I've been investing at least 10% of my income mostly in S&P 500 or target date index funds for about 40 years now. By all standards, I'm wealthy. And I started with nothing.
Never lost any sleep during the 1987, 2000 (dot.com) and 2008 "crashes." Never lost a nickel because I didn't cash any of it out. Instead, I continued buying stocks (at a lower price) and watched the rest of my portfolio recover over time. This is the basic principle of "dollar cost averaging." When you have a "buy and hold" approach, you almost want the stock market to crash from time to time, so you can have opportunity to get more shares at a lower price.
As I age and approach retirement, I shift some of my holdings into safer and more stable funds.
If people feel they need to panic and pull out of markets, they are doing something wrong.
Very true!
And yours almost mirrors what my financial strategy is as well.
When the market crashes - the tomatoes are on sale!
You and I are on a similar trajectory as I’ve done this same strategy. Low and slow is spot on though picking up Ruger (RGR) this last year has been a nice dividend surprise.
Bingo