Wallet Therapy: Is the Market Going to Crash? Wrong Question.

Every time I open my phone, someone is yelling that the market is about to crash. And honestly? I get anxious when money just sits there. Alex is the total opposite. She’s over here stressing about pulling money out of savings for a lanai she literally saved for. So this week we finally asked the question everyone’s whispering: is the market going to crash? Spoiler: nobody knows. Not Alex, not the guy on TikTok, not even most professional fund managers. The better question is what YOU are going to do when it happens. The Solution Correction, bear market, crash: what those scary words actually mean (10%, 20%, and “oh no”). Panic selling is two bad bets: you have to time getting out AND getting back in, and selling turns a temporary dip into a permanent loss. Time horizon is everything: if you don’t need this money for 30 years, today’s drop isn’t your emergency. Your emergency fund is your crash pad: cash on hand means you’re never forced to sell at the bottom. Sometimes it’s not the market, it’s your portfolio: if a dip has you losing sleep, your mix might be too aggressive for who you really are. Keep contributing: sticking to your plan during a downturn means buying at lower prices. Plus a listener question from a 38-year-old with $250K who wants to move it all to cash, and a detour to a stock market bar in Barcelona where the drink prices crash too. This week’s homework Open your investment account and run the 30% test. Multiply your balance by 0.7 and write that number down. Then sit with it. Would you panic? Would you sell? Would you stop contributing? If the honest answer scares you, adjust your plan now, not in the middle of a crash. Connect with us Join the Hayters on Patreon for early episodes, a monthly Wallet Therapy Live, and direct access to Alex: patreon.com/beckyhayter Got a money question for Alex? Email us at [email protected] See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.