What have you done to protect yourself from this horrible historic moment?

[shockey80]

I posted a long time ago about what I was going to do. I have protected my 401k as best as I can and I started an emergency fund for me and my wife. I have enough saved to last us a year. I payed down debt early, car payment, etc. I started all of this as soon as Trump was elected. You can call me crazy if you want, I don't care.

Watching Trump getting elected was the scariest , most foolish act I have ever seen in my lifetime. I will be 60 years old soon.

[RKP5637]

1. You did very smart things!!! n/t

[shenmue]

2. I don't have money

[Kitchari]

7. Pretty much my situation

Paycheck to paycheck...

[shockey80]

10. Lol. I wish I could help you.

[winstars]

3. RWNJ's bought a billion more guns when Obama got elected; we make extra car payments...

Pretty says it all about who is on the right side of history

[Kitchari]

6. Yes! n/t

[we can do it]

4. I agree, we did similar things.

[marylandblue]

5. I was in reasonably good shape already.

I think I am protected against everything short of a civilization collapse. Then I'll be one of the first to go.

[MiniMe]

11. I'm right there with you MB

[Hortensis]

8. That sounds responsible no matter what happens.

If things go south you're in shape to deal with it and if not you're in good financial shape.

We're basically retired and now on Medicare so don't have to worry about losing our jobs, which of course is huge.

An issue would be if we lost in 2020 and the Republicans managed to continue/start cutting, gutting and/or dismantling Social Security and/or Medicare. How we'd pay our two Medicare premiums plus taxes on Medicare, as well as premiums for 2 supplemental medical, 2 medication, 2 dental, and 2 vision policies, would be a question, but only as long as Medicare continued of course.

But I imagine that as less of a "horrible moment" and more as our new reality if it were to happen. People would rebel, but it could take years to restore. Real estate prices would probably tank, might rent to people who'd lost their home and downsize to an ancient vacation mobile home we have and actually like a lot. No big sorrow there.

[Ferrets are Cool]

9. We have pretty much done the same as you. You are not crazy...

just prudent.

[BannonsLiver]

12. How did you protect your 401k?

I’ve been curious about that myself ever since trump took office.

[deurbano]

15. Me, too! My husband has some app on his phone where he can see how the 401k is doing...

and he kept giving these grim updates about how our main source of retirement funds was faring (it was kind of a bloodbath)... so I told him to stop!

[airplaneman]

21. I did that by putting all of it in guaranteed assets - ears 2.5% but is guaranteed. n/t.

[ooky]

31. I moved the money I couldn't afford to lose in a market crash

into a stable asset fund. But I am already retired, so if the value of my 401k can at least be maintained I can get by from the 401k dividends income + my social security income. That wouldn't be the case if a market crash was severe enough to decrease the 401k value enough that the dividends are no longer sufficient to get by.

That was about the only thing I could change, and then just hope the Republicans didn't come after our Medicare and Social Security benefits. So far so good...

[Doreen]

13. I do not have the funds ( any money ) to prepare myself.

I am disabled and living on assistance. I receive SSDI, EBT ( very little of that ), Medicare, Medicaid, United Health, and live in subsidized housing.

I got a raise this year but at least half of that may leave when they tell me I will no longer receive my EBT card. I do not know if any of my health insurances will go up.

Now, I live on everything they are trying to take away. I get up in the morning and turn on the TV wondering which one I will be losing that day. If I lose housing I will be homeless. I may be able to live in my car for awhile until I have to sell it to get some money to survive on.

It is scary.

[Marrah_Goodman]

32. I am in the same boat

[Doreen]

36. Does your boat have holes to?

😂

[Marrah_Goodman]

37. lol!

[Mr.Bill]

14. My wife is disabled and we are retired. Caring for her negates me going back to work.

We are almost totally reliant on Social Security and Medicare, so yeah, it's a little scary. The biggest asset we have currently is an excellent credit score.

We did downsize our housing and reduce our living expenses as much as we could, but that happened in early 2016 when no one thought Trump would be elected. Glad we did it, though.

[George II]

16. I'm over 70, so I've had to start withdrawing it. But I only have a very small amount...

...in a 401k. It really hasn't changed much in the last year or two (I think it's in mutual funds which don't fluctuate much?)

[perdita9]

17. I've been stocking up on food and other supplies in my basement

Paranoid, maybe, but current events have got me worried.

