27 votes

Dollar General warns low-income Americans' finances are getting worse

20 comments

  1. [12]
    BeardyHat
    Link
    I'm no stock market genius or anything, but I am beginning to wonder if it would make sense to sell off the little I have and keep it as cash for a spell.

    I'm no stock market genius or anything, but I am beginning to wonder if it would make sense to sell off the little I have and keep it as cash for a spell.

    6 votes
    1. [4]
      fefellama
      Link Parent
      A lot depends on where exactly your money is (like which funds or stocks) and your own financial situation (like how likely are you to need the money in the near future, and how diversified your...

      A lot depends on where exactly your money is (like which funds or stocks) and your own financial situation (like how likely are you to need the money in the near future, and how diversified your assets are), but in general keeping your money invested usually results in higher returns in the long run than trying to time things perfectly. There's the classic expression of 'time in market beats timing the market', so a set-and-forget strategy with regular but infrequent checks to see how things are doing is usually the safest and least fussy strategy for those that don't want to try and min-max their stocks. You'll experience highs and lows, but on the whole you should be better off then where you started.

      21 votes
      1. [3]
        BeardyHat
        Link Parent
        This is generally how I operate, as I don't really want to think about it too much. I'm just thinking if there's potential for the market to drop, it would make sense to sell off, wait for stuff...

        There's the classic expression of 'time in market beats timing the market', so a set-and-forget strategy with regular but infrequent checks to see how things are doing is usually the safest and least fussy strategy for those that don't want to try and min-max their stocks.

        This is generally how I operate, as I don't really want to think about it too much. I'm just thinking if there's potential for the market to drop, it would make sense to sell off, wait for stuff to drop and then rebuy. Easier than it sounds though, because I am one of those types that sets and forgets and I wouldn't be checking the market every day.

        6 votes
        1. fefellama
          Link Parent
          That's the kicker though, it could drop.... or it could also rebound and start climbing again. That's why hedging your bets is usually sound advice, because if things don't go exactly as you...

          I'm just thinking if there's potential for the market to drop,

          That's the kicker though, it could drop.... or it could also rebound and start climbing again. That's why hedging your bets is usually sound advice, because if things don't go exactly as you predicted, then at least you get something. Seems like a lot of people are hesitant about US stocks lately because of everything going on and all the talks of a potential recession, so US markets have dropped significantly in the last couple months. But if we don't get a recession, people/banks/investors would feel more comfortable investing in US stocks again, which could cause their prices to rise to even higher.

          That's why a lot of it depends on one's own finances. Hard to say for sure whether you should sell or not without having a full picture of your goals, liquidity, diversification, etc. Maybe try taking out a bit of the money to hedge your bet. So if the markets drop, well at least you got some out while you could, but if the markets go back up, then at least you had some money left in there to grow. You won't ride the high of perfectly timing the market (though seems like the perfect time to sell would have been a couple months ago), but you also won't experience the low of taking out all your cash just before a big rebound.

          11 votes
        2. chocobean
          Link Parent
          I'm the very lazy type as well, and my returns horizon is still long enough that I can benefit from @fefellama's time in the market. I take small comfort in knowing that regular contributions is...

          I'm the very lazy type as well, and my returns horizon is still long enough that I can benefit from @fefellama's time in the market. I take small comfort in knowing that regular contributions is the only way I will be able to "buy the dip".

          See if your portfolios have an option to switch from high risk to something lower risk maybe. Assuming you have some kind of fund instead of individual company stock.

          3 votes
    2. [6]
      dhcrazy333
      Link Parent
      The only real reason I can think of to pulling your money out of the market and keeping it as cash is if you actively anticipate needing that money soon (which you should really have it in an...

      The only real reason I can think of to pulling your money out of the market and keeping it as cash is if you actively anticipate needing that money soon (which you should really have it in an emergency fund instead) or if you are planning to retire soon.

      Trying to time recessions or other market behaviors is a fool's errand. As @fefellama said, time in the market beats timing the market. If you're not planning on removing that money for many years, even if we hit a recession, this will be a blip in the grand scale of the investment.

      If it gets to a point where this crashes and never recovers, well we probably have bigger problems.

      11 votes
      1. [4]
        heraplem
        Link Parent
        I will say that there's a serious possibility that we are entering into a period in which American companies are no longer the solid investments that they once were. If you have any tax-advantaged...

        even if we hit a recession, this will be a blip in the grand scale of the investment.

