Quick! To The Bat Signal!

Oh Warren Buffet, where are you now? You are the only financial super-genius that I trust.

I am in no way shape or form good at the financial stuff. I have a little knowledge. I have my 401k through my employer (which I was FORCED to put into the stock market several years ago, a move that caused me great distress because the Germanic/Nordic genes in my system crave orderliness and a savings account is orderly, the stock market is not), I have my pathetic little personal savings account (which would be much larger if I could opt out of the social security system that I am funding without hope of ever seeing a penny back), I have the equity in my house (which the plan was to sell when I turned 50, roll the equity into a condo and a fifteen year mortgage which I would have paid off at 65, leaving me all the equity as a "savings account" of a sorts).

And now AIG is the parent company of my 401k plan's holder. I don't know what to do with that. I now have the opportunity to go with a fixed account, but when should I do that, now that my account has recently taken a beating in the stock market? Will I even be able to sell my house now with enough of a profit to knock down another loan enough to afford a 15 year mortgage? Will I still be able to get a low interest rate even with my excellent credit rating?

I've always known that with my income level, I'm sitting in the no man's land between "can't afford to save anything" and "can save enough for retirement". It's called "can barely afford to squeeze out an amount I know won't be enough, but I gotta do something" land.

I joke that my retirement plan is to work till I die. When I get too old, they can just prop me up in a rocking chair and bring me babies to feed.

I'm hoping that the joke isn't on me.

And I've been reading and reading and I just don't know. Is the bail out going to be better for us in the long run? Will not bailing them out be worse than doing it?

If we bail them out and they start making millions of dollars for their top executives again, will they send me a check for my part of the bail out?

Loki sez: You have enough to buy my favorite shredded cat food, right?