<prompt> Human: Multiple times, Ive heard people describe how they regret contributing so much to their 401k because they were screwed over and lost lots of money in 2008 when the market tanked.I wasnt close enough with said people to press them for details, however, Im curious whether this is actually a real problem or just a misunderstanding on their part? Yes, your 401k would have lost value when the market crashed, but theoretically arent you only screwed over if you withdrew from the account when it was at its lowest, or sold all your holdings, or something?  <response>: Many people paniced when they saw there mutual funds tanking and moved everything into bonds or gold or wherever they thought was safe. Then when the mutual funds recovered, they didnt own any and missed the growth. 