Panic Mode

I haven't chosen to write about the recent crisis on Wall St. because it never really seemed to affect the people on "Main St.". Yes I heard that the situation was bad and that we may not be able to get a car loan, or refinance our house. Still, those weren't really things I was planning to do and so I haven't been on pins and needles. The things that affected my life everyday were the cost of a gallon of gas (now down to $3.49) or the price of groceries (still on the rise). I've tried avoiding checking in on my investments because I really didn't want to see the bad news.

Last night I checked.

It's bad.

I know that I shouldn't be worried. These are long term investments. I shouldn't even think about them for 20 or more years. Still, I'm human. I want to know where I stand. We made investments in college funds for each of our kids last year and as of this morning they're down 44% from when we purchased them. There is plenty of time for things to rebound, but there's a big difference in crossing a stream to fording a river. Right now we're somewhere in the middle, but I'm getting more and more worried every day.


BTW- If you want to understand more about the bailout and the causes of the Wall St. crisis you need to listen to last week's This American Life.