Why am I pouring money into the stock market while it’s down

• I was always nervous about investing in the stock market, so I stuck to “safe” bets, like CDs.
• But watching my brother become a millionaire changed my mind, so I followed his strategy.
• I’ve watched my money grow, and I know the market is always going up. That’s why I won’t stop investing now.

I never participated in the stock market. Coming of age in 2008 – as the Great Recession caused home prices to plummet and jobs to evaporate – has always made me a low-risk investor. At first, this meant I locked my money into low-interest CDs and savings accounts.

But as I got older, I began to understand that such investment vehicles, while safe, were eventually losing my money. So instead I switched to real estate. And while that has served me well over the years, a bad experience with a tenant left me looking for an alternative place to put my money.

I followed my brother in the stock market

Last year, I wrote an article for Insider about my millionaire brother, a college dropout whose wise investment strategies have made him a real fortune. Money does not lie. So I started investing too. Reluctantly, at first, only a few hundred dollars whenever I had spare cash. I also followed everything my brother did since I already knew it worked for him.

And in 2021, my earnings grew. Their vision – and the speed with which they rose – was a powerful lesson in the way the stock market works. I wish I had started this before my thirties; Compound interest is a magical thing.

I’m still risk averse, which means that most of my money lies in a variety of funds. The purpose of such funds is to diversify your portfolio so that no single loss will affect you significantly. Although I got bogged down here and there in some single stocks, I don’t want to lose everything in the event of a crash (as happened with my singles

Netflix

stock).

With the market downturn, I continued to invest

It might seem odd, then, with the stock market steadily declining throughout 2022, that I kept buying more. I’ve gone to any profits I’ve ever had; Instead, the total amount fell by more than $4,000. I would have lost less if I kept my money in my checking account.

But as my investment portfolio grows, so does my knowledge of how this whole thing works. And the first lesson you learned? It’s not about market timing, it’s about time in market.

I missed investing in my twenties, which is frustrating, but I’m still (relatively) young and healthy, and I don’t have an immediate need for that money.

Historically, the market has always gone up. So while I may not break even with this year’s investments, and probably won’t see anything like a return in 2023, I can wait 10, 15 or even 20 years before I need to sell.

Since the market is down so much, I can buy more of everything. And yes, I am still losing out gradually on a daily basis, but the way I see it, everything is for sale. It may be down 30% since the start of the year, but it won’t stay that way forever.

That’s why I invest as much as I can now, of all times, to invest. While others panic and sell, or choose less risky investment strategies, I enter the stock market. The data supports my decision: even though the market as a whole took four years to recover from 2008

Recession

It has met – and exceeded – its previous value.

What my experience taught me

I don’t pretend to know everything about the stock market, but I’ve picked up a few things since I started all of this. My advice to people like me is: The stock market doesn’t have to be scary. There is always some level of risk involved, but this is the case when you are trying to turn some money into more money.

Index funds are generally more stable than individual stocks, so you won’t feel the impact as much when the market goes down. Dollar cost averaging, where you make smaller, more regular investments rather than dropping one amount all at once, is a tried-and-true strategy that reduces the impact of

volatility

. Finally, do this as soon as possible. The smaller the better.

Am I a little nervous about spending money in a falling market? of course me; I don’t like seeing my hard-earned money disappear into the ether. However, I’ve finally learned enough to know that this too will pass. And when that happens, I’m ready for a big win.