I started reading a bunch of investing and financial books the last 3 years. The psychology of money, the little common sense book of investing, the easy path to wealth, the rational optimist etc etc. They were very interesting and I feel I learned a lot from them tbh. It’s funny, in all of them they talk about this magical 8% return average, but also about all the dips that happen and the sheer panic and overreaction to it etc etc. A lot of them came back to that 8% goal though. Some years you’ll get it, some years you won’t, don’t panic or listen to the dipshit news, just stay the course, time in the market is better than timing the market, here’s why pessimistic people are idiots treated as geniuses etc etc.
I was always a little confused though about the 8% though. Over the last 10 years the S&P grew by 160%, over 5 years 120%, over 2 years 33%, and over the last year by 5% (yesterday it was at 10%). Those were all insane increases we’ve continually had (even with a massive dip for 6 months in 2020 with COVID), that were outside the norm with incredible growth. YTD we’re down 7% but it’s not due to a random pandemic or a complete failure of the bank systems like in 2008 but because of an easily altered or changed policy that is certainly almost not going to be long term. I just felt like posting this in case someone reading this is actually getting stressed reading the news or whatever. It seems (me included as of 3 years ago) the majority of people are really financially illiterate in this country and don’t really understand the markets or their history.