Amid a tumultuous stock market, uncertain job scene and sluggish real estate climate, it's often hard to gauge what's most important -- or what we should be watching -- as the economy motors down unknown roads.
SecondAct asked 13 boomers who earn their living by watching financial trends to share their No. 1 money concern during this long, hot, uncertain summer.
Here's what they said:
1. Dave Ramsey, bestselling author of The Total Money Makeover and host of a nationally syndicated radio show
"My biggest economic concern right now is that people will make decisions based on fear. The word "crisis" is all over the media right now. When people hear that there is an "economic crisis," they get scared, stop spending money and start worrying about their investments. When people start to fear, they start to make decisions that actually prevent the economy from recovering. My suggestion to people is to not make decisions based on fear; you have to think long-term. Continue spending within your means and continue investing. Even if you are nearing retirement, don't panic. History has shown the market will recover."
2. Ted David, former CNBC anchor and freelance anchor at News12 LI in New York
"People in midlife are used to a certain income. When jobs go away, so too go those nice salaries and benefits. This has become a time of freelancing and hoping COBRA, which is no bargain, does not run out. Frankly, as I sit back and collect a defined-benefit plan pension, Social Security and have cash in the bank, I worry about those, including my own children, who will have none of that. Sadly, I fear the best is not yet to come, but is behind us. Until and unless the U.S. eliminates outsourcing, brings jobs back home, continues the promise of a secure retirement for its seniors and we can once again count on investing in America's companies, we are bordering on becoming a third-world nation."
3. Liz Weston, blogger and author of The 10 Commandments of Money
"My biggest concern is that people aged 40 and up will believe the Big Lie of investing, and that's 'It's different this time.' This lie is what helps bubbles build and leads to huge losses when they pop. During bubbles, people let greed persuade them that they don't need to be diversified and they need to pile in on the asset of the moment -- tech stocks, real estate, gold. Then when the bubble inevitably pops, fear takes over. You see people panicking and selling at the worst possible time. Many swear off investing entirely.
"People who invest regularly for retirement and who maintain a diversified portfolio are going to be okay. They're going to benefit from economic growth (which will return) and better markets. Remember that the Dow was below 1,000 30 years ago -- and a gold bubble had just burst. (In inflation-adjusted terms, gold still isn't back to the peak it achieved in 1980.) Those who let themselves get pushed around by greed and fear aren't going to do nearly as well."
4. Steve Economides, co-author of America's Cheapest Family
"What concerns me most is unemployment and underemployment, and people having their lifestyle ratcheted up too high to be able to afford a cut in pay. That's hurting everybody, and it's going to continue. The government may have passed the spending bill, but we're going to start seeing the cuts, and more people will lose their jobs. Because people have been living a bigger lifestyle than they should, there will be more foreclosures, and more families are going to need to pull together and help each other. It's definitely going to change Americans' lifestyles."
5. Annette Economides, co-author of America's Cheapest Family
"People who are shouldering debt will feel it. My concern is that there are so many people who are not financially responsible, especially the younger generation, and they're really robbing money from the baby boomer generation. They're sucking them dry. People don't know the right thing to do when it comes to dealing with their children or grandchildren. Parents have not been training their kids. The 20s and 30s are a mess financially, and they're turning to their boomer parents and grandparents. We heard of a guy who is 33 years old and divorced twice. He went to his grandmother and asked for $10,000 for a technical school that would give five different certifications in a year's time. He completed one out of five, and his year was up, and the grandmother wasted 10 grand on this guy. If you know he's financially irresponsible, you don't give him $10,000."
6. Steve Rhode, debt coach based in Raleigh, N.C.
"I have some real concerns as we face another possible slowdown in the economy. The biggest financial fear people have to face right now is the fear itself. I know, very reminiscent of FDR, but I'm adamant about it. The almost invisible but massive hurdle people have to face right now isn't the mathematics of their financial situation, but seeing it for what it is before it's too late. It's the inherent denial that nearly everyone suffers through in bad times that leads them down alleys that leave consumers trapped in debt without good options on how to extricate themselves. Just today I was answering a reader's question who is an unemployed single mom with two teenagers, down to her last $5,000, without a job, and worried about finding a place to live in a month or two when all her money is gone. We can't trivialize how quickly dire these financial times can become, and the best step we can take is to reach out for help and not waste time in denial."
7. Liz MacDonald, reporter, Fox Business Network
"You'll see emotionally wide trading ranges on the markets, which means a white-knuckled ride up and down, hurting 401(k) balances. I'm worried mutual fund managers are still collecting huge fees they don't deserve because they are not protecting people from losses, just as they did in the 2008 crisis. I'm also worried investors are appearing to lose faith in the ability of world leaders to revive the world economy and stop a rolling debt crisis in Europe. Historically, at this point in a recovery, you usually see 200,000 jobs a month, not 18,000 jobs. I'm worried that the housing market may take another five years or more to recover."
