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April 3, 2025 • 12 minutes
No matter how well prepared you are (or not), there’s a way to feel financial control, even when the economy is spiraling.
When the world feels uncertain—markets swing, headlines shout, and the future looks foggy—our natural instinct is to act. But in financial planning, not all action is productive, and the the most prepared investors have already taken all the action they need and the smartest move is to pause, assess, and stay the course.
Still, uncertainty can be a valuable opportunity—to stress-test your assumptions, revisit your priorities, or finally take steps to build a plan if you don’t have one. The right response depends on where you are today.
In this article, we break down actions and scenario planning strategies for three types of people:
Whether you’re a seasoned planner or starting from scratch, there’s value in knowing when to act—and when to simply stay the course. Let’s explore what that looks like for you.
On Thursday evening, April 3, over 600 Boldin users had responded to a survey on Boldin’s private Facebook group about the market crash.
As of this writing, a full 73% of the poll takers are relatively unphased by the market volatility and responded either that they are:
(The third most popular answer, chosen by 12% of respondents is that they are “pissed.” )
These results are not surprising. Most Boldin users have pressure tested their plans and have been preparing for a downside scenario. And, they know to remain calm during times of turmoil and focus on the long term. These users typically have emergency savings and wiggle room in their budget to wait out a downturn in the economy.
If this is you, here are a few reminders for what to do when the markets are volatile:
It is unnerving to see your accounts cave and for the economy to experience so much uncertainty. But, we’ve been here before. We’ll be here again. And, sometimes the best move is no move at all.
If you haven’t already, review your portfolio and make sure it aligns with your risk tolerance, investment goals, and circumstances. You may also want to opt into Boldin’s beta testing program and use our new Better Rates feature, designed to guide you in more accurately setting your rates for inflation, appreciation and investment returns.
Financial advisors generally suggest rebalancing (adjusting your mix of stocks and bonds) whenever your portfolio gets more than 7% to 10% away from your target asset allocation.
While today’s balances may be around 5% lower than they were yesterday and 10% or more lower than they were last year, that doesn’t mean that your long term forecast is that far off.
If you want some degree of reassurance, check out your net worth at longevity. You will likely see that your long term financial health is fine despite the short term volatility.
Always keep your eye on the long term picture. The markets will go up and down in the short term, but over the long arc of history, they have trended only upwards.
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If you have a worst case scenario, take a look and make sure your assumptions are in line with your view of the economy right now. No worst case? Consider creating one with one or a combination of these factors:
Create a scenario with high inflation and leverage the Must Spend budgeter in the Boldin Planner as you create a contingency plan
The Must Spend budgeter allows you to prioritize essential spending on food, housing, healthcare, and utilities and set aside discretionary and lifestyle spending such as travel, charitable giving. This will help you determine whether you need to reduce or forgo some or all of those expenses if economic conditions decline.
Even though investments are down and the economic forecast is murky, it doesn’t need to be all doom and gloom. There are opportunities to increase your wealth. Common strategies include:
Most people start planning with a baseline financial plan. A baseline plan is what you think is likely to happen and make trade offs until you are satisfied with your retirement income and chance of retirement success.
Once you have a solid baseline, it is a good idea to create plans where things do not go as planned. Here are 5 ways to pressure test your plans and gain confidence in your financial future.
You can create different scenarios or combine these possibilities into one bad news forecast.
It is unclear how long the downturn in the markets will last or how low it will go. No matter what happens, you’ll want to be prepared. Here are three explorations to consider:
Update Your Account Balances and Look at Your Long Term Financial Health: You might want to start by updating your account balances after a down day in the market and see the impact on your net worth at longevity. Even if your accounts are down 5-10% today, the impact on your long term financial health may be negligible.
Run a Bear Market Scenario: If you want to see the impact of an additional fall in the market, you can:
Run a Sequence of Returns Risk Scenario: To run a Sequence of Returns Risk Scenario, start by setting a low current rate of return on your accounts. Then, after 5 – 10 years, add a future rate change that reflects historical averages.
Any of these scenarios should give you confidence about your long term financial health despite short term market volatility.
