Stock and Housing Market — another crash?
Terry - I'm retiring in 2017 and I'm frightened by what I hear about another stock market adjustment like what happened in 2008. I've also heard rumors about the bottom dropping out of the housing market again. Do you have any thoughts on these two issues. Should I not retire?
Terry Says
My opinion is always that you should not retire until you really must -- and that you should use those extra years of working (or working part time) to cover current expenses and let your money keep working for you. Delaying withdrawals from your retirement savings should give you a big edge in case you live longer than you think! Please read my recent column, though, about adjusting your investments as you get closer to retirement and can't afford big losses. Yes, there will be another crash in the stock market. But from what level? And when? That I can't tell you -- nor can anyone else with any certainty. Housing is not likely to get so overpriced again in coming years, but yes in a bad economy home prices could fall too. The idea is to set yourself up now in a financial situation that won't cause you panic when the time comes.
