I'm young but was hoping to retire early in ~15 years. My investments are still up overall, though gains have diminished substantially. Given the unprecedented nature of the tariffs and no hope for the market to rebound until they are rolled back, I'm seriously considering selling everything and waiting for that time. What are peoples' thoughts on this?

I remember people during COVID were saying at the time, we have nothing to worry and that this pandemic we are smarter and will do things better and no economic collapse will happen. Fast forward a few years and now we are eerily following what happened back in early 20th century.

The pandemic back then was also followed by high inflation, economic boom, over-levereged positions in the market, pumped up stocks etc. What followed was as a market crash, USA starting to impose tariffs and even a bigger market crash that led to the economic collapse. Fascism/nationalism was also widely spreading back then through Europe as it is now starting to gain voice once again. What followed were dark times and it really makes me question why did I decide to look into this on a Saturday morning 😅.

My question is, what makes current times different? What are we doing better and are we actually doing better, as back then the average person was younger, richer(lower taxes according to some economists) and lower debt levels? Are we walking head first towards even a worse collapse or is it just too similar, but it won't lead to nothing?

Long story short, my siblings and I sold our childhood home. Our parents both passed over the past two years.

I’ve been planning to purchase a home, so having that in mind I plan to keep $250k in something like utixx. $100k is going to some real estate I regularly invest in. With the remaining $400k I want to DCA in to the total market, emerging markets, s&p.

I personally don’t think we hit a bottom Or even close to hitting that bottom. I also Know I know nothing and can’t time the market therefore I want to DCA in

What I’m wondering is if it really matters much whether I buy every two weeks vs something like every month? Or buy based on % of dips? Or is this all overthinking it?

Hi Reddit,

My wife and I have a good size post-tax portfolio in a basic three-fund allocation of ETFs (US stocks, international stocks, bonds). We also have a cash emergency fund and some money in cash equivalents (was earning great interest when rates were high).

My wife has seen the carnage of the last two days and wants to sell our US stocks to hold more cash. She believes that none of this will get better in the next few years, and Trump's sledgehammer to the economy won't stop.

I think selling when there's blood in the streets is a panic decision, and the stated purpose of our portfolio (long term wealth building) is unchanged. I think using some of our "dry powder" to buy during the Trump turmoil might work out well.

She trusts the stock market very little, preferring tangible investments like real estate. I see it as one of the few viable roads to long term wealth (along with the house we own).

I can't deny that echoes of Hawley-Smoot, the Great Depression, and the possibility of a constitutional crisis have me rattled too. I just don't want to make a snap, panic decision.

So: are any of you selling? What's your plan to re-enter the market? If you're holding, why?

Edit for context: we're on our mid-late 30s

I have 2 friends that tell me they made moves at 44k to avoid the losses. We haven't discussed specifics, but they're clear they cashed out, I don't know how much, or types of accounts, other than brokerage. I tried this for COVID and learned a hurtful lesson. This time I'm riding it out. Who made the right call? We all know Buffet piled cash but I don't view his activity as "timing the market."

I’ve been seeing a lot of panic lately — people saying “the market is trash,” “the economy is doomed,” or “we’re all screwed.” But honestly… this kind of volatility is exactly what investing is supposed to include.

Markets go up. Markets go down. That’s just how it works. The problem is most people say they want to invest, but what they actually want is a risk-free lottery ticket. The moment things stop going up in a straight line, everyone freaks out.

But this isn’t unexpected. This is the game.

You’re supposed to prepare for moments like these — not be surprised by them.

Look at Warren Buffett. He’s sitting on $350 billion in cash right now. Not because he’s scared — but because he’s patient. He’s waiting to buy when others are selling in fear.

Most people: • Invest emotionally • React to headlines • Forget about cycles • Expect linear growth

But if you zoom out, you’ll see that every dip — every crash — has been followed by recovery. Long-term investors win because they don’t flinch.

If you’re investing for the next 10, 20, 30 years… a red day, week, or even year isn’t a signal to panic. It’s a time to stay focused, stay consistent, and if you can — buy more.

Just wanted to share this in case anyone needs a reminder. You’re not doing it wrong. This is investing.

Seems like a lot of people are talking about the timing of when they would buy back in the market. But I haven’t seen a post about what your strategy would be if you completely cashed out or had a large cash reserve and are starting from zero investments. So, in this scenario, I’m asking what your strategy would be for buying back in once you decide the time is right?

Do you find the stocks of quality companies that had the biggest dip and hope they will return to their former glory? What’s your game plan?