8. Robert Pagliarini, certified financial planner, columnist and author of The Other 8 Hours: Maximize Your Free Time to Create New Wealth & Purpose
"The biggest economic concern for those over 50 is if they will have to work forever. There is such fear, anxiety and uncertainty that for many, they assume they will never be financially able to retire. The unknown creates fear. So the antidote to fear is information. While it can be painful and a little scary to take a hard and close look at your finances, it is the first step to getting (back) on track. Create a net-worth report where you list all of your assets and liabilities -- everything from 401(k)s to IRAs to home equity for assets and credit cards, car loans and mortgages for liabilities. Your net worth is your starting point. In order to have a secure retirement, you'll need to supplement whatever income you receive from Social Security. Develop a savings plan. For help, you can download a retirement budget planner. The more you can save during your working years, the more comfortable you'll be in retirement."
9. Mark Miller, columnist and author of The Hard Times Guide to Retirement Security
"I'm very worried about the possible evisceration of Social Security and Medicare in the next round of federal budget deficit negotiations. Social Security shouldn't be part of a debate about deficit reduction. The Social Security Trust Fund runs a surplus and doesn't contribute a dime to the deficit. The Trust Fund does have a long-range problem in that it is projected to run out of money in 2035, at which time Social Security could fund only 76 percent of benefits. We need to fix that, but it's not a deficit problem.
"Social Security benefits could be cut via shifting to a new cost-of-living-adjustment formula called the "chained CPI," or via a gradual increase in the retirement age.
"Medicare's problems are bigger and more complex, mainly because the program reflects the broader rapid rise of health-care spending in our economy. Here, it's possible we could be looking at proposals for a higher eligibility age, higher out-of-pocket costs, or even the voucher program that House Republicans already have approved. Cuts in Medicare provider reimbursements are likely, which simply will reduce the number of doctors who accept Medicare patients."
10. Ben Popken, managing editor at Consumerist.com
"Should I stay or should I go now? The biggest concern my wife and I have right now is what to do about our housing situation. We live in Brooklyn. Our current rental is lacking a few amenities, and we're trying to figure out whether we try to buy, upgrade to a better rental in our area, or get more apartment for our buck by finding a rental further out from the city. She's got some nice consulting income, but that's not guaranteed, and I've been waiting to hear about some opportunities that haven't yet come to fruition. We're in a holding pattern right now and saving up money while we figure out what to do."
11. Gordon Deal, host of "The Wall Street Journal This Morning" radio program
"As an aggressive saver, not a professional money manager, I'm concerned that my 401(k) account will have been reduced to pennies by the time I'm ready to retire because of the stock market volatility. And when will the cycle of volatility end? Investors in the U.S. and around the planet seem to have no faith in the world's policy leaders right now; the debt problem in Europe seems to worsen every week; there's plenty of unrest in the Middle East; and the U.S. unemployment rate remains stubbornly high with nothing to soothe the concerns of hiring managers. That's not a cycle that promotes growth. Part of me says, if I'm going to have to work until I die because I can't afford to retire, maybe I should stop the 401(k) withholdings and have some fun with the extra money in my paycheck!"
12. Bob Sullivan, author of msnbc.com's "Red Tape Chronicles"
"We hear often about the 14 million Americans looking for work, and the 4 million facing foreclosure. Their tragedies are awful, but I'm worried about two groups of Americans, also suffering, who rarely earn mentions on newscasts. I believe their ongoing tragedy is the real source of America's psychological depression -- and recovery won't start until they find relief, which is nowhere to be found right now.
"First, there are the folks who are throwing money away on a mortgage that's deeply under water. They are suffering from a modern kind of indentured servitude. They cannot sell their homes, so they are no longer 'portable' members of the work force. If their company wants to transfer them, they're screwed. They cannot take advantage of lower interest rates because they have no equity on which to refinance their homes. They cannot improve their current living conditions because they don't qualify for home equity loans. Roughly one-quarter of American households are under water, living in this limbo that is unprecedented in U.S. history.
"The second group is tightly related: midcareer professionals who are stuck. There's no mobility in the work force now -- who leaves a decent-paying job? -- so there are precious few chances for promotion. Anyone in this group who purchased a home in the past 10 years cannot move for a better opportunity -- see above. Or they must split their families to take that new job, with someone becoming a weekend parent living in a one-bedroom apartment in a far-away city while the other becomes a single mom or dad from Monday to Friday. For many, these most critical earning years of 35 to 50, the years with the highest income potential and the best time to sock away retirement money. Instead, this group is doing more work for less real pay while picking up the slack for former co-workers long since laid off."
13. Jill Schlesinger, editor-at-large, CBS MoneyWatch.com
"My biggest concern about the economy continues to be JOBS! Although corporate profits have recovered from the Great Recession, the outlook for 25 million Americans, who are either unemployed or under-employed, is dim. On Friday, the Labor Department reported that 117,000 new nonfarm jobs were created last month and that the unemployment rate ticked down to 9.1 percent. Those are dismal numbers, and the small decrease in rate is partly due to 193,000 people dropping out of the labor force. Until we see 200,000 jobs per month created, the uneven and slow-growth recovery will continue. Sadly, the focus in Washington has centered around the wrong issue: It's not debt that is the biggest concern in the short term -- it's jobs."
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