With market volatility creeping upward, this is once again a question I’m getting, but I urge you to reread what I wrote back on February 28, 2018.
Well this was a fun month for the stock market with wild swings from high to low of around 2,000 points in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
One question I’m asked on a consistent basis is “E.J., is your phone ringing off the hook?” and my answer is “no,” and I know why. Most of you have been educated by Dick Young that investment success is achieved over a lifetime, not a month or two. Investment success is about hitting singles and doubles, taking some walks here and there and sometimes getting hit by a pitch. Staying in the game is key. It’s a winning strategy because it puts compound interest into play. Spend a lifetime compounding money on a consistent basis and you’ll wake up one day and say “Wow, I have a pile of money.” It’s funny, when I ask investors how they achieved their success. They don’t talk about the stock market. They talk about working long hours, putting one foot in front of the other, showing up for work every day and s-a-v-i-n-g as much as they could save. Looking back 40-years, they know how tough it was to save $1,000. Compound that at 8% and it’s $21,725 today. Not a bad start.
