How can I save for retirement these days?

[David M]

A few things, not necessarily in the order you posted them.

Home equity - Home equity is not retirement income. It is a place to live. When you say your home equity keeps falling, I assume you mean the value of your home. First of all, it will not go down forever. And secondly (and more importantly) even if it did, who cares? As long as you stay current on your mortgage and eventually pay off your debt you will eventually have a free place to live. Don't worry about your short term value of your place. It will eventually come back.

401K's - The stock market goes up, the stock market goes down. In the long run it goes up. Had you put all your money in stocks in 2009 in the depths of the market, you would have nearly doubled your money by now despite the recent drop. It takes patience and guts to make money in the stock market. Patience to ride through tough times like right now and guts to actually buy in when everybody else is selling. Over the next 30 years of your working career believe me, the stock market will go up.

Silver - Silver or gold are not long term investments. They are short term hedges against inflation, but do nothing to earn you money or income. It pays no dividend and actually costs money to insure and/or store. The only way to make make money investing in silver/gold over the long term is to trade them (buy them and sell them). That involves consistently buying at lows and selling at highs. Nobody is good enough to that, not even the experts. I doubt you can pull it off. Better off buy silver and gold stocks which actually have earnings.

Just keep putting money into your 401k and watch it grow over time. Dollar cost averaging. It means when the prices of stock go up, you buy less and when the prices of stock go down you buy more. It happens automatically when you invest the same amount every period of time like you do in a 401k. Keep it up.

And Social Security? It can be saved. It needs to be adjusted. The retirement age needs to be raised over time, it needs to be means tested, they need to adjust cost of living adjustments (especially for richer beneficiaries). But as long as the Nancy Pelosi's and Harry Reid's of the world demagogue the issue, the Democrats will destroy the very program they say the Republicans are trying to kill. Vote Republican in the next election and they will save your Social Security.

Work hard, make a decent living, live within your means, put put your savings in tax advantaged accounts and you will do much better than you believe. It takes time, patience and guts. You had have the first of those three. Do you have the last two?