[image from istockphoto.com]
If you've paid any attention at all to the economy in the past two year, you know that it's been volatile. By July of 2022, the market is down almost 15% from January (or more, depending on what indicators you're using). What this means, financially speaking, is that now is the perfect time to make deposits. When investing, the obvious way to go up is to buy low and sell high. While some people fear that the market will keep going down, so they sell or take their money out, the smartest long-term strategy is to put more money in. (Now, if only I had more money to put in...different topic.)
I've been thinking about how investing more when things aren't working makes sense as a plan for life, too. When we meet people we don't get along with, the temptation might be to bow out of social gatherings, to spend more time alone. I'm a big fan of going the opposite route. Instead of binging Netflix, I'd say find new places to look for new people to meet. If a project isn't working, figure out a new approach to getting it done and put in extra work to complete it. When we withdraw from life's challenges, we never overcome them.
I know what you're screaming at your screen: "Carita, haven't you ever heard of the sunk cost fallacy"? I have, but I'll clarify why making deposits isn't the same as throwing good energy/money after bad. My suggestion isn't to keep doing the same thing that isn't working but to acknowledge that the time it's not working is the exact best moment to pivot and then try harder. We gain nothing by hiding from or ignoring our problems.
What issue have you been sidestepping? What deposit into solving it can you make today? Please share ideas in the comments.
As time goes by and I continue to enjoy your posts, I notice that I am engaging more in tasks I would normally put off. Doing so has helped me live more in the moment. Thank you!
And Thank YOU for this kind message and for being such a great supporter of the blog.
I love that you say that getting things done is living in the moment. I get the sense that some people think that if they want to live in the moment, they shouldn’t think about the future, but I like your way better.
Dollar Cost Averaging— investing a fixed dollar amount on a regular basis, regardless of the share price—may have parallels. Akin to Gladwell’s 10,000-hour rule—achieving true expertise in any skill is simply a matter of practicing, albeit in the correct way, for at least 10 000 hours. Persistence, toward a right goal, just not doing the same ineffective way.
Yes, I’m a big fan of dollar cost averaging as a way to buy more shares when prices are lower. “Persistence, toward a right goal” would make a worthy mantra. Thanks!