The stock market has had a challenging last month and is down about 6% from its recent high. Market fluctuations like this can create negative news headlines, but they should never throw you off your long term wealth building plan.

Forget about what the market did over the last week or month or year. It doesn’t matter. Wealth creation is a long game. Look at market drops as opportunities to buy more shares at discounted prices.

The irony is that new investors experience their first market drop and want to run for the exits as fast as they can. But long term investors experience countless market drops and they don’t care one bit. People with patience win at this game and become rich.

Not to spoil the ending, but the market will continue to rise in the future. No one can predict short-term fluctuations for the rest of this year or next. But we can confidently say that over the coming decades, companies worldwide will persist in operating, innovating, growing, and generating profits. These profits will flow back to shareholders. They will continue to push the value of your index funds up and you will accumulate wealth, slowly but surely.

As always, reminding you to build wealth by following the two PFC rules: 1.) Live below your means and 2.) Invest early and often.‎

-Vivi & Shane