For most of my life, I ran a one-person architect shop. Then, what happened in 1993 and 1994 nearly killed me. My investments fell. The housing industry went into a slump. My daughters were starting college, and my mother was in a nursing home. These extra expenses wiped out most of my savings.

Since then I’ve been trying to rebuild my retirement savings. The current downturn comes at exactly the wrong time. I gave up my own business and went to work for a firm. I will keep working as long as I can.