jean chatzky, why don't you pick up on that one. sl >> sure, absolutely. it's a matter of when you need those particular dollars. of course, of course this is going to affect your 401(k). it's affecting the markets, and it depends how your particular investments are allocated. you've got money in stocks, they're having a really good day today. but as sharon said earlier, the money that you need in five years, within five years can stay in your 401(k), but it shouldn't be in stocks. it should be in safer places. >> let's move -- so there's the thing, the five-year rule, money that you're going to use within five years, keep it away from equity markets and goes with safety in that case. rob from morristown has a question. rob, your turn. >> yeah, good afternoon, guys. i was curious if there's any stocks i should be avoiding or maybe shorting with the whole government shutdown. >> stocks to avoid or short. kenny, do you want to take a whack at that one? >> well, listen, i'm getting the sense, then, that we're talking about a different kind of money, right? yo

jean chatzky, so much for watch. the boards are down almost 100 -- >> down about 70 at this point. i think what you take away from that is that the market doesn't think this is going to happen. the market really assumes that we are going to get a deal and we are not going to default. perhaps because we've been through this so many times before. >> now, what should the everyday investor do, though, as they watch this? >> most everyday investors, those focused on the long term, really want to be holding tight. we don't believe, at least i don't believe, that trying to time the market works. you get out but you don't know when to get back in and that can be really disastrous for your retirement. but if you have money that you need within the next five years, that's money that doesn't belong at risk, it doesn't belong in stocks, it didn't before this event and it won't after. >> let's talk about credit card interest rates, let's talk about our mortgages and those interest rates too. what happens if a default actually does happen as we look at this thursday? >> right. so if we get a def

wondering what a possible default would mean for their savings and sharon specializes in finance and jean chatzkyor what could be coming down the pike? what's the answer? >> this is not a time to rush and sell investments but it's a time to make sure you build up enough cash on hand. this could be a big one. >> we're hearing about a lot of financial firms spending money in preparation for a potential default but when you think about your stock portfolio, what's the best advice right now? >> think long-term. we all know the market is going to be in for a rough ride today, maybe over the next couple of days. if you have money in stocks you need in the next five years it doesn't belong there. it never belonged there. but if you're thinking long-term you have time to ride this out. >> which is sad but also maybe encouraging because we went through this two years ago with washington. we continue to ask about the impact of the default. the big issue is the bond market. it has to do with rising interest rates because it's about paying bills. >> well, the rising cost that you're going to have for the u.s

nancy snyderman is the medical editor and jean chatzky.ou get your healthcare through your employer you don't have to borrow about it. if you buy it individually you want to shop on the exchanges because it's the only way to tax into tax breaks and if you don't have healthcare for you at all this is for you. >> if you're on cobra right now you'll find out it's cheaper to be on these exchanges. >> how long do i have? >> registration starts today. it goes through may of next year but signing up this fall is smart because the benefits kick in january 1st of 2014. >> you have to sign up by december 15th to get those benefits. >> let's talk about the classes of coverage. we have bronze, silver, gold and platinum. what's the big difference in the exchanges? >> the big difference is with the cheaper ones, the bronze and the silver plans you pay less up front but you pay more out of pocket in the back. when you go platinum you're going to pay more up front and less on the back end. >> okay. >> we have been hearing a lot about penalties. how do the

here with common sense advice to help you move on is jean chatzky. >> why is this so hard to do?. breaking up with a financial advisor. where do i begin? >> with all of these situations, you have to died where you're going before you leave. with your financial advisor if you're going to open a new brokerage account, do that first. they'll help you pull the assets out of the old account. at that point, you make the break up call. you can do it in e-mail but you can also do it on the phone or if you have had any problems that you need to document, you want to do it in writing. you want to get everything back from that financial advisor that they've got. if they've got a copy of your will or other estate planning documents, get that. and understand that with this transaction, there maybe some cost incurred because they need to sell securities on your behalf and finally if they are authorized to sell securities on your behalf, revoke that power. you'll need a form from your current advisor in order to do that. >> make sure you do the research on that one. what about credit cards? if