I know we have all had our 401(k) accounts depleted with this economy. I usually check our retirement and investment accounts on a monthly basis but have stopped. I decided that I did not need that depressing monthly reminder. I have even thought about transitioning my investments to take them out of the stock market. However, I have decided in my situation to leave all monies where they are. I am in my early thirties so I have time for my money to recover.

So for those of us that do have time to allow the market to recover, I did some research for us.

• Nearly one-third of those who participate in a 401(k) plan lost 30% or more last year.
• If you were fully invested in the S&P 500 from December 31, 1997, through December 31, 2007, you would have received an annualized return of 4.2%. But if you missed out on the index's 30 best days during that time period, you would have suffered average annual losses of 7.2%.

What does this mean?

• Keep your money invested. Keep contributing!
• You do not want to miss out on the stocks recovery.
• Plus, if you stop putting money in your 401(k), you'll miss out on a valuable tax deduction. For instance, if you contribute $4,000 to the plan (and are in the 25% tax bracket), you'll save $1,000 in income taxes -- and even more when you include state tax savings.