You seem way too stressed out and worried about the stock market for someone whose income is supposedly adequate and secure. Buying stocks when they're high, then selling them when they're low? That's a guaranteed loss. That's worse than gambling. At least gambling you have a very small chance you'll get lucky.
You're probably right in that it's not a good idea to stress over the little stuff, yet I do and that's the problem. Truth be told, the small amount of savings I invested in stocks not quite two years ago, doesn't mean a hill of beans compared to my total assets. If the entire investment went down the toilet, it would be less than a blip in my overall financial picture. After a lifetime of being financially cautious to the extreme, it was stupid of me to think I could cope with an investment that changes on a daily basis.
Trust me, it is not about my financial security, which is just as I said it was. The bulk of my income is from two guaranteed annuities for the rest of my life with a minimum 7.5% annual gain... more than enough to keep pace with cost of living increases. Much of the remainder is Social Security, which doesn't keep pace with cost of living. I also have a couple of tax sheltered annuities that continue to produce returns close to the amount the government requires me to withdraw each year. For unforeseen emergency expenses I have a couple of substantial savings accounts. Lastly, there is the considerable equity I have in my home. Worse comes to worse, I could get a job as a Walmart greater (do they still have them?).
I presume you are young and not yet retired. Your perspective should be different that mine, because you are in a period of your life when you should focus on ways to insure your retirement income will support you.
I never strived for great wealth. I've seen firsthand how little it means in the scope of things. If I had more money, I feel confident that I wouldn't be any happier because of it. In the 60's, my stepfather aspired to profit $1,000 a week from his business. He never got there and it seemed to me that he also never felt content with what he had, thus he felt like a failure. He grew up in abject poverty and to him having wealth was everything. Thanks, impart, to him, my childhood was one of abundance. And that can be a game changer.
Stupid though my recent decision might seem to others, it was the right one for me.
