Worried about a shaky stock market?

https://www.npr.org/2026/03/23/nx-s1-5742568/iran-war-investments-retirement-529-stock-market March 23, 20265:00 AM ET By Stephan Bisaha Worried about a shaky stock market? This is what financial advisers suggest you do Stock market numbers are displayed on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during afternoon trading on March 3 in New York City. Stocks tumbled with the Dow Jones losing over 400 points amid a possible prolonged U.S.-Iran conflict. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Since the U.S. and Israel began strikes against Iran, oil prices have gone up. Stock markets have gone in the opposite direction, driven by uncertainty about the war's future and its effects on the economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down around 9% since its February high, which it hit about two weeks before the war began. That's far from a crash or being considered a bear market, which typically describes a market that's fallen 20% from recent highs. But the market decline has pulled down the value of Americans' investments, from college to retirement plans. What should you do if that makes you feel as jittery as the markets? Financial advisers say it depends on when you need to tap into your funds. A decade or more from needing to withdraw: Hands off For most people, who are say 10 years or more away from needing those funds, the advice is simple: Leave your accounts alone. Markets have proven resilient to recent global disruptions, at times bouncing back within a few years and sometimes within just months. U.S. stocks are up from where they were before the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the launch of the "Liberation Day" tariffs. "You really don't want to shoot yourself in the foot having a rash reaction, or an immediate emotional reaction, to stock prices going down 4 or 5% in a week and a half," says Steven Elwell, chief investment officer and co-owner of Level Financial Advisors. That's not to say a long period with a weak stock market is impossible. But for American investors who don't plan to withdraw for decades, financial advisers see the current dip as an opportunity to buy stocks at a discount. However, Elwell does warn that markets could get worse before improving, which means it can take some steely nerves to keep buying. "It's very easy to say 'Buy low and sell high,' but when the moment to buy low shows up, it means something scary is going on," Elwell said. Within a few years of retirement: Rebalance toward safer options If you're still a few years away from retirement or needing to tap into college funds, financial advisers say the current bumpy market will likely be in the rearview mirror when you're ready to access your accounts. https://www.npr.org/2021/07/30/1022200011/investing-stocks-markets-tips-common-mistakes 5 tips to start investing in the stock market Updated May 6, 202210:07 AM ET Chris Arnold Millions of Americans invest in the stock market as a way to build wealth over time, and while the market can fluctuate, investing in stocks is a good way to grow your savings in the long-term. Even when the stock market feels like it's got some wild swings, getting started on investing now can help set you up for a more financially prosperous future. If you're an everyday investor trying to sift through Reddit threads and YouTube tutorials, this is for you. Here are a few tips to get you started on your own investing path. Betting on a hot stock isn't worth it Despite news headlines on life-changing investments on a one stock item (remember GameStop in early 2021?), it is too risky to make short-term bets with sizable sums of money on what a stock is going to do next. Instead, some of the most respected investors in the world have long said the best way for everyday investors like you and me to make money is to invest in index funds and hold those investments over long periods of time. Most index funds offer low fees and will allow you to essentially buy the entire stock market. That way, if any one stock crashes it won't affect your portfolio. And if you really want to bet on individual stocks, the best advice is to do that with a very small part of your portfolio — and only with an amount of money you can afford to lose. Build a diverse portfolio The key to everyday investing is diversification, which means owning different types of investments to spread out the risk. According to investment manager Paula Volent, you definitely want to own stock index funds because stocks over time have always offered the best return. She suggests owning a broad U.S. stock market index fund, a foreign developed markets index fund and an emerging markets index fund. Working with a financial adviser? Make sure they're fee-only Checking in with a financial adviser is strongly recommended by experienced investors, but make sure you're speaking with a fee-only expert, who isn't receiving commissions for steering you into one investment over another. Once you find someone acting in your best interest, try to meet with them once a year or every two to three years. Find someone you can pay a flat fee for each visit. This will save you money in the long term. Rebalance your investments for stability and to maximize your return on your investments There is no need to panic, even in times of big corrections in the market. With a diverse investment portfolio, you actually have an opportunity to make some extra money off of big swings in the markets by selling what has gone up in value and buying more of what's gone down. Let's say you've decided you should have 50% of your portfolio in