Stock Market Roller Coaster

When I was young guy I loved to ride the roller coaster. I would ride it, thrilled with the ups and downs and sharp curves and high speeds. As soon as the coaster came to a stop I would jump out and get right back in line so that I could ride it again. I would do this repeatedly until I had my fill.

I am no longer a young guy. I don't really care for the roller coaster anymore. Yet, now, I find myself riding one again, over and over. It is this damn stock market.

You see, I buy and sell stocks at home on my computer in the hopes I can make enough to pay some bills. This year, though, has been a real challenge. Yesterday the Dow dropped over 250 points and the Nasdaq over 60 points. My worth and the worth of anyone else who has stocks or mutual funds dropped like a rock in one day. Then, this morning, the Dow started up over 250 points and the Nasdaq up over 45! What a bounce. Now, as I look at it, it is settling back down again and who knows where it will be at the end of the day.

Most people know that investing in stocks can be a risky proposition. But, you know the old saying about how you have to take risks if you want to make money. Well, I do that. I take risks. Sometimes they pay off and sometimes they don't. I take educated guesses, which means that the stock market is not quite as bad as, say, playing a slot machine.

This market, though, is making it very hard to take educated guesses! It soars down and then it struggles back up, and then it drops like a lead weight, then it huffs and puffs and slowly makes its way back up. In the meantime, us "investors" are either holding our breath, throwing our hands up in despair, trying to think about something else, or trying to get a prescription for something to reduce anxiety.

Stocks can be fun when they are going up), or they can be torture (when they are going down), and sometimes they can be boring (when they are going nowhere). But one thing is for sure: the stock market is seldom predictable. I guess I must like that. Maybe I am still that young guy, after all.