How are you feeling about the stock market these days? Depending on who you talk to, the American economy is either poised to soar into the stratosphere or fall off a cliff. As the current administration has been delighted to point out, the Dow Jones Industrial Average recently closed above 50,000 for the very first time.

However, that does not reassure the 72% of American consumers who, according to Pew Research, feel pessimistic about the economy–citing concerns about the cost of healthcare, food and consumer goods, and housing. If the pessimists are correct, those high consumer costs will negatively affect the stock market sooner or later.

Even with the current good news about the market, there’s a reason why it feels like we’re all waiting for the other shoe to drop. We are all facing a great deal of uncertainty as investors and consumers, between recent (albeit temporary) market volatility in response to political and economic news and the way AI is disrupting the market and the economy.

It’s enough to make you want to cash out all your investments and bury the moolah in your backyard. But just because it feels like we’re ripe for a market crash doesn’t mean there’s one on the horizon. And if there is a correction coming, there is plenty you can do to prepare for it.

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Here’s what you need to know about positioning yourself and your money for a potential market crash so you’re not left picking up the pieces.

Know what you have

Answer honestly: do you know where all your 401(k)s are?

If you’re not sure, you’re not alone. Unclaimed retirement accounts are a serious problem that the Department of Labor is working to rectify. As of 2025, there were approximately 31.9 million retirement accounts, totaling about $2.1 trillion, left behind or “forgotten” by employees leaving the sponsoring workplace.

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