the right to worry

This market scares me.

The question, of course, is why? My job, B"H, is solid. I have a plan to get out of debt and nearly all of my non-mortgage debt is owed to the Bank of Mom and Dad (so "restructuring my debt" is easy should, G-d forbid, anything happen to my job). I believe in the same investing principles that have served my parents all these years-- invest regularly into a diversified portfolio and ignore the short-term market swings.

I may complain about cost of maintaining the Lovely Lemon, but my lifestyle certainly isn't at risk. I'm trying to cut back because I want to get out of debt as quickly as possible, not because I am actually struggling in any real way. I want to be like my parents some day, worry-free and secure, in a position to lend a helping hand someday to my own foolish daughter who purchased a home but didn't leave enough cash reserves to actually fix things as they broke.

Sometimes I wonder if maybe I wouldn't be better off if I didn't read the papers or listen to NPR. My doctor likes to mention the economy, checking to see if I'm stressed about it; he's a big believer in staying healthy through eating well, exercising and making sure to keep stress levels low. Other than his questions, I don't really have any exposure to anyone who is really suffering because of the current downturn. No one I know has lost their job. Everyone managed to refinance their mortgage before their rates reset. We might grumble about the cost of gas, but no one I know is *really* hurting. I sometimes overhear people gathered around the secretary's desk talking in quiet, worried voices. One woman said that everyone she knew had an interest-only loan. My gut-reaction is that they were crazy for ever considering an interest-only loan.. but perhaps I'm out of touch.

There are times when I wonder if I should stick my head in the sand and stop worrying. Other times I wonder if my head is already in the sand-- with all this fear buffered by the knowledge that the economy is unlikely to touch me in any real way.

I should just be glad that I have the luxury of worrying over whether or not I should be getting so upset over events that don't really affect me.

(Oh, and if anyone cares... There's another post at the other blog as well. It's equally self-absorbed. My excuse today is that it's 5am and I can't sleep because my back is aching. I'll come up with a different excuse next time.)