Practice the crash talk before the crash

Why practice it

Three things the plain-English sources agree on

A drop early in retirement costs more than the same drop later.When you withdraw while prices are down, you sell more shares to raise the same cash, and those shares miss any recovery. This is sequence-of-returns risk. Schwab, sequence-of-returns risk
Make the plan while calm, then stick to it.The SEC's investor-education office puts it as "Don't panic, plan it": a plan you can follow in a volatile market, and no rash decisions in the moment. Investor.gov (SEC)
Avoid impulsive moves, and distrust promises.FINRA advises against impulsive decisions when markets swing, and warns that turbulent markets bring pitches promising guaranteed returns with no risk. FINRA investor insights

Practice

Practice the crash talk

Pick a conversation. The other person speaks; you answer in your own words; you see which needs your words met. Four conversations, three turns each.

How this works, and what it cannot do

The other person is scripted, not an AI. Every line was written in advance.
A phrase-checker in your browser reads your answer. It is a mirror, not a judge, and can miss a good answer worded differently.
Nothing leaves your device. No audio is recorded, no model is called, nothing is sent.
It teaches how to talk, not what to invest in. No line here says what to buy or sell. Your own plan is for you and whoever you trust with your accounts.

Then write it down

Our plan before the fall

Four answers, made while it is calm, so nobody has to decide on the worst day. It prints on one page. Nothing is saved or sent: print it, or it is gone when you leave.

Months of spending we keep outside the stock market * After Social Security, pensions and other income. One firm's education page suggests about a year in cash; your number is yours to set.

After a big drop, we wait this long before any big move *

Who we talk to before changing anything * A role is enough. No names are needed.

On a bad day, we will not * (pick at least one) Sell everything in one day Decide alone, late at night Act on a tip or a pitch that promises guaranteed returns Change the plan without reading it first

We review this plan On a date, not when the market moves.

A floor (a trailing stop) under part of our savings What a floor can and cannot do

Next, on this site

Where to go from here

Will your money last?The survival check: how long savings last, and how care costs bend the curve. It assumes steady growth; this page is for the crash it cannot show. See a floor replay a crashDrag a trailing floor and replay a fall on paper, including where it would have sold before a recovery. Do you need the risk at all?The money tools: whether you already have enough, what you can spend, and what an advisor fee costs over time.

Sources (checked 2026-09-29)

Investor.gov (SEC Office of Investor Education and Assistance): "Don't Panic, Plan It!"
FINRA: "Investor Tips for Turbulent Markets" (November 26, 2024)
Charles Schwab: "What Is Sequence-of-Returns Risk?" (January 30, 2026). A firm's education piece; its reserve suggestion is one view, not a rule.