Vroom, Vroom

I hope you are all safe and sound and not getting hit by any debris from collapsing investment banks (a little financial journalist humor).

You might be wondering "what does all of this financial crap mean to me and what should I do?"

Well, I don't know about you, but I am going to do absolutely nothing. As usual, I am going to try to not be fired, buy generic brands and contribute to my 401(k) like it was any other week.

Of course, the markets are plummeting, shouldn't I pull out of the stock market (where all of my 401(k) investments are housed)?

No, because (a.) I don't have that much to lose yet in my savings even if everything seems like a lot and (b.) the point of starting so early was to be able to let the ups and downs of the market do its thing, and eventually end up OK over time.

I heard a financial adviser put it in a good scenario at a recent conference. Here's how he relays the message to his clients:

If you are getting on the highway and have a long way to drive, which way would you go?
The fast lane of course.
When you were ready to get off of the highway, which lane would you be in?
The slow lane of course.
If you are in the left lane and there is suddenly heavy traffic, what happens when you move over to the right lane?
Eventually you will get stopped there, and when you try to get back in the left lane, you are five cars behind where you were at the beginning.

Are you following along the analogy I hope? The stock market is the fast lane. It might seem like it is plugged up right now, but in the long run of getting to your final destination exits and exits and exits away from your spot on the map right now, you'll still get there more efficiently in the fast lane.

I just hope your radio is working.