Please let me preface everything with this: Any financial analysis feels callous against the backdrop of war. This isn’t meant to mitigate or ignore the atrocities of war. That said, many are rightfully worried about their finances during this type of volatility.

About two weeks ago, the stock market looked bleak. The market was down about 8% year to date and felt as though we were in a free fall. Tensions with the Iran war were rising. Gas prices rising. Economists projected further slowdowns to to increase costs of oil. Some were even using the R word (recession). Many investors understandably wanted to “get out until the rebound”

And today? The S&P 500 just closed at an ALL TIME RECORD HIGH. Why? Well, investors are apparently betting that the economy is in good shape and that all those fears mentioned above won’t come to fruition. If you sold two weeks ago “until the rebound”, well you missed it. The market is up almost 11% in JUST THE LAST TWO WEEKS.

This is the risk of “timing the market”. When everything is in free fall, the bears sound like geniuses. “Get out now. The worst is yet to come.” Those (like me) who say “Stay the course. Don’t just do something, sit there!” sound naive by comparison. But this is like a broken record on repeat. When things seem the bleakest, it takes the most resolve to continue to sit there and do nothing, but it’s the right thing to do.

I recently did my taxes for last year and got a 1099-B which details all the times I sold shares during 2025. Mine was BLANK. I buy low, buy high, plan to hold for decades. (Of course I will sell at some point when I need the money, but I didn’t happen to last year).

If you want to build wealth, don’t get caught up in the ups and downs of the market. Focus on YOUR race. Make more. Spend less. Keep investing early and often.

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

-Jeremy