I know it’s supposed to be a “jobless recovery” and all that. I also know that share prices do not necessarily reflect the health of an economy. With that said, I just checked my 401(k) account* returns and my draw dropped: 41 percent YTD.

Of course, as far as the balances in my retirement savings fell in the past few years, I don’t want my tens of readers to think that I am bragging. Plus, I pay very little attention to the investment direction of these accounts. I simply pick a spread, and contribute a certain percentage of my income to it monthly. It required neither skill, nor luck: just a faith that the world economy is an ever-churning cauldron of wealth creation and free-fucking capitalism in perpetuity.

*A 401(k) is a pretty cool thing, if you have access to it. In the ghetto of Common Humanity, especially as a corporate wage slave, I would recommend always participating in any plan in which the employer kicks in a matching contribution because this is Free Money. Of course, some would argue that returns are better outside of mutual funds (to which one is normally limited when participating in such plans) and that sometimes it is better to keep your money for use in the now versus for use in the future. But with the tax savings and the match, I classify the 401(k) alongside the home equity line of credit as one of the last remaining loopholes for normal people.