[bungie4]

I'm speaking of Retirement savings plans, in Canada RRSP's and the like, like your 401K's in the U.S., which, in turn are heavily invested in different investment vehicles. When the market goes south. So do they. You have no control over how they are managed. It's not 'only paper' when your balance goes from 100 to 50.

Yup, been burned many times, losing half of your net savings tends to make one cynical. But this post was about what you would tell your 25 year old self. That would be my number one thing. You can choose to ignore it or not. Sounds like you've got this figured out, so you should be golden.

[TheCoelacanth]

You can choose what the money in a 401k is invested in. They don't hold money; they hold financial instruments like stocks, bonds and funds made up of stocks and bonds. If you don't sell those financial instruments when the market is down you will not lose money.

[thatwebdude]

Yes, if your financial advisor isn't doing their job you can fire them. Many of them (used to) have skin in the game with your money, too.

Also, lots of folks who lost out on the last recession would be in an equal place post-recession had they left them money to recoup the losses. It wouldn't have been gains, but it wouldn't have been the kind of losses they experienced either. Much easier said than done, though. I don't blame them.