Well, if we had a crystal ball that worked, we could shuffle our money to whatever was at the bottom & moving up to the top. Then we would be a huge winner.
Put all our money in these at the right time, and get them out at the right time?
Microsoft.
dot com businesses.
Houses.
Grains.
We'd all be billionares.
But, if our crystal ball is only human, and we have money in stocks right now, they have already lost 50% or so.
Smart person lets that ride, and keeps buying a few more every month.
Buy low, sell high.
If you need the money in the next 1-3 years, you shoulda got out of stocks & into safer, slow-growth stuff a couple years ago....
If you got 15+ years 'til you plan to use the money, keep riding the wave, stocks go up, stocks go down, get out when they are high & you plan to use the money in a couple years.
Abandon ship now, with 20 years until you plan to use the money????? That's abandoning the floating dingy & swimming back to the sunk ship!
Now, playing the market is a risk, and one should have a couple different investment plans. Stock market is always, and always has been, a big swing, runs inn cycles. One who is investing for their future should probably know this, and plan accordingly. You shouldn't have all your eggs in the same basket.
Right? Buy low, sell high. I don't know how much lower stocks will go, nor how long until they come back up again. But - if they lost 50%, and you don't need the money for for 20 years - it sure looks like this is a buying tome, not a selling time....
--->Paul