All right...so what's the down & dirty on investments/stocks for us "little people"

[FirstLight]

I still have some communications stocks my Dad left me. It's been holding pretty steady so far.

But I am curious what anyone's take is on the actual finance climate coming up.

Like, am I best off cashing everything out and holding onto the cash in January? Or should I just hope for the best that things don't drop like a rock after inauguration?

I know, it's ALLLLL up in the air. I get it that we won't REALLY know much till he takes office...
OR, are things just gonna tank by year's end and it's best to get out before I lose everything?

At least I still have my house...wonder how the real estate mkt will do in CA by next year too...hmmmm....

I'm a total newbie and have NO idea how these things work. So please be gentle in your responses.

[LexVegas]

1. "am I best off cashing everything out and holding onto the cash in January?" No. nt

[Walleye]

2. S&P 500 index funds have done well for me, but who knows about the future

[Arger68]

3. my 401k is up around 30%

In the last 12 months. I have about 75% in blue chip stocks at the moment, but I'm thinking about putting most of it in bonds. Between tariffs, deportations, musk possibly cutting spending to the bone, and the coming chaos and stupidity I'm not super confident being in the market too heavily right now. I may even roll a small portion into gold, as crazy as that may sound. Others on here with more investment knowledge may have better ideas than mine though, I'm certainly not an expert.

[walkingman]

4. If you are at least 10 years from retirement then I would suggest

you not worry about short term market fluctuations. Unless you have a plan already for retirement, then just contribute to your 401K (if you have one) or SEP (if you are self-employed) or a self-directed IRA (SDIRA). Since you are a novice in investing just choose an index fund that covers the entire S&P 500 (SPY). It is not as exciting as investing in individual stocks but the risk is far less.

Pulling your money in and out of the market (market timing) is not the best idea. No one can predict the market. And market fluctuations are normal. But over time, historically the market will be up more than money markets, etc.

Look at a market downturn as an opportunity to buy low. Invest regularly over time forget about it and you will be surprised how well you will do. The one thing you can not make up for is time for the magic of compounding to take place.

If you are interested in learning more about investing, that is a different matter. Lots of good books available.

[WarGamer]

5. We've been "due" for a recession for years.

We haven't had a real one since 2008

The COVID recession was VERY short and was artificial... we had a couple quarters of negative GDP earlier in the Biden administration but still didn't get the recession, probably due to the money pumped into the economy.

So now were' REALLY due for one... maybe in 2025... maybe 2026.

But a Trump era recession is nearly guaranteed, frankly what he does or doesn't do won't matter... it's cyclical.

What I will do... as an active daily trader...

I will stay heavily invested in index funds, might sell some individual tickers and will reinvest if/when the recession hits.

BUY THE DIP!!

[kerry-is-my-prez]

8. Yep buy low, sell high.

The tough part is guessing which of the low stocks are going to end up high. Then resisting buying stocks when they go up, only to have them tick down lower and lower.

[Lonestarblue]

6. I'm also worried about the stock market, but I'm not planning any major changes just yet.

The two actions that would most affect the economy are levying tariffs on all imports, and especially high ones for China, and a mass deportation of undocumented workers who are significant parts of major industries. Both would increase inflation and trigger the FED to start raising interest rates again. High inflation would erode the value of your cash.

Musk clearly does not support Trump’s tariffs, and after spending over $100 to elect Trump, he may have some influence in preventing tariffs. There are roughly 7 million undocumented in the workforce, and I suspect Musk employs some of them in his mega factory in Austin. He and Trump’s other billionaire backers will not be happy to lose chunks of their workforce, and further deportations may be halted. Trump loves to brag about the stock market and the economy, so I’m hoping that he will change some policies if he sees the market tanking.

I’m planning to move some equities into money market funds now, enough to live on for a year. Then I’ll evaluate after Trump has been in office a couple of months whether I need to make more changes.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

11. They keep saying "the markets going to crash" and it doesn't.

But with Trump in office, I would expect it to finally crash. He’s got too many stupid ideas and Musk has screwed up a lot of businesses that he owns. I think a lot of it with Musk is just luck or he’s hired the right people to handle his finances. He didn’t really found Tesla, he bought it.

[FirstLight]

7. I don't have a 401K, never had any job that stable or good...

and the stocks I *do* have are less than 50K... Only 2 companies right now.

That's why I am thinking it might be better to liquidate so I have something easily accessibe if needs be for getting set up if the SHTF. I'm also waiting to see how property market looks next spring, cuz it is always flat in winter. But If I can sell my house and go more mobile, it could be better. I have a piece of land too that I can throw a trailer on...

It's all about contingency plans for me right now. I am solidly in CA with both properties, so that's at least a bit of a "buffer" as far as most of the crazy...

[kerry-is-my-prez]

10. A lot of people are in the same boat. We have a 401k at work but most don't invest in it.

They never reported the returns to us since when I left the job, I found out I had made no money. I just had the amount I had invested and what the company had matched.

[walkingman]

15. You are very lucky yo live in such a wonderful place. I hope nothing but good things are in your future.

[MissB]

9. Holding steady.

Dh’s retirement is largely a 401k. He retired last year, so the mix immediately went to the recommended more conservative mix.

Will we change it at all? Unlikely. I will probably have him pull our annual amount out at the beginning of January rather than pull all year long.

I am still years from retirement, so we mostly live day to day off my income. I’ll have a pension when I retire, along with my 457b. I’d love to retire in the next 4 years, but the existence of the ACA seems uncertain.

Our house is paid for, and we could live on very little. I feel fortunate.

I am stocking up, but I’m not divesting from the stock market, lol.

[Kid Berwyn]

12. Private for-Profit Prisons

The new Plastics.

[HAB911]

13. I too have a boatload of communication stock

I asked on our investing board, how many of those to be rounded up and deported have cell phones they will have confiscated. crickets. think about it

[kerry-is-my-prez]

14. I have a fidelity account where you can research stocks and then I back it up by going to investment sites and googling.

I like to go to yahoo finance and read the different peoples posts. A few people there will warn people when a stock is going to crash. I think anyone can actually go to fidelity. You have to look at what the returns are on the various funds/stocks. You have to kind of educate yourself a bit. I actually credit my assistant at work (who I used to think was not that bright and had a limited educational level) for steering me in the right direction. Wish I still had her number….