SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) – Many questions have arisen concerning inflation, stock market down trends, and now, the impact of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates Wednesday. We wanted to know if it is safe to continue contributing to 401-Ks and college funds.

Many people are feeling the uncertainty of investing, but one expert told us that if you invest steadily through this increase, you should come out on top.

“The things I read online… it’s just kind of everything is down in the crapper right now,” said Jerry Ramos of Springfield. “Stock market’s down, crypto’s down, 401-Ks.”

Many people are feeling the pain with investing, and now, the Federal Reserve raised the interest rates by three-quarters of a percent on Wednesday. Western Mass News is getting answers. We went to investment advisor Richard Pelletier.

“If you’re investing for next month, put it in the bank, ” Pelletier said. “If you’re investing for the next 12 months, put it in the bank.”

We wanted to know: what about longer than a year?

“If the market is down right now, you’re buying at a discount from where it used to be,” Pelletier explained. “If you believe the market will recover in 2, 3, 4 years, you continue investing.”

So, how does buying at a discount impact your investments?

“The money going in, frankly, is going in where these stocks and bonds are depressed,” Pelletier told us. “You’re buying low, so you should continue doing that.”

However, he said it depends on your age.

“That’s okay if you’re 30 years old,” Pelletier said. “If you’re 60 years old and you want to retire two years early, you need to do some real rethinking about where you are in the market today.”

He told us some of his clients want to retire 7 years early, but their portfolios are currently lower in value.

“A lot of my people are saying, ‘I’m not waiting ‘til I’m 67. Get me the heck out of here tomorrow,’” Pelletier said. “She wants to retire in a year or two. Now, that particular portfolio is down 19 percent.”

Pelletier had advice on what to do when it comes to investing in your child’s college fund.

“If you’re investing for your future or your family’s future 5 or 10 years from now, continue putting money in the market,” he advised. “If you’re absolutely convinced it’s the end of the world, you’re not going to be thinking about college.”

Pelletier said that when the interest rates go up, the bond market goes down. The bond market also impacts your portfolio, so take a look at the big picture.

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