fbpx
:::: MENU ::::

Posts tagged with: free thanksgiving decoration
Apr 14, 2025    |       3 comments

Market Volatility: Lessons Learned

by

I’ve been avoiding logging into my investment accounts lately. Not because I’ve been too busy – but because I knew what I’d see and I wasn’t ready for the gut punch.

It’s been a strange season of life. I’m still grieving the loss of my father (oh yeah – and my husband’s 94 year old grandfather just passed, as well). We’ve had several (5, to be exact) meetings with financial advisors. We’re trying to navigate the legal and financial complexities that come with an inheritance and trying to make smart, responsible choices with the money my Dad left behind.

But it’s hard to make confident decisions with the market in such a “state of flux” (to put it mildly).

I think it’s tough for any/all of us with money invested right now to watch our investments being devalued. But there’s something different about just *barely* inheriting a pretty decent sum of money, only to watch it lose value right before my eyes. It’s been heart-breaking.

I saw a funny (the “ouch! that stings” type of funny) meme that said: “Millennials hearing they are about to live through their 4th “once in a lifetime” recession, with a picture of Amy Poehler throwing up peace signs. Hard not to laugh. And then groan.

 

 Market Volatility Reflections

So I’ve been doing what I do best: reflecting, planning, and trying to learn something from the mess (good thing 2025 is my year of “peace, planning, and purpose”). Here are a few lessons I’m taking away from this market downturn – not just about finances, but about mindset, patience, and the value of thoughtful decision making.

Emergency Funds are worth their weight in gold.

As I’ve been considering where to invest money, I’m glad I have maintained a pretty healthy savings account (I just blogged about my high yield accounts with e-trade and CapitalOne360), in addition to some CDs and general savings accounts. These are the only accounts that haven’t been negatively impacted by the market since they aren’t tied to stocks and bonds. And I’m glad we’ve got it in case its needed.

Diversification is not optional.

All of our investments are diversified, but I wish we had done even more to diversify our portfolio. We have much of our money in target date mutual funds based on retirement dates. While these funds are nice to automatically balance and re-balance our portfolio across time, right now they are “highly aggressive”….which means high loss during times of market downturn. It’s been painful to see. 

Debt-free is the way to be!

I’m grateful that our debt is minimal. We only have our mortgage and the last remaining bit of my student loans. I’m on the public service loan forgiveness program (PSLF), but who knows if that program will still be a thing next year when my time for forgiveness arrives (I am crossing my fingers and toes it still will be!). Either way, I’m so glad we don’t have a bunch of extra debt saddling us. We’ve talked about investing in real estate. But is that the next thing to slip? If we’d bought an investment property with debt, just to have the market bubble pop, that would be a whole other layer of stress and anxiety. I’m glad we’ve been relatively conservative with our debt and investment strategy.

Discipline matters.

To be honest, I’m still really working through this in my mind. In conversations with my husband, he explains it this way: “If you have 10 shares of Z stock at $5/share, you have 10 shares. If Z stock drops to $3/share, you still have 10 shares. You only lose money if you sell while it’s low. Otherwise, wait it out (or better yet – continue investing!) and you’ll still have 10 shares when the price of Z stock goes back to $5/share.”

My main problem with this one is that one of my inheritances was an inherited IRA, which requires me to pull all the funds within 10 years. In my meetings with financial advisors, I had planned to pull an equal amount each month for the 10 years, until the funds are depleted. I was choosing this strategy so that the tax obligation would be spread out over the 10 years instead of hitting hard in Year 10 (or whatever year I pull it all). BUT with the markets being down, I’m now considering altering course. Instead of starting a monthly distribution now, I’m thinking I’ll put it off until things have course-corrected a bit. This is troubling since I don’t know when that will be and I don’t want to screw myself by ending up with a huge tax bill down the road (I’d rather have it all spread out equally). But I would also rather NOT be taking distributions when things are low. Thoughts or advice on this one?

You can’t predict the market, but you can control your budget.

This is probably my biggest take-away. So much is outside our control. When markets are volatile and so much feels unpredictable (tariffs, grocery prices, interest rates, etc.), the one thing we CAN control is our budget. It might be time to reduce spending and focus on saving. At least for me, I get stressed out about things I can’t control. Having control over simple things really helps ease the strain. Focusing on the basics: meal planning around ingredients I already have on hand, shopping based on sales, and finding ways to cut back or tighten the budget belt to keep things in check helps me psychologically.

The market will rise and fall – that’s just what it does. But what we learn in the downturns can make us sharper, stronger, and more strategic moving forward. This recent dip has reminded me that while I can’t control the stock market, interest rates, tariffs, global events, etc., I can control how I respond.

I can keep my emergency fund funded. I can not take on new debt. I can revisit my investment strategy with a more critical eye. I can budget with intention to protect my peace.

I’ve been working on “the power of the pause” in general. In this situation, I feel like there’s power in pausing, reassessing, and adjusting as needed. We may be in the thick of the storm right now, but we’ve been through worse. Might as well learn some lessons along the way.

Apr 13, 2025    |       5 comments

The Emotional Side of Paying Off Debt (That Nobody Talks About)

by

—written from the eye of the storm, not the finish line

I’ve shared a lot of my journey on here Blogging Away Debt—the plans, the pivots, the big decisions. But right now? I’m not in one of those big, dramatic, payoff-celebration moments. I’m in the slump and have been for months.

You know the one. The part where the debt numbers aren’t really moving, the progress is invisible, and everything is riding on one giant domino falling: selling the house.

Right now, every bit of energy, time, and money is going toward getting the house sold. Every bit of extra and even some not extra has gone to electricians, painting, cleaning supplies, new light switch covers, new outlet covers, maintaining the yard, and so much more. The list just goes on and on. My bank account is definitely not celebrating. My debt tracker hasn’t budged. I’m working constantly, but financially, I’m just standing still.

That stillness is deafening. It’s filled with anxiety, doubt, and this exhausting pressure to keep believing that something better is coming—even though I can’t see it yet.

Financial Relief

But here’s what keeps me moving: I know what selling the house will do for me.

Once it’s sold, the pressure comes off—financially and emotionally. That single transaction will be the reset button I desperately need. It’s not just a house. It’s equity. It’s opportunity. It’s the start of a clean slate that doesn’t smell like contractor dust and mental fatigue.

It will give me the resources to finally knock out a massive chunk off my debt. It will give me room to breathe. Room to dream, even. I’ll have the space to actually chase work opportunities, not just cling to whatever gig will pay the fastest. I’ll be able to choose what’s next—not just what’s least expensive.

The Next Chapter

It’s also the first page of a new chapter-one where I’m not dragging behind the weight of a house that doesn’t serve me anymore. It’s freedom in a really tangible, grown-up way. Not the glossy “quit your job and travel” freedom. But the real kind: stability, mobility, and a shot at becoming someone new.

But for now? I’m still in it. Still hustling. Still waiting. And trying to remind myself—this slump doesn’t mean failure. It’s just the middle part. The hard part. The part no one glamorizes because it’s not cute. But it matters.

So if you’re in the slump too, I see you. And I promise: stillness doesn’t mean nothing’s happening. Sometimes it’s just the pressure building before the breakthrough.

Don’t let the silence convince you the story’s over.

1 2 3 … 1,959