Does the market have you feeling a little seasick? You’re not alone. Watching stock prices rise and fall can be nerve-wracking, especially when every headline makes it sound like the sky is falling. But here’s the truth: volatility is normal. It’s the price of admission for being an investor.

Key Takeaways:

• Market corrections happen every year. A 5% dip is common, and sometimes it stretches to 10% or more—but markets historically recover.
• Volatility is a feature, not a bug. Long-term investors know that ups and downs are part of the process.
• Overvaluation eventually corrects. Either company earnings rise, or stock prices adjust downward—this is how markets rebalance.
• Focus on your investment strategy. If you’re investing for dividends or long-term growth, short-term price swings shouldn’t dictate your decisions.

Why Market Dips Are Normal

Market downturns might feel unsettling, but they’re nothing new. If you’ve been investing for any amount of time, you’ve likely seen:

• Black Monday (1987) – The market crashed, then rebounded.
• The Dot-Com Bubble (2000-2002) – Stocks tanked, then recovered.
• The 2008 Financial Crisis – A historic drop, followed by a decade of growth.
• COVID Crash (2020) – The market plunged, then roared back to life.

See the pattern? Markets recover. They always have, and they likely always will.

How to Stay Calm During Volatility

1. Ignore the hype. Financial media thrives on fear—it keeps people glued to their screens. Instead, focus on your long-term plan.
2. Read The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel. This book explains why investors who stay the course are the ones who win over time.
3. Stick with diversification. A well-balanced portfolio spreads risk across different asset classes, reducing the impact of any single downturn.
4. Think like a dividend investor. If you hold dividend-paying stocks like Ford (which currently yields around 6%), you care more about income than short-term price swings.
5. Don’t panic over valuations. Some stocks, like Apple, may appear overvalued. But unless you’re day trading, short-term price fluctuations shouldn’t drive your decisions.

Final Thoughts

Market turbulence isn’t fun, but it’s standard operating procedure. If you have concerns about your portfolio, let’s talk. We’ve been through this before, and we’ll go through it again. The key is to stay the course and focus on what really matters—your long-term financial goals.