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Stocks are falling. Should I freak?
So I hear stocks are down. Bonds are up, but rates are getting cut, so they may go down too. I decide, what the heck, login to Vanguard and check.
Looking at stocks only?
No, I'm not panicking. Partly because that's all long-term money with time to regain losses (we don't put mortgage money or emergency funds into the market.) But I also looked at the other numbers.
You may be noting that doesn't come up to 100%. Righto. There is also
These funds are 60% stocks and 40% bonds. The bonds are going up right now even as the stocks go down, hence the much smaller loss. And the 60% of the money in those IRAs which is in stocks* ... makes for 56% of our total stock holdings.
Toss in that we have some OMGWTF cash in a money market and a short-term bond fun that's up 2.07% this month, and overall the Vanguard account is at -6.10% for the year so far. NOT a return I WANTED, mind you, but not wiping us out.
I may look into trading our fixed-rate mortgage in on a lower fixed-rate mortgage, tho. Rate cut, after all.
*Which may not be the best way to account for it; in reality, the stocks in that fund are matching the Morgan Stanley Capital International® (MSCI®) US Broad Market Index, so they're plunging like mad. But a) I don't have the breakdown for that, and b) the real lesson here is diversity between different types of stocks and bonds keeps everything in one's portfolio from doing the same thing at the same time.
Looking at stocks only?
| % change since Dec 31 | ||
| Vanguard International Growth Fund Investor Shares | –13.17% | |
| Vanguard Small-Cap Value Index Fund | –11.56% | |
| Vanguard Tax-Managed Capital Appreciation Fund Investor Shares | –11.04% | |
| Infospace (incredibly stupid and dumb purchase from 2000) | –52.18% |
No, I'm not panicking. Partly because that's all long-term money with time to regain losses (we don't put mortgage money or emergency funds into the market.) But I also looked at the other numbers.
| % change since Dec 31 | % of total stock holdings | ||
| Vanguard International Growth Fund Investor Shares | –13.17% | 10% | |
| Vanguard Small-Cap Value Index Fund | –11.56% | 8% | |
| Vanguard Tax-Managed Capital Appreciation Fund Investor Shares | –11.04% | 25% | |
| Infospace (did I mention incredibly stupid and dumb purchase from 2000?) | –52.18% | .05% |
You may be noting that doesn't come up to 100%. Righto. There is also
| % change since Dec 31 | ||
| Vanguard Balanced Index Fund Admiral Shares (rollover of msft IRA) | –5.77% | |
| Vanguard Balanced Index Fund Investor Shares (roth IRA) | –5.72% |
These funds are 60% stocks and 40% bonds. The bonds are going up right now even as the stocks go down, hence the much smaller loss. And the 60% of the money in those IRAs which is in stocks* ... makes for 56% of our total stock holdings.
Toss in that we have some OMGWTF cash in a money market and a short-term bond fun that's up 2.07% this month, and overall the Vanguard account is at -6.10% for the year so far. NOT a return I WANTED, mind you, but not wiping us out.
I may look into trading our fixed-rate mortgage in on a lower fixed-rate mortgage, tho. Rate cut, after all.
*Which may not be the best way to account for it; in reality, the stocks in that fund are matching the Morgan Stanley Capital International® (MSCI®) US Broad Market Index, so they're plunging like mad. But a) I don't have the breakdown for that, and b) the real lesson here is diversity between different types of stocks and bonds keeps everything in one's portfolio from doing the same thing at the same time.