We have market volatility on top of the unprecedented lay offs of government workers. And, it is unclear what the tariffs and other economic factors will do to the job market.
Forced retirements happen more often than we like to talk about. As such, it is a good thing to model when thinking through worst case scenarios. You can use the Retirement Age feature in the Boldin Planner to tie together your work stop age, retirement budget start age, and other factors important to you. Explore earlier retirement dates.
Tariffs are likely to increase the costs of a full range of goods and services. You may want to edge your long term inflation rate higher and assess the impact on your long term financial health.
Pay particular attention to the relationship between inflation and your rate of return.
The Boldin Planner enables you to create a very detailed budget for all future spending. It is highly advisable that you plan your spending for different phases of your life. This exercise can help you visualize the future you want and give you confidence that you are planning for the life you want.
Refer to this article in the Boldin Help Center to learn how to add phases of expenses to your plan.
Many experts are saying that the market downturn is an excellent opportunity to do Roth Conversions. Use the Boldin Planner to model this opportunity.
While the Boldin Retirement Planner is the premier DIY financial planning software, that doesn’t mean you have to go it alone. Boldin offers affordable one to one coaching and fee-only professional guidance from a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional from Boldin Advisors.
Coaching: One hour coaching sessions are $250 and you’ll meet on Zoom to make sure your data is entered correctly into your plan and the coach can help you learn how to answer your own questions using the software.
Financial Advice: The Retirement Plan Checkup is the most popular option for people seeking advice from a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional. It is best for people who want a thorough review of their plans as well as investment, withdrawal, tax, insurance, and estate recommendations based on your personal values and goals.
It can feel really powerful to know that you are prepared for anything! Consider making a plan for these 21 things that could go wrong in your future.
If you don’t have a financial plan in place, don’t panic—but don’t wait, either. In uncertain times, even a few well-timed moves can dramatically improve your financial stability. The goal right now isn’t perfection—it’s progress. Here are practical steps you can take starting today to build resilience, protect your income, and avoid common pitfalls.
Having a comprehensive financial plan that is based upon your goals and unique circumstances can help you have the confidence to navigate challenging economic situations. You’ll be able to make adjustments and data informed financial decisions as economic conditions change and life evolves.
The first step to regaining control is understanding where you stand. That means assessing your income, expenses, savings, debt, and any assets you may have. Get started right now with the Boldin Retirement Planner.
If your income is uncertain or at risk, diversifying your earning potential can be a financial lifesaver. Think beyond your 9-to-5:
Switch jobs strategically. Many workers are finding better compensation and benefits by moving roles, particularly in industries with high demand.
Freelancing, consulting, or gig work (e.g., delivery, tutoring, virtual assistance) can supplement your main income stream and give you more breathing room.
Negotiate your salary—especially if inflation is rising. If you haven’t had a raise recently, now is the time to have that conversation.
Look for passive income opportunities. Can you rent out a room? Dog sit?
Yep. You read that correctly. Now is the time to keep putting money into the market. Now is not the time to pull back.
Cutting costs doesn’t have to mean sacrificing everything. Focus on efficiency and intentionality:
You don’t need to deprive yourself—you just need to stop wasting money on things that don’t serve your priorities. Explore 24 ways to cut costs for retirement.
If you’re living close to the edge financially, now is not the time to take on unnecessary debt. It may feel like the only option in the moment, but it can trap you in a long-term cycle of financial stress.
Before reaching for a credit card or payday loan, explore other options: The best and worst sources of emergency money.
The Boldin Planner is powerful software that puts you in control. It’s almost like having a financial expert at your fingertips. Research shows that people with a written financial plan do 2.7 times better financially. They’re also 54% more likely to live comfortably in retirement. That’s not luck, that’s taking control of your money. The Boldin Planner has been named the Best Financial Planning Software of 2025 and the company was selected as a Top Innovator in UpLink’s Prospering in Longevity Challenge and named to the FinTech 100 by CBInsights.
The tool is ideal for planning because it covers a comprehensive set of information relevant to retirement and lets you customize everything – including your own life expectancy.
Take financial wellness into your own hands and do it yourself retirement planning: easy, comprehensive, reliable.
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