This Rookie Mistake Could Cost You Thousands

Stock market corrections -- defined by declines between 10% and 20% in major indexes -- are unavoidable in the stock market. In fact, they tend to happen at least once every two years on average. If you're an investor, you'll save yourself some stress by coming to terms with that fact. The one thing you definitely want to avoid doing is panic selling. Not only can it be costly at the moment, but it can also cost you lots of future money too.

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One of the greatest concepts in investing is compound interest. Albert Einstein even allegedly called it the "eighth wonder of the world." Compound interest happens when the money you earn from your investments begins to earn money itself. But for compound interest to really work its magic, it needs time. If you made a one-time $10,000 investment into an asset that returned 10% annually, you would have accumulated $108,000 in 25 years.

Source Fool.com