(04-28-2022, 09:45 AM)KingIngram052787 Wrote:

(04-28-2022, 08:05 AM)mal234 Wrote: Is anyone else currently experiencing one of their retirement accounts being down.? This time of year, I work two jobs my government job and the longer-term job I held before that. The second job laid people off when Covid first began in 2020 and I went and was hired at the government job. Once things bounced back with the second job, I agreed to work with them on part time/part year basis. I usually work this job from December through April, (the busiest time of the year for it). sometimes May. This year I'm working it through May.  I have a Safe Harbor 401 K with the second job and it's currently down. I did/can choose the types of funds/investments I want to invest in. 

Today I made some adjustments to that account, by adjusting things to where I'm allocating more money into an income funds.  Prior to these adjustments I had my money from this job split almost evenly among three funds, (one for growth, income and growth and aggressive growth.) I wasn't having really anything going to one that's focused mainly on income, and I wonder how that may be impacting things. In addition to how things can be down due to inflation, etc....

I have a couple of more paychecks and a bonus check coming from second job before I'm done with it until December. Anyone have any suggestions on good funds to invest in, especially to counter with what's going on right now? I still have room to change things and get some money into accounts before my work at second job ends for this period. Though I really don't have much time to sit down and really go over all of the funds that are available right now. I'm working a lot of hours right now between the two jobs and am due into work to second job shortly.

Unfortunately, with inflation, unrest due to Russia/Ukraine, and fears of a recession, most things are down across the board.  A lot of suggestions will be based on your target retirement date, I'm not sure how old you are or how far away you are from retirement, but if you're still quite a ways away, I wouldn't worry about it too much, it'll have time to correct and catch things up.

In general, income funds which are generally made up of bonds are less volatile and "safer" than say a growth fund.  As people get closer to retirement they tend to cycle more into bonds and less into growth.

I know I'm not giving you much help here, but too much is dependent on personal circumstances.

I personally have a plan that I try to stick to no matter what is happening in the world because over time the plan I have built has been proven to work, but I'm also mid 30s and a long ways away form retirement.  And that goes for all of my investments, not just stuff strictly in tax advantaged retirement accounts.

Thanks for the input KingIngram. I appreciate it.  It looks like we are around the same age. (I'm 35.)

Since Covid I've definitely had some big changes regarding employment (fortunately for the better) and I have gotten more of an opportunity to invest/save. 2020 right around the time I was laid off from the second/older job, right before I was hired by government job, I decided to invest more. That was beneficial to me and it also helped that my income started increasing around that time. (These changes have helped me move to a better place, get a new vehicle, etc...) I've received multiple raises from the government job from then and through this year as well. It's helps that the government gives at least one raise yearly even if it's a just cost of living raise. We got a decent one this year after the federal minimum wage for government jobs went up. Everyone including people over $15 got a nice boost due to that. My second job also gave me a raise. 

And this all happened before this latest round of inflation set in. Due to these changes I've been able to contribute more to retirement. I put a sizeable percentage of my paycheck from second job into the 401K for that job. I'm there part of the year, but I try and take advantage of having the two jobs during this time to save/invest more. Even if it means working a lot during this part of the year. I didn't like seeing recently that my account for that job was down over 6% but I do appreciate your advice. And thanks for the insight about the income/growth funds. I had wondered if I had made an error by not having more going into just an income account originally. I will keep in mind what you said about how those funds operate. 

A lot is going on in this country right now with the job market and economy right now. Inflation is definitely a big thing now and there are a lot of people that are quitting/changing jobs. And it seems several people who don't really want to work. And then there are those of us who have continued working (even with job changes)/worked very hard during this time as well. There are opportunities for people to earn more money during this time (and that was before inflation set in again), especially those of us that are grinders. Even at some workplaces where I live, an area that usually hasn't had much to offer in the way of decent paying jobs.

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