Can we accept the fact that this is disappointing, frustrating, and even infuriating?


I guess everyone is gonna do what they're gonna do, but let's be honest: despite “time in the market beats timing the market”, or “it's the long-term game that matters”, or “buy the dip”, or whatever sound investing advice you want to give, the fact is, what's going on now is frustrating. And as I said in the title, not only frustrating, but also disappointing and even infuriating. I think it's normal that people would be getting angry, looking for culprits, letting off steam, etc. I mean, what are we supposed to do? If you get punched in the face are you just gonna smile at the guy? It wouldn't be human.

I'm not even writing this because my portfolio is in horrible shape. Actually, I did a lot of research and I foresaw something bad happening after the unsustainable Fed-fueled Covid rally. I also admitted that I could have been wrong. But since I did see some risks, I positioned accordingly. I didn't short or anything, so I'm still in the red, but I'm less in the red than I would have been if I had been totally bullish. So this isn't about me losing money and trying to justify my vitriol.

To me, it's frustrating to see the gatekeepers come out and tell people that it's not OK to get angry / frustrated / whatever via their downvoting, insults, or patronizing comments. It rattles me so much! I understand this is my issue, but it's my perspective that everyone should be allowed to express their honest feelings without being called stupid or downvoted to oblivion or whatever. I think even the perma-bulls are feeling the heat right now, so maybe that's why they're taking it out on those who express their frustration. But maybe we should try to be a little nicer to each other rather than stomping on noobies who are distraught to see their portfolio deep in the red for the first time.

The people who have been investing for decades understandably will feel more resilient right now. That's fair. But do keep in mind that many of us started during Covid or even during the meme stock crap. I started with meme stocks. Don't hate me! That little adventure was the push that got me into serious investing. I have no meme stocks anymore. I have a well-researched, diversified, and long-term portfolio. I'm grateful for that saga getting me into the market. It doesn't make me worse than anyone else.

But yeah, a lot of us are new. It's normal that we'd be disappointed, frustrated, or even angry. Something about all this seems unfair. The big money rode the rally up and got out before the Fed pricked the bubble. Retail got left holding bags. That's not my case, but I think it's a lot of people case. And it's absolutely unfair. I think it's OK to express these things.

Anyway, just my 2 cents. Good luck to everyone through all of this.


Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *