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Is The Stock Market Making You Nervous Lately?

David Kilcrease, CEO
May 18, 2020
3 min read

The history of the stock market is littered with examples of times when the market takes a dive downwards. However, there are a lot of reasons to believe that the latest market dive is one of the more extreme that most people have ever seen. Thus, it makes all the sense in the world that a lot of investors are on edge or nervous about market conditions right now. The Search For Alternatives No one likes to lose money, and it is particularly painful when it comes as suddenly as the most recent market crash came. Thus, many investors have been on a search for alternatives to the kinds of investments that they have traditionally been in. Stocks may seem a little risky to some people at the moment. The problem with searching for alternative investments is that they can be either far too risky or don't have enough risk attached to them at all. It can be incredibly difficult to find the happy medium of having just enough risk to generate a significant return while not tilting the ledger too far to the other side. Stocks hit just the right spot for most people even though they have recently been in a slump. Young People Need Not Worry Too Much The reality of the stock market for younger people is pretty favorable the vast majority of the time. They have a long time horizon to back them up, and markets tend to have positive results over the long run. Those who don't have to tap into their retirement savings for a very long time to come should look at market dips such as this one as the ultimate buying opportunities. They are being served up stocks on the cheap, and there sometimes can be nothing better than that for an investor. Those who are closer to needing the retirement money can indeed be hit hard by market swings like this one. It can be dangerous for them and does not provide a lot of comfort for sleeping at night. Those individuals may find themselves in a position where they need to move to investments that do provide less of a return but at least allow them to get some peace of mind that their money is closer to guaranteed than it can be in the stock market. Working Later Into Retirement A lot of people who are eligible to collect Social Security are putting off collecting their benefits for a while. It is estimated that you can add about eight percent to your annual salary for every one year that you delay collecting benefits. Thus, there are advantages for those who can afford to continue working. Additionally, many people make the choice to take on at least part time work while they are in or near retirement as a way of making some ends meet there as well. That can be another way for some people to have a little more peace with the current economic situation. Times Are Scary, But We Have Seen It Before Times like this are indeed scary in the stock market, but we have seen things like this before. There are always ups and downs in the markets, but the best thing to do is to have a steady hand and understand that while these moves can cause some nervous times, the best thing to do for most people is to try to ride it out. If you are not able to do that, then you probably shouldn't have money tied up in the stock market. It can be a dangerous place to be if you don't have the nerves for it.