📉When Markets Fall, Stay Standing: A Teacher’s Guide to Long-Term Wealth
“In the short run, the market is a voting machine, but in the long run, it is a weighing machine.”
— Benjamin Graham
As a teacher, you know that learning—and growth—takes time. The same goes for your investments. With the recent market downturn, it’s tempting to worry or even consider pulling out of your retirement accounts. But history—and math—say that staying the course is almost always the better choice.
📊 Market Drops Are Normal—Even Healthy
Markets go through cycles. What feels like a crash now may just be part of a long-term upward journey.
🔍 Stat Snapshot:
- The S&P 500 has had an average annual return of ~10% since its inception.
- Market corrections (drops of 10% or more) happen about once every 2 years.
- Despite major crashes (like in 2008 or 2020), the market has always recovered.
🧠 Keep a Long-Term Mindset
Your retirement plan—whether a pension, 403(b), or IRA—is designed for the long haul. If you’re 5, 10, or 20+ years away from retirement, you’ve got time on your side.
| Crash | Year | % Drop | Recovery Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dot-com Bust | 2000–2002 | -49% | 4 years |
| Financial Crisis | 2008–2009 | -57% | 5 years |
| COVID Crash | 2020 | -34% | 6 months |
Each of these times felt awful in the moment. Each one recovered—and went on to new highs.
🙅♀️ Emotional Decisions = Expensive Mistakes
Selling during a drop feels like avoiding pain—but it often locks in losses instead.
📉 Stat Highlight:
- From 2001 to 2020, the S&P 500 returned 7.5% annually, but the average investor only earned 2.9%. Why? Panic selling and poor timing.
- If you invested $10,000 in 2003 and stayed fully invested, you’d have ~$60,000 by 2023.
- If you missed just the 10 best days? You’d have ~$29,000.
- Miss the 20 best days? Down to ~$18,000.
Most of those “best days” come right after the worst ones.
💪 What You Can Do Instead
Rather than react emotionally, try this:
✅ Stick to your plan – Especially if your retirement is more than 5 years away.
✅ Keep contributing – You’re buying more shares while they’re “on sale.”
✅ Talk to a pro – A financial advisor can help you review your strategy calmly.
✅ Avoid the noise – News cycles thrive on fear. You don’t have to.
🍎 Remember: You’re a Teacher
You teach students resilience, patience, and how to keep going when things get hard. That same wisdom applies here. The market might be down now—but it won’t stay that way forever. The key to building long-term wealth is not timing the market, but time in the market.
“The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient.”
— Warren Buffett
📌 Final Thought
Panicking during a dip is like giving a pop quiz on Day 1 of school—it’s too early to judge the outcome.
Stay calm, stay invested, and trust the process. Your future self will thank you and you’ll KEEP STACKIN!
