It’s boring, and my upside is limited, but being roughly 50/50 (stocks and bonds) does smooth out the rough seas a bit. The gains on bonds never seem to compensate for losses on stocks; our portfolio lost the equivalent of 4 years tuition Friday.
As others have indicated, and let me repeat: if you’re considering less exposure to equities based on the recent volatility, you need to rethink your asset allocation. In a historical sense, Friday was barely a blip.
@dstark, remember when everyone was saying that obviously, interest rates had nowhere to go but up, and thus . . .
I know close to nothing, but am comfortable being The Fool On The Hill
@IxnayBob, I am pretty sure I have said the above myself… But not recently. 
@dstark, maybe, but you probably haven’t said it after seeing other countries’ interest rates fall below 0%. Negative rates are an eye opener.
@IxnayBob, I never thought negative rates were going to happen.
I hate negative rates. 
These low to negative rates show how bad the financial crisis was.
With a US Treasury 10 year yielding 1.5 percent, I don’t see how the fed can raise rates.
It is possible US interest rates bottomed on Friday. Not betting on that though.
I can’t imagine the Fed raising rates until 2017, but what I know can fit in a thimble
The Brexit story is still in the early chapters, and I think there is a significant chance IMO that it will never happen. The referendum is non-binding, Cameron has backed off of triggering Article 50 (which is what is legally necessary to start the exit process) and is leaving it to his successor to take all the heat, which will also likely include the break-up of the UK, as Scotland will almost certainly have another election to leave the UK since they were the most strongly in favor of remaining in the EU of any region of the UK. Parliament has to approve it and the next election could change the makeup and doom the Brexit. If they do go forward, it will take years to negotiate everything, and who can predict how that will affect future markets and economies?
If you are placing bets on the result, well, good luck to you. 
I think brexit will happen. Listening to UK politicians on Sunday. It sounds like both this vote and the Scotland vote a while back are not subject to another vote. They were one off votes.
As far as bonds are concerned, I’ve waited to buy them for several years now for a higher yield. I’ve been wrong the entire time.
My husband announced his retirement about 4 weeks ago and it will soon become a reality. I have been retired for a while. If mortgage rates stay low, maybe our house will quickly. The impacts of Brexit are causing a little bit of uncertainty , but he is sticking with his retirement decision.
Probably interest rates will stay low for awhile, and rise about the time we decide to sell our house in a year or two.
While in Switzerland, it is interesting to get the perspective of relatives and friends. They are very interested in our election process and ‘the real story’ w/o media spin. The media here (like in the US) tends to make one of our presidential candidates look a bit like a buffoon.
H and I are still 5.5 years from retirement. At this point, we are just looking at cash flow until then, getting our home ready for downsizing. Our retirement investments are good and we are healthy; good situation with health, life and LTC insurance. I keep reading to stay current in all but don’t let hiccups in the market vary my mood. A 25% drop definitely would raise my attention though!
Well, the market came back pretty quickly, didn’t it.
It did come back quickly, that’s for sure. However, I’m wondering if there is going to be another crash next week, as maybe it came back a little too quickly. I sold a bunch of stuff on Friday, might sell a lot more next week if the market stays high. I don’t feel really good about being so highly invested right now. All it takes is one problem around the world, and everyone gets crazy scared and sells. And if it looks like there is going to be a buffoon in charge, than I think there will be a mega crash.
When people are buying, they give reasons for buying.
When people are selling, they give reasons for selling.
There are always lots of reasons.
Yeah, but people get scared awfully fast. They seem to get far more fearful than they get excited about buying. Usually seems like something scares people and the market plummets, but takes awhile to get back. Except for last week.
I am glad the interest rates seem like they are staying down, though I know it’s not a good deal for all. Was thinking about refinancing, because our loan adjusts in May for five years. Right now, it would stay what it’s at, if it adjusted (2.875%). I don’t see a reason for rates to go up much in the next year, but people keep saying to lock in these great rates now. Don’t think I want to lock in a higher rate, and pay all those closing costs. It’s a gamble, but I think we’ll take the chance.
@busdriver11 Have you looked into refinancing now rather than waiting for the loan adjustment? It’s pretty easy to get no point, no closing cost loans. Find a good mortgage broker and compare rates and also call your current mortgage company and ask them what they can do for you.
doschicos, I just haven’t found anything better. They all seem to have origination fees and closing costs involved, unless you want a higher interest rate. My mtg company is PenFed, which is generally the best deal out there, and that 1% origination fee for fixed loans is a killer. At least when my loan adjusts it will be for five years and hopefully we can pay it off in 8-10.
“Yeah, but people get scared awfully fast. They seem to get far more fearful than they get excited about buying. Usually seems like something scares people and the market plummets, but takes awhile to get back. Except for last week.”
Its been claimed that we feel the pain of market losses twice as much as the joy associated with gains. I try to take my emotions out of the equation as much as possible.
@DocT, agree about the pain = 2x Joy.
My mantra is “don’t just do something, stand there.” I’m not trying to knock the ball out of the park.
Is there a cap on how much it cap adjust? Typically on adjustables there is a 2% max adjustment per adjustment period.
If that is the case, and you are going to pay it off in 8-10 years, there will only be one more adjustment, so the max it can go to is 4.875%. At that point, the amount of interest you will be paying is so small that the difference between 4.875% and whatever you might be paying by refinancing now will be quite small and probably will not be worth what you pay to refinance.