a mix of stock index funds. If stocks crash and bonds rise in value, then the stock portion of your portfolio might only be worth 45% of your overall portfolio. You can sell some bonds and buy more stocks to get back to the target in your investment plan. Buying low and selling high is the right way to make money investing. But you're not doing this randomly. You are sticking with your plan for your target allocation in your core portfolio. Bottom line — please don't panic and sell everything just because the stock market crashes and you see other people panicking and getting rid of their stocks. That can do irreparable harm to your portfolio. Buying high and selling low is not a good way to make money. Check out some great books to help guide your investing Want to learn more? If you're going to read one book, check out economist David Swensen's Unconventional Success. It's the ultimate introduction to everyday investing from a world famous investor who set out to tell the rest of us how to do this right. Jack Bogle's book Common Sense On Mutual Funds is another classic. Related: https://www.npr.org/2026/03/23/nx-s1-5742568/iran-war-investments-retirement-529-stock-market https://www.npr.org/2021/07/10/1014353659/financial-independence-budget-save-money-debt-credit https://www.npr.org/2021/05/21/999050640/the-1st-step-to-passing-on-wealth-deciding-whats-important-to-you …Estate planning is imperative One of the things in my research that I heard from an elder is that when an elder passes away, it's like a library burning to the ground. If you do not protect what is most important to you and write it up and explain it to people, they won't know — and all the time that you spent and invested in building what is most important to you will die with you. So it's imperative. https://www.npr.org/2020/06/26/884051182/end-of-life-planning-is-a-lifetime-gift-to-your-loved-ones Why writing a will and planning for your death is a 'lifetime gift' to loved ones June 30, 202012:03 AM ET By Kavitha Cardoza Talking about death makes most of us uncomfortable, so we don't plan for it. That's a big mistake, because if you don't have an end-of-life plan, your state's laws decide who gets everything you own. A doctor you've never met could decide how you spend your last moments, and your loved ones could be saddled with untangling an expensive legal mess after you die. Betsy Simmons Hannibal, a senior legal editor at legal website Nolo, puts it this way: Planning for the end of life isn't about you. "You're never going to really get the benefit of it. So you might as well think about how it's going to be a lifetime gift that you're giving now to your parents or your partner or your children. It really is for the people you love." Here are some simple, practical steps to planning for the end of life. These tips aren't meant to be legal or medical advice, but rather a guide to ease you into getting started. 1. Name an executor. If you're an adult, you should have a will, says Hannibal. Estate planning is not just for the rich. "It's not just about the value of what you own. It's also the feelings that you and your loved ones have about what you own." If you own lots of valuable stuff — real estate, trust funds, yachts — you probably need a lawyer. But for most of us, a simple document could do. Your state or county bar associations usually keep a list of lawyers who do this pro bono. Or you could download an online form like Quicken WillMaker & Trust for less than $100. (Full disclosure: Hannibal works for Nolo, which owns Quicken WillMaker & Trust.) She says the first thing you do is name (in writing) a person whom you trust to take care of everything when you die. In most states that person is called an executor; in some they're called a personal representative. Hannibal says it's a good idea to choose someone from your family. "The most important thing is that you have a good relationship with them — and also that they have a good attention to detail, because it's a lot of work to be someone's executor." An executor would have to, for example, find all your financial assets and communicate with everyone you've named in your will. It's a big ask, so Hannibal says just be upfront. She suggests asking the person directly, "Would you be comfortable wrapping up my estate when I die?" 2. Take an inventory. List everything you own, not just things that are financially valuable — such as your bank accounts, retirement savings or car — but also those things that have sentimental value: a music or book collection, jewelry, furniture. Then list whom you want to leave what to. If you have young children, name a guardian for them. Choose carefully, because that person will be responsible for your child's schooling, health care decisions and value system. Hannibal says pets are considered property under the law, so she suggests naming a new owner so that the state doesn't do it for you. Digital accounts are also part of your property. This includes social media accounts, online photos, everything in, say, your Google Drive or iCloud, online subscriptions, dating site profiles, credit card rewards, a business on Etsy or Amazon. Hannibal suggests keeping a secure list of all those accounts and the login and password details. Let your executor know where the list is. Just as you write out specific instructions about your physical belongings, be clear about what you'd like to happen with your online information. She says it's better not to have a handwritten will, because proving you wrote it will require a handwriting expert. So keep it simple. Just type out your wishes and have two witnesses watch you sign