        I will say that there's a serious possibility that we are entering into a period in which American companies are no longer the solid investments that they once were. If you have any tax-advantaged accounts that are heavily biased towards the US market, now might be a good time to change that.

        6 votes
        1. [3]
          ButteredToast
          Link Parent
          The trouble is, there’s not really any foreign markets that aren’t also going to be impacted by the US economy losing its dominance, at least as far as I’m aware. I guess the real question is, in...

          The trouble is, there’s not really any foreign markets that aren’t also going to be impacted by the US economy losing its dominance, at least as far as I’m aware. I guess the real question is, in the long term, which markets will be the ones to rebound?

          7 votes
          1. [2]
            heraplem
            Link Parent
            This is why I just put everything in an all-world market cap-weighted ETF. Doing anything else is rational only if you think you know better than the market.

            This is why I just put everything in an all-world market cap-weighted ETF. Doing anything else is rational only if you think you know better than the market.

            5 votes
            1. hungariantoast
              Link Parent
              Exactly. You don't have to worry as much about winners and losers when you just own a bit of everything. Maybe if you've got cash to spare and an affinity for, I don't know, Sahel development...

              Exactly. You don't have to worry as much about winners and losers when you just own a bit of everything.

              Maybe if you've got cash to gamble spare and an affinity for, I don't know, Sahel development firms, you can bet invest in some specific markets on the side.

              But especially right now, it seems like the best thing to do is to just ride the market. Not try to beat it. That anyone would try otherwise during a time like this? Well, I guess you could say it bogles the mind.

              2 votes
      2. Plik
        Link Parent
        I honestly think people need to learn options if they want to have some success over the next four years. Buy and hold alone won't work until Trump is out imo, I think the rule for the next four...

        I honestly think people need to learn options if they want to have some success over the next four years.

        Buy and hold alone won't work until Trump is out imo, I think the rule for the next four years should be buy, hold, and sell options since premiums have gone up with the increase in volatility.

        1 vote
    3. Plik
      Link Parent
      Could sell a portion, and then use that to buy a 1x short SPY ETF, then whenever the market drops you make money that would offset your long term holds losses. Or learn options, diagonal put...

      Could sell a portion, and then use that to buy a 1x short SPY ETF, then whenever the market drops you make money that would offset your long term holds losses.

      Or learn options, diagonal put spreads on TSLA have worked out pretty well for me this week 🤣

  2. [7]
    gary
    Link
    u/Jase do you mind not posting from this source? The author "Silly Ninja" (that should have given pause) rewrites existing articles and posts to their Substack. Here's the original article they...

    u/Jase do you mind not posting from this source? The author "Silly Ninja" (that should have given pause) rewrites existing articles and posts to their Substack. Here's the original article they ripped off:

    https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2025/03/13/business/dollar-general-shoppers-inflation

    24 votes
    1. [5]
      DefinitelyNotAFae
      Link Parent
      Ironically you linked the amp version!

      Ironically you linked the amp version!

      10 votes
      1. [4]
        gary
        Link Parent
        Amp was a bigger problem before but hasn't been controversial since they took away the Amp carousel (unless my browser hid it?). I couldn't quickly get a non-Amp version on mobile and it was...

        Amp was a bigger problem before but hasn't been controversial since they took away the Amp carousel (unless my browser hid it?). I couldn't quickly get a non-Amp version on mobile and it was enough to prove a point.

        6 votes
        1. DefinitelyNotAFae
          Link Parent
          No I get it, I did not know amp wasn't being considered an issue anymore.

          No I get it, I did not know amp wasn't being considered an issue anymore.

          8 votes
        2. [2]
          redwall_hp
          Link Parent
          For other iOS users, I have a neat iOS content blocker I use that automatically redirects AMP links to the correct page: Amplosion

          For other iOS users, I have a neat iOS content blocker I use that automatically redirects AMP links to the correct page: Amplosion

          5 votes
          1. gary
            Link Parent
            Oh thanks! That reminded me I have an extension to do this (StopTheMadness) but hadn't enabled it on Google.

            Oh thanks! That reminded me I have an extension to do this (StopTheMadness) but hadn't enabled it on Google.

    2. hungariantoast
      Link Parent
      Updated the link. Thanks for catching that

      Updated the link. Thanks for catching that

      3 votes