If Monday’s stock market surge proved anything, it has to be Carmen’s point about sticking with it even when times are bad. After all, if you took out your investments after last week’s decline, you would have missed this rally. Now more than ever, you’ve got to make sure you have the right investment plan in place so you can weather the volatility. Stocks were up big today but they could be down again tomorrow.

In order to make sure your 401(k) is OK, you need to know where your money is and who is managing it, according to Anne Lester, a portfolio manager with JP Morgan Smart Retirement Fund. Always take advantage of the tax benefits of 401(k)s as well as employer contributions, she said. If your employer is matching 50% of what you put in, then you are automatically making a 25% return on every dollar you put in. That’s huge.

If you contribute around 10% of your income and your company is kicking in 5%, that is a very good start, Lester said. If it’s less, then you’re relying on the market returns more than your own savings power.

How you contribute also depends on your age, of course. If you’re approaching retirement, keep the majority of your 401(k) or IRA in safe investments like money markets and bonds – the sort of safety net that Carmen preaches nearly every night. If you’re younger, you have more room for error and can afford to make riskier investments like putting more into stocks.

Lester recommended to those worried about watching their 401(k)s deflate that they gradually reduce their equity allocation and move that money into safer areas. But do it over time, she said. Or else you risk missing the next big upswing in the market.