and date it. Then have them do the same. Hannibal says by signing it, "they believe that the person who made the will is of sound mind, and that's a pretty low bar." You don't need to file your will anywhere; neither do you need to get it notarized for it to be legally binding. And don't hide it. Hannibal says just tell your executor where you've kept a copy. Remember that your decisions will change over time. So if you have a child, buy a house or fall out with a family member, update your will. 3. Think about health care decisions. Your will takes care of what happens after you die. An advance directive is a legal document that covers health care and protects your wishes at the end of your life. There are two parts to an advance directive. The first is giving someone your medical power of attorney so the person can make decisions for you if you can't. The other part is called a living will. That's a document where you can put in writing how you should be cared for by health professionals. Jessica Zitter is an ICU and palliative care physician in Oakland, California. She says that we've become experts at keeping people alive but that quality of life can be forgotten. She has seen thousands of situations of loved ones making difficult and emotional decisions around a hospital bed. It's worse when family members disagree about a course of action. You know the saying "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now"? Zitter says with the coronavirus in the news every day, more people are realizing that these end-of-life conversations are important. "That tree was always important to plant. But now we really have a reason to really, really plant it. ... That time is now." You may have heard of Five Wishes, which costs $5 and will walk you through choices, or Our Care Wishes, which is free. 4. Name a medical proxy. Pallavi Kumar is a medical oncologist and palliative care physician at the University of Pennsylvania. Kumar says the most important medical decision you can make is to choose a person who can legally make health care decisions for you if you can't. This person is sometimes called a medical proxy or a health care agent. Naming the person is the first part of the advance directive. "Think about the person in your life who understands you, your goals, your values, your priorities and then is able to set aside their own wishes and be a voice for you," she says. You want someone you trust who can handle stress, in case your loved ones disagree on what to do. 5. Fill out a living will. After you've chosen your medical proxy (and named a backup), you need to think about what kind of care you want to receive. There's no right or wrong; it's very personal. The document that helps you do that is called a living will. It's part two of the advance directive. A living will addresses questions such as "Would you want pain medication?"; "Do you want to be resuscitated?"; and "Would you be OK being hooked up to a ventilator?" Kumar says she asks her patients what's important to them and what their goals are. For some with young children, it means trying every treatment possible for as long as possible, no matter how grueling. "They would say, 'If you're telling me that a chemotherapy could give me another month, I want that month. Because that's another month I have with my 6-year-old.' " Other patients might want the exact opposite. "They would say, 'I've gone through a lot of treatments and I ... feel I'm not having as many good days with my kids. So if the disease gets worse, I want to spend that time at home.' " Kumar says even among patients who are very sick with cancer, fewer than half have had conversations about how they want to die. So talk about your wishes. Once you've filled out the advance directive forms, share your decisions with your medical proxy, your loved ones and your doctor. 6. Don't forget the emotional and spiritual aspects of death. How you want to die is personal and about much more than just the medical aspect. For some, it's about being at peace with God; for others, it's being kept clean. Still others don't want to be left alone, or they want their pets close by. Angel Grant and Michael Hebb founded the project Death Over Dinner to make it easier for people to talk about different aspects of death as they eat. "The dinner table is a very forgiving place for conversation. You're breaking bread together. And there's this warmth and connection," says Grant. Angel Grant and Michael Hebb founded the project Death Over Dinner to make it easier for people to talk about different aspects of death as they eat. "The dinner table is a very forgiving place for conversation. You're breaking bread together. And there's this warmth and connection," says Grant. Some of the emotional and spiritual questions people talk about are "You were just in a big quake and death is imminent. What are you concerned about not having done?"; "What do you want to be remembered for?"; and "If you could have any musician play at your funeral, who would it be?" Grant says reflecting on death automatically forces you to think about your life. "That's the magic of it," she says. "We think it's going to be morbid and heavy. But what these conversations do is they narrow down our understanding of what matters most to us in this life, which then gives us actionable steps to go forward living." Grant doesn't believe a "good death" is an oxymoron. "A good death is subjective, but there are some things that I have heard over and over again for many years at death dinners. ... A good death is being surrounded by love, knowing you have no emotional or spiritual unfinished business."