and McCain both can take the credit for this mess since they helped deregulate the laws that were protecting us.

Bush's economic advisor Phil Graham wrote the deregulation bill that allowed banks to take huge risks with all of our future.
Now, Phil Graham is the head of McCain's economic policy.He is also McCain's choice for the next secretary of the treasury.
No one in this country can afford for that to happen. The last time Bush met with his economic advisors was in March. He either didn't care or didn't realize that anything was wrong. Phil Graham had the guts to say that we are in a mental recession after he helped create the worst economy meltdown in our lifetime.
It will take the best and brightest minds in the world to get us out of this nightmare. As bad as Bush has done, McCain would be
even more destructive because things are in much worse shape. The next president will not inherit a surplus like Bush did but a tanking economy and a 11,600,000,000,000 (trillion) dollars deficit. Most of it Bush created and it will take decades to pay it back.
If you do what you have always done then you will get what you have always got.
When it comes to policy Bush and McCain are the same 90 percent of the time.
So why are the polls even close then ?

Mccains team just said they no longer want to talk about the economy.Instead they would like to spend time
running the biggest smear campaign in history.

They think they can just tell you lies and you wont be smart enough to see through it
Let's teach him we are smarter than that .
Elect Obama Biden 2008

Check out this video of sarah palins interview it will blow you away
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r36Xc0GG4iQ
Posted By: cani77 @ 10/06/2008 4:50:18 PM

Comment: In a few weeks we will make a choice that will decide our future.
I follow an economist named Bob Proctor. He has called the top and bottom of every market crash since the 70s correctly.
Also, he perfectly predicted the current real estate market meltdown and the picture he paints about what will happen in the next couple years
is terrifying.He thinks it will be worse then the great depression.
The banks in the U.S. are going under one after the other. Countrywide the largest morgage bank in the world,Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch which are 3 out of the top 5 wall street firms. Also, Fanny and Freddy Mae which hold 50 percent of the home loans in the United States.
The government took them over because they are essentially bankrupt.If they didn't the entire financially system would virtually shut down, the stock market would crash and we would suffer beyond what any of us have seen before.

McCain just like Bush " doesn't understand the economy".
That not just my opinion its his own words. Not only does he not understand how to fix it but he does not understand exactly what is broken.
It is no surprise that he doesn't. The people that make up these securities use complex mathematical models very few people understand.
Bush and McCain both can take the credit for this mess since they helped deregulate the laws that were protecting us.

Bush's economic advisor Phil Graham wrote the deregulation bill that allowed banks to take huge risks with all of our future.
Now, Phil Graham is the head of McCain's economic policy.He is also McCain's choice for the next secretary of the treasury.
No one in this country can afford for that to happen. The last time Bush met with his economic advisors was in March. He either didn't care or didn't realize that anything was wrong. Phil Graham had the guts to say that we are in a mental recession after he helped create the worst economy meltdown in our lifetime.
It will take the best and brightest minds in the world to get us out of this nightmare. As bad as Bush has done, McCain would be
even more destructive because things are in much worse shape. The next president will not inherit a surplus like Bush did but a tanking economy and a 11,600,000,000,000 (trillion) dollars deficit. Most of it Bush created and it will take decades to pay it back.
If you do what you have always done then you will get what you have always got.
When it comes to policy Bush and McCain are the same 90 percent of the time.
So why are the polls even close then ?

Mccains team just said they no longer want to talk about the economy.Instead they would like to spend time
running the biggest smear campaign in history.

They think they can just tell you lies and you wont be smart enough to see through it
Let's teach him we are smarter than that .
Elect Obama Biden 2008

Check out this video of sarah palins interview it will blow you away
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r36Xc0GG4iQ
Posted By: cani77 @ 10/06/2008 4:50:06 PM

Comment: In a few weeks we will make a choice that will decide our future.
I follow an economist named Bob Proctor. He has called the top and bottom of every market crash since the 70s correctly.
Also, he perfectly predicted the current real estate market meltdown and the picture he paints about what will happen in the next couple years
is terrifying.He thinks it will be worse then the great depression.
The banks in the U.S. are going under one after the other. Countrywide the largest morgage bank in the world,Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch which are 3 out of the top 5 wall street firms. Also, Fanny and Freddy Mae which hold 50 percent of the home loans in the United States.
The government took them over because they are essentially bankrupt.If they didn't the entire financially system would virtually shut down, the stock market would crash and we would suffer beyond what any of us have seen before.

McCain just like Bush " doesn't understand the economy".
That not just my opinion its his own words. Not only does he not understand how to fix it but he does not understand exactly what is broken.
It is no surprise that he doesn't. The people that make up these securities use complex mathematical models very few people understand.
Bush and McCain both can take the credit for this mess since they helped deregulate the laws that were protecting us.

Bush's economic advisor Phil Graham wrote the deregulation bill that allowed banks to take huge risks with all of our future.
Now, Phil Graham is the head of McCain's economic policy.He is also McCain's choice for the next secretary of the treasury.
No one in this country can afford for that to happen. The last time Bush met with his economic advisors was in March. He either didn't care or didn't realize that anything was wrong. Phil Graham had the guts to say that we are in a mental recession after he helped create the worst economy meltdown in our lifetime.
It will take the best and brightest minds in the world to get us out of this nightmare. As bad as Bush has done, McCain would be
even more destructive because things are in much worse shape. The next president will not inherit a surplus like Bush did but a tanking economy and a 11,600,000,000,000 (trillion) dollars deficit. Most of it Bush created and it will take decades to pay it back.
If you do what you have always done then you will get what you have always got.
When it comes to policy Bush and McCain are the same 90 percent of the time.
So why are the polls even close then ?

Mccains team just said they no longer want to talk about the economy.Instead they would like to spend time
running the biggest smear campaign in history.

They think they can just tell you lies and you wont be smart enough to see through it
Let's teach him we are smarter than that .
Elect Obama Biden 2008

Check out this video of sarah palins interview it will blow you away
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r36Xc0GG4iQ
Posted By: phiomalibumalibu @ 10/06/2008 3:20:22 PM

Comment: Funny you talk about 20's as if there were jobs available to them. Most 20 somethings are poor, and can't find work even with a college degree. I think this article would be best printed in India where most of the US jobs are going. Now with 11 million americans unemployed, you'd think congress would have extended the unemployment benifits for those who are suffering. There will not be hope in this country of any kind of retirement until we stop globalizing and offshoring our jobs.
- Posted By: cajademierda @ 10/08/2008 2:08:58 PM
  
  Comment: Yeah, and in what market are housing prices at 2002 levels? Twentysomethings are getting screwed in this just like everybody else.