“It is hard to hold and keep your powder dry when all are in a panic around you.”
That was probably my biggest mistake...I held and held and held, then finally succumbed to panic and bailed, only to watch the rebound start not long thereafter. I then futilely waited for the next “second dip” to come to catch that, but it never materialized, of course. Those were really hard lessons.
A lot of us have been there and learned that hard lesson.
The real shame of investing is that it is almost formulary but we almost all learn the same hard lessons alone. I have envied people I have known who had parents who taught them how the process is done. I have acquaintances who are sophisticated investors but also play the market and do well. They may not have learned how from their parents but they were inspired and made confident by their parents doing the same thing.
My parents were children of the Depression, grew up dirt poor and never owned a stock in their lives. The only investments they had were in their giverment retirement and a savings account at the credit union. For all their lives they lived with the thought that they could be hungry again. They taught me a lot of other great things though.
I think I have learned and taught my children, you save for cars, houses and such. You invest for your future and maybe even legacy. It is like owining a farm. You intend to hold on to it and keep making improvements to it your whole life and expect it to provide your livelihood.