Black Wednesday

Since MSN.com informed us yesterday that the economy in the crapper right now, I'm sure that lots of folks will be cutting back on their Thanksgiving dinners and on their Black Friday shopping. With the stock market crashing, banks and big financial institutions closing, the home mortgage crisis and the uncertainty of the Big Three automobile manufacturers, there's not going to be a lot of good cheer on this Thanksgiving weekend. I, for one, have jumped on that band wagon. For you see, at my company today was Black Wednesday -- the day we got our third quarter retirement fund statement.

After I was able to resume most normal bodily functions, re: breathing, I did some quick calcultions and it wasn't pretty. I should have just stuffed the paper in my file drawer and went on about my business, but no - I had to start figuring percentages. Granted, you'd be hard pressed to find a company that contributes as much to our retirement fund as mine, but still -- money gone is money gone, regardless of who put it in my retirement fund.

Here's some of the startling facts: let me preface by saying that I've been 100% vested in our retirement fund for 17 years. Now for the statistics: for the third quarter of 2008, I lost 6.5% of the total amount of my retirement fund. Wait - the news gets better: comparing quarters in 2008, for the third quarter, I lost over seven times what I lost in the second quarter. Keep reading - I'm not finished yet: I lost more in the third quarter of 2008 then I earned in all of 2007. I'm glad my office is on the first floor, or else I'd be tempted to jump out of the window.