Things are just not as bad as you keep hearing.
Take the stock market.
A lot of people have given up and think that the market is a bad place to put your money.
But that is very short-sighted.
Today the Dow Jones Industrial Average stands at around 10,600.
If you go back 20 years to 1990, the highest point the Dow readhed that year was 2999.75 on July 16.
So, if you had kept your money there it would have grown in 20 years by more than 350 percent. And you would have also been collecting dividends on those stocks.
What people are disturbed about is the last ten years. Well, ten years ago was the top of a market bubble. So yes, if you were buying then you are a loser. But that is not how you are supposed to invest.
The process is to invest over your lifetime. Gradually put money in. Then when you retire you can gradually take it out.
Back to the numbers
Even if you bought at the top of the year 1998, which was 9374.27, you are ahead today by about 13%, plus dividends.
A more extreme case is to go back 40 years. The high point of the Dow in 1970 was 842.
Over 40 years the increase has been more than 1,250%. And again, you would have been collecting dividends.
So don't give up on stocks. Business is good and will get better in spite of anything or everything.
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