Guy who wrote book in favor of 401ks in the 90s - can't retire cuz his 401(k) is now in tatters

[gratuitous]

42. Life do have a way of happening, don't it?

When the market's rising and everything's doing well, picking winning stocks isn't so very difficult. Throw a dart at the financial page, and you're on your way. When the market's stumping and bumping along, it's a little trickier, innit? And when the market's falling, it takes nerve to hang in there. Nerve and knowledge. Of course, if you're working a regular job, raising a family, and pursuing other interests, you might be a little short on knowledge. Even the pros don't always know what's going on, or if your particular pro makes a faulty analysis, you can watch your carefully husbanded investment bite the dust anyway.

And that's just the market. Throw in a few other variables, like your marriage falling apart or your job getting downsized. How about a big illness with inadequate insurance? Or maybe your spouse or a close relative gets busted for embezzling or something? Yeah, if every little thing goes exactly as planned, you can put away plenty for a very comfortable retirement. But most folks are one bad turn away from the skids. And it doesn't even have to be that bad a turn.