When Stock Markets Go Down

When the stock market goes up, I am happy. And look at the Dow Jones Industrial Average since the great financial collapse of 2008:

I should be ecstatic, right? Except for Trump tweets and trade wars. And perhaps a long overdue correction for the markets.

When the stock market goes down, as it has over the past few days, I am unhappy. When the stock market goes down and I am surrounded by awful weather, well, that leads to a full-blown depression.

There is no spring in this part of Canada. Nothing but clouds and rain. And cold. We’ve had the heat pumps and the floor heat running continuously since we returned to Ontario.

You get the idea. I am, how should we say, malheureux, unhappy. Unhappy with the stock market. Unhappy with the weather.

Whenever the markets go thump, Lorraine always reminds me that it really doesn’t matter. Keep the course. Don’t let the markets get you down.

She is wise.

But the weather is starting to get to Lorraine. Yesterday she went out and purchased rubber boots. “So nice to finally have dry feet.” she told me.

Life’s little pleasures.

I keep the following rules of investing handy. They came to me from a particularly insightful Canadian investor. To my American friends, I am certain that these rules of investing would also apply to you.

This is what to do when the stock market goes down.

• Never sell into a storm.
• Ditch your emotions.
• Be disciplined. Stick to a plan.
• Don’t time the market.
• Never chase returns.
• Use tax shelters.
• Start early. Never stop.
• Invest, don’t gamble. No speculation.
• Be balanced and diversified.
• And don’t be a cowboy.

This is what to do when the weather is awful.

Go back to your happy place.