r/investing Apr 29, 02:28 AM
Some advice from an old guy - stay the course and keep investing I see so many people on here freaking out over every little dip and red day, so I figured I’d drop some perspective from six decades of actually being in the market. If you just stay the course, all this noise eventually blends together into nothing. I made my very first investment way back in 1963. I was just in junior high at the time, working my first real job, and I took those paychecks and bought a single share of stock. Getting that early taste of ownership completely rewired my brain and taught me to just hold and ignore the panic. By the time I finally graduated high school, the economy was an absolute nightmare. We were right at the absolute peak of the oil crisis, gas lines were stretching around the block, and inflation was literally eating everyone alive. But I didn't care, I just kept my head down and kept buying the S&P.
I eventually got my degree and graduated college in the late 80s and early 90s, stepping out into the professional world right as the Japan asset bubble was completely collapsing. Watching the Nikkei absolutely implode while I was trying to build my early career was probably the best financial education a guy could ask for. Then the family phase hit us like a freight train. We had our first kid just before the government even created the first 529 savings plans, which was a total headache for tax planning.
After that, we had our last three kids all back-to-back right before the dot-com bubble burst. Let me tell you, trying to raise four screaming toddlers while watching the Nasdaq lose 70% of its value will build your risk tolerance like nothing else. Now, my oldest is just about to finish college this year and I honestly cannot wait for these private school tuition payments to finally stop bleeding me dry. Between that and the au pair, it's still a massive drain on our monthly cash flow. Getting her off the payroll is going to free up a ton of cash for me to dump back into the market.
As for my own portfolio, my overall strategy hasn't changed one bit. I'm still sitting at a strict 85/15 stocks-to-bonds allocation. I know that sounds pretty aggressive for a guy who has been investing for six decades, but since I’m still 15 years away from retirement, I really need to maintain that heavy equity exposure for the long-term growth. Just stick to the plan and zoom out, guys.
submitted by /u/weightedslanket
[link] [comments]