Hi Friends,

Now that we are in the middle of another holiday season, we wanted to talk with you about something we all love- shopping for deals.

Everywhere you look, there are ads showcasing how much you can save if you buy before a certain date. These limited-time discounts, paired with the increased demand for gifts, make December the busiest month for retail sales.

But when it comes to investing in stocks, our feelings are often quite different.

Stocks are one of the most effective tools we have for reaching our long-term goals, and, like holiday gifts, almost all of us could benefit from having more of them.

Yet, when stock prices drop—essentially offering a temporary “sale”—many people overlook the opportunity or, even worse, sell their long-term investments at these discounted prices.

This is a chart of the S&P 500 over the past 75 years. 

While the overall trend is one of significant growth, the market has also given us occasional “sales” with temporary declines. On average, these pullbacks have been about 14% annually, and in some cases, we’ve even seen “huge sales” with 50% discounts.

Instead of fearing these moments, we should embrace them. Just as holiday sales allow us to purchase more for less, these market dips present us with the chance to buy into our long-term goals at a discount.  In practice, this can be very difficult to do in the middle of a scary situation that has caused the sale.  This is why it is so important to have a disciplined investment strategy that you trust established well ahead of these opportunities.

Let’s look forward to these sales instead and we will be rewarded with the opportunity to reach even bigger and better goals for ourselves, our families, and our communities.

We hope that all of you have a wonderful holiday season and look forward to a great 2025 with you!

Be on the lookout for our next Financial Planning Fridays episode. Subscribe to our Youtube Channel so you never miss an episode. Or contact us directly; schedule your 15-minute call with us today.