{"id":13656,"date":"2025-04-17T04:28:52","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T04:28:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=13656"},"modified":"2025-04-17T04:28:52","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T04:28:52","slug":"how-to-stay-sane-and-savvy-when-markets-feel-like-they-are-crashing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=13656","title":{"rendered":"How To Stay Sane And Savvy When Markets Feel Like They Are Crashing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div>\n<figure class=\"embed-base image-embed embed-0\" role=\"presentation\"><figcaption><fbs-accordion classname=\"expandable\" current=\"-1\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"color-body light-text\" role=\"button\">Upset woman working on a laptop computer in the office. . There are documents with financial graphs <span class=\"plus\" data-ga-track=\"caption expand\">&#8230; More<\/span><span class=\"expanded-caption\"> and charts on the table. She looks worried, frustrated and depressed and there is a large window behind her<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/fbs-accordion><small>getty<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>If the stock market has you on edge right now, you\u2019re not alone. Fear is a natural reaction when your hard-earned money seems to vanish overnight. But emotional decisions often lead to costly investment mistakes. This guide gives you seven ways to stay grounded, protect your investments, and keep building wealth \u2014 especially during times of uncertainty.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Take A Moment To Pause Before You Act<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>When emotions run high, your ability to make rational decisions runs low. Emotions like fear and excitement trigger the primal part of your brain, which is designed to help you escape predators, not handle market volatility and manage investment portfolios. This part of your brain wants you to choose the fight or flight response, quickly. But remember that prudent investing is a long-term game and reacting emotionally or trying to time the market usually leads to bad decisions. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.investopedia.com\/new-data-affirms-old-rule-do-not-try-to-time-markets-7569835\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/www.investopedia.com\/new-data-affirms-old-rule-do-not-try-to-time-markets-7569835\" aria-label=\"recent research report run by Morningstar\">recent research report run by Morningstar<\/a> shows that the average investor loses 20% or more of their potential fund returns by trying to time the markets.<\/p>\n<h3>What You Can Do:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>When you start to feel panicked before you do anything, step away for 10 minutes and breathe.<\/li>\n<li>Revisit your financial plan on your own or with a qualified financial professional you trust to determine if you are invested properly based on your goals, timeline and tolerance for risk.<\/li>\n<li>Then, if making a change is warranted, do so. Most of the time you\u2019ll realize it is not needed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Shut Down Catastrophic Thinking<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Many of us think, \u201cThis time it\u2019s different.\u201d Although the reason for the panic may be different, the fact that it\u2019s temporary in the long-term scheme of things is not. In fact, in every sharp downturn from 1929 to 2020, many people thought the market would never recover, however the reality is that every time, it did.<\/p>\n<h3>What You Can Do:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Monitor your thinking when it starts spiraling into, \u201cI\u2019m going to lose everything.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Instead, remind yourself that although this does not feel good right now, historically the markets have <em>always<\/em> recovered.<\/li>\n<li>If you\u2019re diversified, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.financialfinesse.com\/2015\/09\/30\/financial-rules-of-thumb-the-emergency-fund\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/www.financialfinesse.com\/2015\/09\/30\/financial-rules-of-thumb-the-emergency-fund\/\" aria-label=\"have sufficient emergency savings\">have sufficient emergency savings<\/a> and are not retiring tomorrow, you have time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Use Mental Accounting To Your Advantage<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Mental accounting is your brain\u2019s way of putting money into \u201cbuckets.\u201d It typically works against us. But during a market drop, you can flip the script and have it work for you.<\/p>\n<h3>What You Can Do:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Separate your portfolio in your mind by asking: <em>How much of this do I need in the next 5\u201310 years?<\/em><\/li>\n<li>For example, if you have three to six months of expenses in an emergency savings account, and bonds, cash, or other stable\/low-risk assets that you don\u2019t need for five-plus years, consider those your stability buckets. Remember that the rest doesn\u2019t need to be touched anytime soon.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Zoom Out<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Stop looking at your investments daily. Short-term market drops look and feel like you are on the edge of a cliff. If you zoom out, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.macrotrends.net\/1319\/dow-jones-100-year-historical-chart\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/www.macrotrends.net\/1319\/dow-jones-100-year-historical-chart\" aria-label=\"they look more like speed bumps on a decades-long uphill climb.\">they look more like speed bumps on a decades-long uphill climb.<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>What You Can Do:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>If you\u2019re investing for the long term (five-plus years), you can afford to ride out downturns.<\/li>\n<li>If you need cash soon, you shouldn\u2019t have that money in the market. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.financialfinesse.com\/2019\/04\/16\/how-to-invest-based-on-the-goal-youre-saving-for\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/www.financialfinesse.com\/2019\/04\/16\/how-to-invest-based-on-the-goal-youre-saving-for\/\" aria-label=\"Here\u2019s a resource\">Here\u2019s a resource<\/a> that can help you think through a prudent framework.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Find The Opportunity<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cIn the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity\u201d Albert Einstein said.<\/p>\n<h3>What You Can Do:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Re-evaluate your risk tolerance by taking an assessment <a href=\"https:\/\/secure.financialfinesse.com\/go\/2997\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/secure.financialfinesse.com\/go\/2997\" aria-label=\"like this\">like this<\/a> or one offered through your current bank or broker. If a change is needed, try to address it when the market recovers so that you are not selling assets at a time when they are at their lowest.<\/li>\n<li>Consider using this time to rebalance your portfolio to realign but not panic sell.<\/li>\n<li>If you are worried about a loss of earned income, consider learning new skills, starting a side hustle, and increasing your savings.<\/li>\n<li>In general, focus on what you can control right now.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Take this \u201ccrisis\u201d as an opportunity to learn, build your financial resilience, and become more intentional with your money. Remember that when asset prices go down, you have an opportunity to buy at a discount.<\/p>\n<h2>Think Of Your Future Self<\/h2>\n<p>Five years from now, the market will look different, and you\u2019ll be thinking differently about it too. Note, as previously mentioned, that markets also tend to recover during this timeline.<\/p>\n<h3>What You Can Do:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Imagine what your future self would say to you if you were to panic sell today versus stay the course.<\/li>\n<li>Make decisions now so that your future self will thank you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Summing It All Up<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>You are not powerless during a downturn. Often, the best thing you can do is breathe, zoom out and stick to your long-term game plan.<\/p>\n<p>If you still need help, talk to a trusted financial professional. Your future self will thank you!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/financialfinesse\/2025\/04\/16\/how-to-stay-sane-and-savvy-when-markets-feel-like-they-are-crashing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Upset woman working on a laptop computer in the office. . There are documents with financial graphs &#8230; More and charts on the table. She looks worried, frustrated and depressed and there is a large window behind her getty If the stock market has you on edge right now, you\u2019re not alone. Fear is a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13657,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[196],"tags":[4278,2211,175,5663,5147,1271],"class_list":{"0":"post-13656","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-finance-news","8":"tag-crashing","9":"tag-feel","10":"tag-markets","11":"tag-sane","12":"tag-savvy","13":"tag-stay"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13656"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13656\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}