Going back every decade all the way to 1900, only two decades have been negative. And both were just barely negative (1930s and the 2000s were -1%). Most decades saw your money at least double or triple.

Let’s say you are afraid of another “lost decade” where the stock market doesn’t make you money. First off, these are impossible to predict. Secondly, you have to just keep investing if this happens. If you dumped your life savings of $100K into the stock market at the peak of the tech bubble in 2000 right before the lost decade started, and then continued to invest $500/month, you’d now have a portfolio of $1,080,935. Which doesn’t seem so bad!!!

Letting time work on your side is what can make you rich from investing. Any given month, the stock market can do anything. Any given year, the stock market is usually up (71% of the time), but still can do anything. BUT, any given decade, you have a high chance of a very positive return. And if you can remain invested for even longer than a decade, that’s when you can really watch your money start to compound.

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