The financial storm on the horizon

Americans are becoming more pessimistic about what the coming year could hold for them financially, with a Gallup poll reporting that 48 percent say the economy is worsening, up from 45 percent in December and 36 percent in October.

But if bad news is what 2019 has in store for us, no one should be caught off guard completely.

Frankly, I find it surprising that people are shocked that the stock market went down substantially two times in 2018. Do markets go up forever? No. Are 13.2 percent average annual S&P 500 returns since 2009 normal? No.

Our brains are designed to remember the good times and forget the bad times. This is why people believe that markets that are going up will keep going up, and may forget the impact of losing a portion of their portfolio like they might have back in 2008-2009.

 

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