Question to the financial gurus here at DU (this is NOT asking for advice!!)

[Coventina]

Between the two of us, my husband and I have socked away a significant portion of our income over the years into our retirement accounts.

This is 100% my husband's doing, as I am not very good with money, I will admit that freely.
So, we have lived extremely frugally most of our adult lives, in the anticipation that SS would NOT be there when we retire (we are cynical GenXers).

I have been OK with this plan, as I grew up EXTREMELY poor (some of you might recall my threads as spending my years of 8-14 homeless). So living frugally is just what I know.

Now, as we approach retirement, my husband has been talking about our nest-egg, and proudly showing me our balances.
To which I say: "It's all theoretical money. It doesn't mean anything if the market crashes."

He vehemently disagrees and thinks I'm being silly.

I don't think it's silly at all.
That "money" doesn't become real until we withdraw it and spend it, right?

Is there something he knows that I don't about how the market works?

If it were me, I would withdraw it all at the first opportunity and put it all in savings.
But, I don't claim to be a financial genius.

So, rule on this disagreement: Are IRAs real money or not?

[jmbar2]

1. I am not by any means financially savvy, but spend a lot of time on stock market sites

The stock market is at all time highs. It will eventually have a pullback, or we could also go into recession. Markets generally bounce back after pullbacks and recessions. But you don't know how long they last, or how deep it goes.

The advice I've seen is to divide your retirement into buckets. Set some aside to tide you over in case of a market dip, move some into safe investments in case of a recession, and leave some in for longer term growth. This of course depends on your age.

Talk to a financial advisor. You don't want to have to be selling investments in a dip when you need cash. Good luck.

[bucolic_frolic]

2. Are IRA's real money or not?

Money is a claim on future spending. If you don't have any, you can't buy anything.

I think by real money you're asking, does it fluctuate? Depends on what he's invested in.

If he's not really savvy on the subject of personal finance, you two have some research and reading to do!

You could go with a financial planner or investment company or boutique wealth manager or bank advisors. They charge $2k or a percentage. Some bury the fees but the company get fees inside the funds then sell (mutual fund companies).

None of them time the market. That might be something to keep in mind with the market at all time highs!

[Fiendish Thingy]

3. IRAs hold liquid assets of fluctuating value that can be sold and converted to cash

Women live longer than men, and if you moved all your funds to a savings account you would run a much higher risk of running out of money before you died than you would losing all your money in a stock market crash.

We are retired boomers, and our diversified and balanced portfolio has weathered the crashes of 1987, 2001, 2008, and COVID. Each time, the value of our portfolio dropped less than the market/S&P 500, and regained lost value quicker than the markets as a whole, going on to make significant gains in the Recovery after a crash.

We never tried to time the market, or move everything to cash waiting for the market to recover. As we drew closer to retirement age, we adjusted our allocations to suit our risk tolerance (currently 60/40 stocks/bonds).

[multigraincracker]

4. We are at that point, saved for years. and now would like a little more income for travel.

If we could get about 4% or more now, we could take a nice vacation every year.
Looking for a money market that pays that and is tied to the rate of inflation. Completely out of stocks now and made a good amount and have paid the capital gains on it already.
I think Vanguard has a money market tied to the rate of inflation that sounds good. Or figure out how to buy shorter term Treasury Notes and just roll them over until we are ready for a trip every year or two.
Right now the market is scaring me and glad to be out of it.