WHAT TO DO ABOUT BREXIT?

Big surprise for the stock market Friday as Great Britain voted to leave the European Union, otherwise know as Brexit.  While most people expected the referendum to fail, they seemed unprepared when it actually passed and the big boys on Wall Street wet their pants again.  So we had a huge one day drop in the market with all their panic selling.  It's always the big players and the wealthiest people who rush to panic at the first sign of uncertainty.  Perhaps it's because they have more to lose or perhaps the little guys are used to a measure of economic uncertainty and are better suited to handle it.  Of course economists are predicting doom and gloom, but one thing I've learned over the years is, they're almost never right.  

So what to do, what to do?  I plan to do exactly what I did when the market collapsed back in 2008, which is hang on to everything I have and look for opportunities to pick up dividend stocks on the cheap.  It's unlikely Britains' leaving the EU will cause the havoc reeked by the banking crisis, so I probably won't be able to get the stellar bargains I picked up back then.  Still, when you have only X amount of dollars to invest, it's very helpful if the prices suddenly drop.  I'll be able to purchase more shares than I would have otherwise and I really don't expect the rash of dividend cuts we saw in 2008 either.  Which means cheaper shares with higher dividend yields, boosting the overall yield for my investment portfolio.

A side note to this whole ordeal:  Friday was also the day I qualified to sign up for the 401k plan at work.  One of my co-workers told me it was a bad idea, because I'm "too old."  I don't think I'm "too old" to benefit from the employer contributions and I plan on working there long enough to be fully vested.  While I may not accumulate any staggering amount, it will be that much more.  I'm supposed to turn the paperwork in tomorrow, so I took advantage of the weekend to review all the investment options.  I decided on 20% going towards their only dividend fund and 80% going to purchase shares in a 5 star rated TransAmerica fund.  Figure I might as well shoot for high returns since the target date retirement funds all had dismal returns.  As with Brexit, we'll see how it goes.