I cannot afford any new toys.  My 401k in sinking fast.

mine has sunk.....its rather ironic.  I spent this entire year trying to reach a certain dollar amount in my 401k...four weeks ago I finally reached it...I just checked and it is now at the point where it was two years ago...

Remember the old saying (sort of): What goes down, must come up.  
 
Bill, tgo

Bill,
 
There's an old Chinese proverb that says just about anything you want it to.
 
Bradley

Im sure in a couple of years this will be history, and those fairly  young, they wil recover and probably wont remember this period, but for alot of people this is pretty much the end of life as they knew it.....and I think Im probably in that latter part.

In fact, it might be a good time to be putting money into those 401K and IRAs.  With the market down, share prices are lower and you get more shares for your money.  As with anything else, one must be wise about what one invests in.

what's a 401k?

A 401K is a retirement account, I believe.  It has certain tax benefits.  
 
What I want to know is why Bob suggests putting money into the Irish Republican Army??  hehehehe
 
Bill, tgo

I remember in the 90s everybody thought they were a stock expert because the stocks they chose went up in value.  Hell, they ALL went up in value.  You just had to buy stocks... pretty much ANY stocks.  I currently have myself in a real mess because I am on a line of credit used to purchase land for some development deals that have since fallen through.  I'm just hoping that we can continue to float the loans until things turn around.  Anybody need about 100 acres of primo land in Knoxville, TN???  
 
Of course Bob is right... the trick would have been to have cashed out before the crash and reinvested at the bottom (hopefully that is now).  I guess I'll retire when I'm dead.    
 
 
Jared, there is a good explanation of a 401k on Wikipedia.  Here is a picture of one...
 

it aint over by a long shot
hindsight being 20/20 i could have pulled my 401 earlier and been ahead of the curve even with the penalty.....
 
and in case you didnt hear- citimortgage shut down wholesale lending today= they have to be in serious trouble.
 
in the words of that great sage whimpy
i will gladly pay you tuesday for a hamburger today.
if youre 35 or less i wouldnt freak out- the market will return
if youre 55 like me? oye!!!!!
as colbert said on his show friday
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
is a word that needs no translation.

I turn 47 in a week or so, and my retirement account isn't something I want to think about for awhile.  I'm still contributing as much as I can (which isn't much) because I agree that buying at the bottom is good.  I'm in TIAA-CREF, which has a history of treating members well, thankfully.  That said, I can't imagine not having to work until I die..
 
John

Not to be politically correct, but diversification is ever so important.  I was fortunate enough to see that the light at the end of the tunnel was a freight train, and cashed out half of my stock position in December at an 8 year high.  Thought about cashing out on all, but wanted to avoid the AMT, plus at 45 I still need to have some stake in growth related pursuits.  It'll be a long road back for the market, but the strong will survive and prosper.
 
I think tax-exempt municipal bond ETFs are a pretty good haven.  They are not designed as growth products and stay within a relatively stable range.  Their virtue is preservation of principal and to generate tax free income.

Just invest in guitars! I'll bet my modest collection isn't down over 30%, which unfortunately I cannot say about my retirement accounts.