Possible US default

[fences]

Is anyone else thinking about switching personal savings and/or retirement to cash before the 6/1 default deadline?  I thought things would be ironed out by now but I'm starting to get nervous.

[goldengirlz]

Err, no.

The market is (and always will be) cyclical and the general rule of thumb is to ride it out rather than try to time it. Cashing out retirement in particular seems like a bad idea.

The one exception would be is if you’re anticipating a large expense in the next few months, then perhaps set aside some money for that.

ETA: I do think there’s a reason to be concerned if you rely on government checks (whether a salary or Social Security benefits) but for investment savings, I think you just close your eyes and try not to look.

[dr.girlfriend]

I was thinking the opposite...potentially being poised to buy in if something happens.  DH has consolidated a bunch of stuff into a Rollover IRA and a lot of it is sitting in a money market that we've procrastinated investing.  Seems like it might be a good time.

[clairebear]

May 19, 2023 20:37:58 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

I was thinking the opposite...potentially being poised to buy in if something happens.  DH has consolidated a bunch of stuff into a Rollover IRA and a lot of it is sitting in a money market that we've procrastinated investing.  Seems like it might be a good time.

I have $6000 for my 2023 IRA and about $20,000 that I would typically put into a Vanguard index fund that is sitting as cash in my checking. I'm holding onto to it to see if the market does dip. What are you investing in? 

[dr.girlfriend]

May 25, 2023 21:35:20 GMT -5 clairebear said:

May 19, 2023 20:37:58 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

I was thinking the opposite...potentially being poised to buy in if something happens.  DH has consolidated a bunch of stuff into a Rollover IRA and a lot of it is sitting in a money market that we've procrastinated investing.  Seems like it might be a good time.

I have $6000 for my 2023 IRA and about $20,000 that I would typically put into a Vanguard index fund that is sitting as cash in my checking. I'm holding onto to it to see if the market does dip. What are you investing in? 

(Keep in mind I am a pretty amateur investor) If I were just buying in for smaller amounts I would probably do an index fund, like a Dow Jones total stock market fund.  Since we are looking to invest DH's rollover IRA (a good half of his retirement savings, and the only reason it's not a bigger proportion is because I put his Roth for one year in Tesla) in something and just keep it there long-term, though, we're trying to buy a target fund at the right time.  We went ahead and put half of it in FIOFX already (Fidelity's 2045 Target fund) and if we think there's a bigger dip we might put the other half in at that time.

I really feel like everyone is confident that this brinkmanship regarding the debt ceiling is just posturing, and no one is actually going to let it happen, and that's why the markets are not really dipping currently in the way you would expect if we were really headed toward a default.  But who really knows?