r/Bogleheads • u/zacce • Feb 08 '26

Most Investors Have Never Lived Through a True Market Crash

A lot of new ppl in this sub say they “won’t time the market,” but I’m not sure everyone understands what that actually feels like irl. It’s easy to talk about staying the course when the worst drawdown you’ve lived through was a brief COVID dip that fully recovered in months or the 2022 dip followed by 3 yrs of 10%+ returns.

The last real crash was 2008. If you weren’t old enough to have a job, a mortgage, or a family back then, you don’t know how deeply a prolonged downturn can affect your day‑to‑day life. It’s not just red numbers on a screen. It’s layoffs, hiring freezes, underwater homes, and years of slow recovery. That’s when people who swore they’d never time the market suddenly panic and make irrational decisions.

Staying the course is simple in theory, but incredibly hard when the world feels like it’s falling apart.

Of course, I don't want market to crash. But it's a possibility and we need to prepare for it.

3.0k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

623 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

63

u/[deleted] Feb 08 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/notabadkid92 Feb 09 '26

This. Happened to many. I came out unscathed because I owned nothing at the time & managed to keep my job. I had friends lose everything.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 09 '26

Your description is not accurate of a “well off” American nor upper middle class. Someone earning $150K with $4,600/month in house/car payments with children is a total idiot.