Back Burner the Stock Market

I don’t mean ignore it. Just offering salve for any wounds.

“Where is the stock market headed?” could be a daily ask. Has been for years.

“Why is the stock market dropping now?” is this week’s ask.

Tariffs are in place, and everybody wants to be heard. It takes about 10 minutes of scrolling social media to learn that we shouldn’t be scrolling. It’s noisy, to say the least, and the uncertainty is anxiety-provoking.

Step 1: A reminder about the value of diversification.

I cherry-picked two investment darlings, Meta and Nvidia, along with two low-cost exchange-traded funds, SPY and VTI, funds that allocate our savings to many different investments. You might have $500 and your friend $10,000 to invest. When you invest, you and your friend implicitly invest in the same underlying investments within the ETF. It is just the size of your investment and return that differs.

Diversification reminder done.

Step 2. Put stock market worries aside.

Take some “investing quiet time” and consider the structure of your financial life. There is an opportunity to gain financial control with a likely financial benefit.