Now that the recession is here, what now?

Since I don't change my strategy based on current events (I'm planning for the future, not the present), I will continue what I was doing before the "recession".

(I put quotes around "recession" because yesterday when I went to the shopping center it was tough finding an available parking space.)

-HW "Skip" Weldon Columbia, SC

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I am still buying in my Roth and 401k. I am trying to make sure I also have enough cash to weather unemployment. I have 3 months cash, looking for 6 months. Also shifting some of my large allocation to growth (I am highly value oriented now).

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"W. Wells" wrote

I would not try market timing - stick with a long term investment strategy. Before the stock market went south I was increasing my cash reserves by a few hundred dollars each month. I now invest that monthly amount in a stock fund at Vanguard - a minor tweak. So you could dollar cost average into the downturn. BeachBum

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The long-term approaches recommended above are impressive (good advice). There was a piece on CNBC today pointing out that the average bear market declines 30% - today we have hit more than 70% of that decline (they said). If this is to be a "shallow recession" we may be very near the bottom. So selling now to trade is a bit late, and if your positions are sound, then you have less reason to sell. Don't get caught in a panic - easy to say, hard to do.

I've observed that markets have a tendency to go down much faster than they go up, so it isn't necessary to pick the exact bottom.

In all cases, make your own decisions about your positions based on company fundamentals, and determine for yourself what your stocks are

*really* worth (ref: Benjamin Graham). Then depending on where the market prices them, you can tell whether you want to buy or sell.

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