Investing During a Recession

A good definition of an investing genius is the man or woman who can do the average thing when all those around them are going crazy. How you behaved as an investor during a few months in late 2008 and early 2009 will likely have more impact on your lifetime returns than everything you did from 2000 to 2008. There were 1,428 months between 1900 and 2019, just over 300 of them were during a recession. So by keeping her cool, Sue ends up with almost three quarters more money than Jim or Tom.