I know some people living here who have no TV, or Internet, and don't read the newspaper. Boy are they going to be surprised when they get their next investment statement in the mail. For most of us who keep up with what is currently happening, we have seen our retirement portfolios drop to a percentage of what they used to be. Do you know anyone who hasn't taken a loss? Our investment decisions may not have been great but it looks like our choosing to retire to Thailand is turning out to be a pretty good decision?

I don't give investment advice. I would have made a lot of enemies if anyone chose to invest like I have. But one thing I have learned is to try and not panic and sell everything I own when there's 'blood in the streets'. If you sell at the bottom of the market you assure a loss. It isn't easy to hold on when the amount you thought you had to retire on has one or two fewer zeros at the end. And then there are those who jump the gun and take their final dollars and rush to invest thinking that the bottom of the market has been reached. The fake rally that followed the 1929 crash took the Dow back to within 60 points of the 1929 peak. Then the market nose dived and the Great Depression began. More money was lost on the 1929-30 fake advances than was lost during the 1929 crash.

So it's time to be careful. Don't panic. It's like driving here in Thailand. It can be terrifying but the safest thing is to take it slow. To feel better, think of what you have done right. That includes deciding to live right here in Thailand.