Today I have seen a bunch of charts that show if you miss the 10 best market days, you miss out on material gains. These charts are designed to help people understand the benefits of buy and hold. I have not seen the inverse charts. What happens if you miss the 10 worst days? I suspect the benefits will be dramatic since the adage "markets take the elevator down and the escalator up." Has anyone seen a chart of the benefits of missing the 10 worst days?

Throughout 2024 I put all my money into spy puts as I expected a significant market correction/ recession. I did this because of things such as the yield curve being so inverted for so long, the sahm rule being triggered, the fact that many of the jobs being added in the jobs reports were either in food service or the govt (which I do not take as a good sign), and PE ratios being much higher than normal. The S&P kept rally going up and up. Around mid December I had come to the conclusion that I was either missing something or that traditional indicators such as the ones I have listed we're no longer reliable in the post COVID economy, so I exited my position and bought some spy stock. Now the stock market is tanking and the put options I sold are soaring. I feel so upset and confused and lost, I have no idea what to do with my money now. Does anyone have any advice for me?

Okay so my previous post was asking whether it made sense for me to rotate out of high risk stocks which I have profited well on over the years. I would say most people agreed that you can’t time the market and I should have done that months ago

My follow up question is if you had a bunch of cash today, is now the time to start DCA or should we wait until after the EU retaliatory tariffs? I can see a scenario where deals will start to be made in the next few days/weeks and the market reverses.

32/m single father. As the title says, I have a free 500usd or more to invest every month. What should I put it into? I’m open to taking higher risks as I pay my bills pretty comfortably now and my job is pretty stable so I’ll be here for a while. I’m a high risk/high reward type of guy who’s not afraid to lose, so would definitely want some risky investments mixed with some safe investments. What yall think?

ETA: I have money set aside and contribute to an emergency fund monthly* $500 is my low limit per month and I believe $800 would be ceiling limit. Any decent dividends to invest into?

I’ve been researching how best to grow a sum of money in 2025. Sold house and have 300k to park somewhere. Looking into options that would be liquid (ie: able to access the funds within 7 days) and also options that you’d need to park for 6 months to 1 year before able to access the funds. 250k long term and 50k short liquid option.

My local national banks have a 3.25% apr option with access in 7 days. There’s credit unions that advertise 4.25% apr but have to park it for 12 months.

Are there better options to consider?

I was looking at a list of US recessions on Wikipedia (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_recessions_in_the_United_States). It looks like every recession since 1973 has come under a Republican presidency.

In the past 50 years, has there been a recession that started during a Democrat administration?

Edit: to answer my question, yes in 1980 Carter. Apologies, for getting my presidential timeline wrong. 1980 was Carter (D) not Reagan, and 1973 was Nixon (R) not LBJ. Thanks /u/OrneryZombie1983 for pointing that out.

Likely tariff recession: trump (R)

Covid 19 recession: trump (R)

2007 Great Recession: baby bush (R)

2001: baby bush (R)

1990: papa bush (R)

1981-82: reagan (R)

1980: reagan (R) carter (D)

1973: LBJ (D) nixon (R)

Edit: (thanks /u/bozoputer)

1969 - Nixon (R)

1960 - Eisenhower (R)

1958 - Eisenhower (R)

1953 - Eisenhower (R)

Edit 2: Gerald Ford (R) 1974-1977 appears to be the only Republican president for the last 75 years, out of the eight, without a recession starting during his administration. For democrats, Carter appears to be the only Democratic president for the last 75 years, out of six, to have a recession start during his administration.

no more money to keep buying the dips. thinking of selling my other purchases to buy at a lower price even though i will take a loss but i want to take advantage of low prices. maybe the cheaper prices will make up for the loss from buying higher dips. thoughts???

Buy low they say. I remember at the beginning of COVID I invested in some stocks and was wishing I had purchased more after the market recovered. Hopefully, the market recovers, but of course we’re in a different situation.

Are you going to invest in any stocks? If so, what are you purchasing?

We're not talking about a huge sum of money here.

But back on 8/23/24, I reallocated my 401K from 50/50 (50% equity / 50% cash) to 20/80.

They did a reallocation of my current balance, but they didn't modify my future contribution.

I only found that out today while auditing the activities.

So from 8/23/24 up to now, They were allocating my contribution 50/50 rather than 20/80 as I requested. I have screenshots from back then as well as a confirmation number.

In this case, would Empower be responsible for any loss in value of my account due to their mistake?

Many think the administration has slapped tariffs like a drunken sailor because it wants to bring the jobs back, punish the countries who were abusing us, protect the domestic industries, etc.

This can't be farther from the truth.

To understand what's happening, we need to look at the government maturing debt in the next 30 years.

An unusual load of debt must be refinanced just in the next few years during this administration.

