I receive a 401k from my employer and have consistently been putting money into it for several years. I knew the 401k would be hit hard, but I chose to 'ignore' it because I was a little scared.
Anyway, I just wanted to share this with everyone because I don't think people really understand how much this financial crisis is hurting normal people.
Me and my wife are still relatively young, so we're not as hard hit as most people are. We still have plenty of time before I retire, so I'm not too concerned about myself. What surprises me is that I chose all of the recommended mutual funds, just like most people probably did.
Here is what my Fidelity 401k looked like today when I finally decided to take a peek. "Personal Rate of Return from 01/01/2008 to 10/08/2008 is -39.7%."
All I can say is... WOW. 40% of my hard earned savings for retirement down the drain. Its really hard for me to put the 5% aside from every paycheck and I'm just shocked at how badly I've done.
The worst thing is the companies that pick my stocks made tons of money while I'm out so much.
Anyway, just thought some would be interested in an average person's retirement account. Talk about a shock! I just feel badly for the 60-70 year olds that were looking to retire.