[Runningdawg]

28. Not paranoid - wise

I'm near 60 and was raised as a "prepper" before anyone used that term, back when it was considered just good common sense to be prepared for the next depression, war or loss of job and before anyone hyphenated the term with survivalist and tied it to a political party.

[hotrod0808]

18. I'm not worried

because I wasn't dealt a good hand to begin with, lost most of my savings in a futile fight to keep a terminally ill daughter alive, and live in an area with stagnant wage. Even the last contract negotiations in 2016 made me very little money, taking a negotiated wage increase away and then some with the rise in my health care cost. I couldn't afford to stow savings away in a 401k, let alone an IRA. If the economy takes a shit, I will barely know.

[BigmanPigman]

19. My 84 year old father is my financial adviser.

He plays it safe...not greedy. We have always lived within our means and believe in no debt. I have been accused of being cheap, but guess who is always hit up for "loans". My dad has had me put my money in all sorts of different funds, etc . We do not get rich but we do not go broke when the market dives. Diversify is the key word. "Don't put all your eggs in one basket to be safe". It kills me to see all my savings (not much since artists and teachers are not known for their huge incomes) go down the drain due to my healthcare costs (and that is with AC tax credits). I will go bankrupt since I have serious and costly pre-existing conditions.

[snort]

20. Diesel pusher.

Shop around and you can get one surprisingly cheap. I have a '92 that is economical to operate and can go over 1K miles on a single tank (or run a light load on the genny for months). Perfect? No. But I've been doing it for years and know all the "spots". Good luck...

[elmac]

22. I stay as far away as possible from the idiots who elected him

including relatives.

[former9thward]

23. If you had the capacity to do those things you should have done it long ago.

No matter who was president. The world's biggest economy (the U.S.) is only marginally affected by who is president. Did layoffs, bankruptcies, evictions, etc. stop when Obama was president? Nope. If you have the power to protect yourself use it.

[llmart]

25. Smart!

I actually did these same things back when W. was "elected". When the economy crashed I was not worried. I have continued to live the same way and am even more frugal than back then. It just becomes second nature after awhile but most people don't want to give up anything. In reality, we need very little to be content and I would even go so far as to say our country would be better off and our relationships more satisfying if we'd all stop with the addiction to spending.

[Nay]

39. Yep! Mr Nay and I have always been cheap/frugal. We're now retired

and have everything paid off. Supplies in the basement. We own a second house that the kids live in -- they'll never get evicted in case of job loss. Lots of $$ in safest 401Ks. There were years when I put half my salary in 401K. Not everybody can do that, of course, but I was, and still am, amazed at the people who make decent money and spend it ALL and more. Mostly on new junk!

Now, if I need something that will make my life much easier and more pleasant (like a really good vacuum or expensive shoes for my sorta deformed feet), I have no problem buying it. I just don't go nuts over stuff that's not important, like clothes, linens, tchotchkes, new cars.

Of course, little of this applies to people who are truly living paycheck to paycheck. I feel totally sorry for those folks.

[Kaleva]

24. My wife and I can go about 30 days without electricity, village water, stores being shut down.

The touchy part would be heating the home for 30 days using just the range top (no electricity for the furnace). I have LP gas and when the volume in the 500 gallon tank drops to 40%, I order more so I have at a minimum 200 gallons on hand but most of the time more then that.

[Eyeball_Kid]

26. Edibles, dude...

[The River]

27. Nada

I'm too old to be paranoid and
besides, I've seen it all before.

[AJT]

29. 3 weeks before my husband passed he changed the beneficiaries on his IRA

and left half to his children so my retirement is nowhere near what I had planned. What did you do to protect your 401k? My relatively small IRA is 40% stock 60% bonds.

[GulfCoast66]

30. The wife and I will be fine. But so what?

We have decent 401ks and IRAs light on stock. Everything paid for. Good pensions we could draw now. I garden, hunt and fish. You get the idea.

But we are so far in the minority it is ridiculous.

As a Democratic Party member, until I know even the poor in America will always have health care, housing and plenty of food I will not feel secure.

The state of the poorest among us defines the state of all of us. Or so I believe.

[JI7]

33. decided to stay in California for now

[roamer65]

34. "All paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value...zero."

-Voltaire, 1729.

Be prepared for a currency crisis, folks. It’s coming.

He also had another piece of wisdom.

“Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.”

How prescient.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

38. Trump's presidency shouldn't matter ...

... those financial moves would be smart whether we have President Trump or President Clinton. Or President Sanders or President Green, for that matter.

You're 60? Prepare for retirement, then enjoy it. If you can do that, you're doing better than most.