[disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor, YMMV, etc.]
I’m around your age. I’ve haven’t pulled money that was in the markets before 2017 out, but since last year I’ve put new investable money into a relatively conservative real estate venture. You might be able to do that through your 401k by having it invest in a REIT you feel isn’t too speculative (I’d stay away from retail spaces and focus on residential, industrial, and office space). If you’re a homeowner you could put that money into paying off the mortgage more quickly or into value-enhancing leasehold improvements you can enjoy now. Real estate seems to work as a hedge against a downturn in the stock market that still gives you a decent return.
You might also want to keep 5-10% of your retirement savings in cash depending on the total amount you have. The cash won’t earn anything, but doing so might give you some peace of mind. At 47 you can consider it part of your emergency savings fund.
I wouldn’t fool around too much with your larger asset allocation with 20 years to go. Also, don’t check your balances too often – unless a 2008-level event occurs, I check mine about once a quarter.
Without diving into that bottomless pit of the hell of religious sectarianism: if they, too, believe that earthly wealth is not quite surely an unholy thing, but an expression of your pious and godly life, than it doesn’t matter who’s thicker.
Without, as you say, diving into the hell of sectarian minutiae, Wesleyans generally believe that if you try to be a good and nice person you will end up conforming to God’s wishes, rather than reversing the relationship and saying that by conforming to someone’s idea of God’s wishes you will be a good person. Follow the method, don’t worry about the dogma or scripture.
But looking at a couple of sources I tend to trust, I see I was wrong; Methodists and the like are the most common Protestant Christian denomination in my own US State, but certainly not nationally.
I’m in a similar position, very layoff vulnerable, I figure I’ll just not touch my investments and not look at them. I rode out 2008, I sure as hell won’t be refinancing my house, and I don’t mind living well below my means because I lived well below most people’s acceptable means for so long that if it comes to eating nothing but beans for a year and bartering off anything I own with some utility to others that I don’t really need I can do that. My investments are pretty basic, slow, conservative, I’m hoping I can just count on my health to last long enough (hahahaha) or at least for nothing to come close to killing me without actually doing so for the next 10 years. That’ll be the first ten years that happened though so eh… I’m curious though, what is the real benefit of paying off a mortgage. It’s still a little high for me to do it right now but is it worth it to pump some bigger payments in to shorten it further. I could technically pay the rest of it off but it would leave me with too little savings for my comfort level.
Same as paying off any debt where the interest rate is significantly higher than the rate of inflation. But in this specific context it’s just a suggestion in answer to the question “where do I put my money if I’m worried about a crash?” I’d agree that building an emergency savings fund would take priority over paying down the mortgage more quickly.
Wall Street Journal to its readers: “Do you want to hear the truth, or do you want to hear a good story?”
FWIW, I had a short (10 year) mortgage on my tiny $hithole Oops! I mean ‘Fixer-Upper’. I wound up paying it off at year 8 (2012), when I had been underemployed for 4 years. The reason I did it was because I was getting paid cash (like I was working here illegally) and I didn’t want my money to be liquid. I reasoned that if it was liquid, I would just wind up spending it on Grey Poupon instead of mustard from the Dollar Store, etc. I didn’t know it was going to get a LOT worse for me, income-wise in 2015-2016, but at least I didn’t have to worry about a mortgage, I just worried about utilities.
As for health, do consider exercise (if you don’t already). I’ve been a weightlifter since college (NOT a meathead - just to keep my joints healthy, good posture, feel healthy, etc.) and I realized that with the Matures and Baby Boomers aging out of the manual labor market, I was becoming a rare commodity. I move furniture for a ‘living’ (such that it is), but I tell myself, “I’m getting PAID for my core fitness sessions”. Now, employers are so picky, that your ‘glow of rude good health’ might look to them like an employee who won’t tap their insurance plan. It’s not right, but… Anyway, it does really help with stress, which of course makes one feel like $hit. I would say ‘try a little gardening’, but hey - maybe you always wanted to take up tennis or golf - whatever strikes your (affordable) fancy.
