The longest bull market in US history that began in March 2009 is over.

Bull markets end when a bear market sets in, which is a 20% decline from an all-time high. The all-time high was set on February 19th, 2020 when the S&P 500 hit 3,393 and ended on March 12th, 2020 when the S&P 500 crossed 2,714. At the time of this writing, the market is down 27% from its all-time high.

A decline in the stock market is rarely something to find joy in. They can cause a pit in your stomach and make you think “What if this is the big one?”. This post is to help ease those fears and encourage you to come up with a plan to deal with a market decline.

Investing isn’t for the faint of heart. One needs to have a plan and stick to it; yet, it’s easier said than done. Falling victim to one of these mistakes is easy to do. Being aware of what they are will provide you with the right mindset to know if one of these thoughts is making some noise.

A river cutting through sedimentary rocks throughout millennia can create something mind-blowing like the Grand Canyon. Just like the Grand Canyon wasn’t created overnight, your investments need consistent contributions and decades of appreciation to build generational wealth. Too often, we invest for a couple of years into a 401(k) or IRA thinking our few thousand-dollar investments should be a hundred-thousand dollars. And when that isn’t the case, we give up contributing altogether.