I so agree with all that's been said. I think that these doom and gloom stories should stop being read on the news! Half the panic comes after another thing is broadcast.
Now, I just took my retirement money from the state pension fund from when I was teaching and set up a 401K . But, I won't be touching it for ten years, so I'm just forgetting about it. It's a cycle and I just try to remember that when we bought our first house, the interest rate was 15%.
I am sort of glad I'm in school now, because I feel that in 3 years, things will be quite different. Not that my job would have been in trouble, but the atmosphere gets so touchy when money is tight in a school system.
I also don't plan to be selling my house for another 8-10 years. Since I live in a town that is sort of stable in terms of real estate, and I don't look at my house as a source of money, I am fine.