DETROIT (WXYZ) — As recession fears grow with economic uncertainty, a retired teacher is facing the possibility of having to sell his home.
John and Konnie Jeffire have built a lot of memories in the home they thought they'd stay in forever. Concerns about the state of the economy and being able to afford their mortgage in the future have caused them to think about packing up and selling.
"It's heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking,” said Konnie.
After 25 years in the classroom for Chippewa Valley School, John was grateful and confident about starting a new chapter.
"I'll be 63 next month. It was time to let the younger people come in and take the reins,” said John. “ I felt like, with the way the finances were working out, this was the perfect time to be able to be at home retired, and if she needed anything in a split second, I would be there to be able to help."
Just two months later, he's now questioning that decision.
“There's an immense amount of trepidation about, did I do the right thing? And I think in answer to your question, I'm still trying to figure that out," said John.
He now checks his 401 (K) retirement savings plan almost daily.
They are concerned about whether they'll be able to afford to pay their mortgage and navigate inflation and tariffs with enough money to care for Konnie's serious brain illness.
"We've got some investments that have declined in value, and we, you know, we're gonna have to wait and see, like anything with the stock. You gotta kind of ride it out. And then the other issue with the majority of our income now comes from Social Security," said John.
"It's frightening, because that's what we that's what we planned on to get us through the rest of our retirement. We're young, and that's going to last for a long time,” said Konnie.
We took their concerns to a financial advisor with Bloom Advisors.
"Certainly, people are always concerned when they see their accounts go down. I always tell them, don't look at your accounts every day,” said Rick Bloom. “When you're an investor, you're looking long term, particularly someone saving for retirement, someone in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s. What happens day to day is relatively immaterial. People have to focus on what they're trying to achieve and the length of time they have to achieve it.”
For those thinking about retiring soon, there is a strategy to deal with volatility.
"Money that you're going to need over the next six months, over a year, you should keep that money out of the market,” said Bloom.
Bloom says it's smarter to wisely adjust your investments rather than panic.
"What people tend to do is they never rebalance their portfolio. So, when the markets are doing well, they have more money in the market. They never want to sell. Well, I always tell investors that you sell when the markets are high. Sell high, buy low. That's how you make money."
Bloom also suggests not basing those decisions on politics and focusing on the long-term.
“I think people shouldn't panic. I think people should also not make decisions based on fear, or greed, or politics. A lot of people think that whoever the President is, that's the way the stock market goes. It doesn't work that way,” said Bloom.
While the anxiety remains, the Jeffires say they’re even more concerned for those without resources like a pension to help support them.
“We're very blessed in that regard and very thankful, but I think a lot of our concern goes to the people that don't have the blessings that we have, and how is that going to affect them,” said John.