You would need two things to do that, (1) a load of cash, and (2) low interest rates.

Slapping tariffs would do exactly that: (1) bringing a load of cash to the government, (2) causing the money in equity market to panic and escape to the treasuries which will cause the interest rates to drop.

Icing on the cake would be if Powell capitulates and lowers the funds rate "because" we might enter a recession.

As you can see, this is more of an emergency measure for a near term problem, something that has to be done if the country doesn't want to default and destroy the dollar.

So the thinking that the government is going to negotiate with China to remove the tariffs is completely flawed. The administration needs this money.

The response I see most often is that this is based on population growth, especially in the US, since we have a very interesting lever other countries don't (or at least, not as much) which is immigration. Basically, open the doors a bit more, let in more folks, add more to the GDP, etc. I could get behind that, but I don't think it's a given.

So if you believe in the "always goes up eventually" mantra, DCA right now, sure. But why is the fundamental assumption true for you? Or, is there another one I'm missing?

I guess the pushback here is obvious, it's just a question of how likely you think it is: current policies become more restrictive/extended -> the US is no longer a desirable destination for economic immigrants -> population growth and GDP slows -> line doesn't always go up. I realize this is overly simplistic, but to me so is the assumption that we can sit back on population growth as assurance that eventually, the overall market always goes up and to the right.

As I'm writing this, maybe one pushback to my pushback is that sure, this net influx may decrease, but the market for US goods abroad will still increase over time. Though that's worth challenging as well: several factors could impact global population rise and certainly global disposable income.

What do you think? Am I missing something? Or is it simply a matter of. "sure that could happen but the probability is so low in my lifetime that for all intents and purposes the assumption that the S&P eventually always goes up is fine"?

While I understand a lot of retirees and people close to retirement are going to be hammered in the end this market/asset correction was much needed. In my view the past decade has seen excessive risk taking, over leveraging and irrational exuberance. Bitcoin, AI, real estate prices and the buy the dip mentality are all symptoms of this irrational behavior. The markets in general have needed a big drop to clear out a lot of this foolish behavior. No single entity is to blame in my opinion Trump may have started the fire with tariffs and his unprofessional dialogue but the blame should also be on central banks, investors, and governments.

The younger generations have been priced out of assets in general from housing to equities with ridiculous PE ratios the coming reset will be an opportunity for those that saved conservatively to benefit. The older generations have benefited from the value growth the past 30 decades and should be insulated if they have been prudent.

Personally I am tired of the mantra DCA and believe people should be more educated and active in their asset allocations. Investing was never an everyday persons activity and it shouldn’t be.

How investors can respond to Trump’s tariffs turmoil - https://on.ft.com/4ck4ECN via @FT "There are many others. One is the value of equities among the financial assets of US households. This amount, according to data from Bank of America and the Federal Reserve, has swung between 10 and 30 per cent since the second world war. By the end of last year the proportion had reached 29 per cent.

This might bring pause for thought. Not only has this percentage risen well past that at the top of the first tech bubble, which popped in 2000, but that figure also exceeds the previous peak of 28 per cent in 1968."

So, I know that since stock prices can keep going up, the max you can earn on a call option is uncapped.

For put options, since stock prices can’t go below $0, does this mean we are capped in our profit?

So, say I bought put option for $1 for stock priced at $10. Then, the max I can make is if stock goes to $0, so I’ll make $10?

Just curious what you all feel most "confident" about putting your money in in these uncertain times. I'd love to make some money in this crazy market, but I understand that is very difficult, so if you have other "safe"/capital preservation ideas I'd love to hear those too! Just looking for opinions! Good luck and godspeed to everyone out there. These are very sad times for America and the global economy

53 yrs old. I’m about 1/3 cash. Around 90k. Each day after extended hours close, I look at the prices of ITOT, VXUS, VONG. I subtract 3% from each price, and put in a day+extended limit order for each. Usually somewhere between $500-$1000 each. I plan to do this until my allocations are where I want them (I’m sure I’ll fill up my VONG allocation before the other two). I also hold bonds, VTV , and gold, but they’re already where I want them to be. Opinions on this 3% plan?

During a 40 year old timespan, do yall think ETFs like VTI and VOO will just be strong? The US economy is currently drifting apart, as a result of the new tariffs. The market is experiencing new lows. Is this just a blip, or possible uncrowning of the United Stares as a world power. Other countries are starting to get off the US. Things look bleak if Trump doesn’t change the tariffs.

I in early 20s and just started looking into investing in spy or voo some snp500 into a roth ira everyone scared because market going down but if you just buy and hold for 40 years the market going down is a good thing right you get to buy low and get slight better gains in the long term