Impatience Can Be Costly During Bear Markets

The first half of 2022 was brutal for many popular companies and indexes. The two largest U.S. companies, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), are down over 19% and 24% year to date, respectively, as of July 18, and the S&P 500 -- which many investors use to gauge how well the broader economy is doing -- is down more than 20%.

Even though many great companies and the major indexes have had a rough year, you shouldn't be discouraged or distracted from your long-term goals. Bear markets are a natural part of the stock market; they've happened often in the past, and there's no reason to think they won't continue happening in the future.

Nobody likes seeing their portfolio's value decrease, but the one thing you don't want to do in a bear market is get impatient and make short-term moves that go against your long-term interest. It can be costly.

Source Fool.com