It's Like a Survivor Economy I want to be clear. There are so many of us who have had the blessing of education, who have had a career that was productive. I know people whose careers have been so productive that they've bought houses or paid off their mortgages, for heaven's sake. And because we're talking about the survivors, let me get this very clear: it's not about any of you! I used to teach economics. I would get this question a lot, and I thought: It's about time somebody gets asked, "Are you out of your mind? The economy's in a slump; we're in a recession. How can you buy a house? We're in a recession!" This is insane. You've just gotta do it! You just gotta do it! You're supposed to think like a survivor. So there are two basic economic strategies: 1) You can have a strategy that is very traditional in the sense that you have a little nest egg, you can wait for the next wave of the market to come, you can ride it out, and then all of a sudden, everybody'll have more money. Maybe you can do that. But, boy, that's not a great strategy if you have a family, and if you have children. And 2) What if you get in now? What if you say: "Well, I don't want to have to go back to working part-time when I get older." I never like to get into these scenarios, but I'm being more pragmatic than I am when I say this: If I can do it, I have a son who is 23. He is a full-time student. And his wife is 26 years old. They don't make much money and they live in Manhattan. But here's the deal: Even though they don't have a lot of money right now, they can afford to put a little money down on the house. They've got the ability to refinance now. What if they lose the opportunity? So you can't lose sight of this idea, you've gotta have some money. You don't have to spend all your time in the money market, but you need to be doing what you can to save. My Dad Was a Victim of the Savings and Loan Crisis in the 1980s My dad lost almost $5 million in his retirement accounts, and he lost it all within about a year of my dad leaving the company that he had started. He had been running his company for 26 years and was very successful; he was a good manager, he was a good businessman, he was a great guy. What do you think he did? You think he went home and said, "Boy, I'm going to spend all my time in the stock market!" Well, no, he was too smart for that. But he was also a man who saw things go up and then down. So he sold his 401(k) plan, he started with very little, and then he said, "My goodness, how did I blow all that money? Let's just go to the ATM and get some cash." So, it's really about being a survivor. Your job is to not lose sight of the fact that your portfolio isn't just a tool. It's an investment. And if you don't know how to invest, you better stop what you're doing right now! It's not gonna go very far. I'm 58 and I'm pretty much at the end of my rope. Now, for the last couple years, I'm just making up the money I should've had when I was working full-time. If I was in an industry where I had my pension plan, and they started taking it away at 56, I'd say there's nothing wrong with doing that. You're just a victim of the economy right now. That's just the way it is. This Is A Really Hard Part of Retirement The second thing to do is not look back with regret. That's the other part of the deal. The whole idea is to invest. To this day, I don't know what the stock market was when I left the company I started. I didn't care. I didn't give a shit. I just wanted to get out and go sell it, and that was it. You need to just put money in a tax-advantaged account. The only investment vehicles are IRAs and 401(k)s and SEP-IRAs, and then you have to think about whether you want to be in fixed, or whether you're going to use a 529 for your child. So that's a couple of things you have to think about. And don't just think about thinking about those things. Don't be passive. If you wait for the next market to come down to the floor, I don't think you'll like it when you get it. I would just say: Save, save, save, because you won't lose what you save if you do it wisely and get rid of some of the volatility. What do you think people in their 60s and 70s and 80s are gonna have to worry about? The truth is, if you don't have the discipline now to save, you're not gonna be able to stop! That's why I feel this way. People say, "Look, I've got my 401(k)s, I've got it covered." Well, what if it doesn't cover it? You don't know where you're gonna be in the future. I can say that for sure. I'm pretty tough on myself, and you probably are, too. This is what you've been taught your whole life. We say, "Just save your money." But the truth is, you're not gonna be able to stop! So, all the things I used to say are true. I'm a realist. My dad said, "If you can just save this amount of money every year, you'll do fine." I think that's great. But then he said, "I think you should contribute a little bit more." And I'm sure I said, "No, we can't do that." It's not easy to save. But it is interesting that, no matter how much you have in your savings account, I think we underestimate the amount of money that gets away. We don't imagine losing everything. So what we've got to do is to save money, because you're not gonna stop. You're going to keep having a pension, and you're going to get Social Security, but you can't plan for what life's going to be like when you get to your 60s or 70s or 80s. You just gotta get out there, and put some money away. And maybe I'll write another column. DISCLOSURE: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors, and do not represent the views of equities.com. Readers should not consider statements made by the author as formal recommendations and should consult their financial advisor before making any investment decisions. To read our full disclosure, please go to: http://www.equities.com/disclaimer Joffrey Finkelman is an investor who focuses on value investing in small cap and growth stocks, with the goal of generating current income to meet the goals of retirees. He is an MBA graduate from the Wharton School of Business and has over... Albany International Corporation is the holding company for Albany International Limited and Albany International Financial Limited. Albany International Limited primarily operates as a holding company, which through its subsidiaries, engages in...