Retiring in a Bear Market? You need to think clearly about these 8 questions.

There is a saying: bad news always spreads faster than good news. When the Bear Market hits, many people impulsively pull their money out of the market—this is actually the biggest trap.

Key Points Summary:

A Bear Market occurs when an index drops more than 20% from its peak. It sounds quite scary, but it is actually just a normal part of the economic cycle. Since 1928, the U.S. stock market has experienced 27 Bear Markets, but there have been 28 Bull Markets—and the average Bull Market lasts 2.7 years, while a Bear Market lasts only 9.6 months.

Why you shouldn't run? This set of data hits hard: Over the past 30 years, if you missed the 10 best trading days of the S&P 500 index, your returns would be cut in half. Miss the best 30 days? Your returns would shrink by 83%. The problem is, these rebounds often occur at the bottom of a Bear Market and the beginning of a bull market, making them impossible to predict.

What is the smart approach? Keep a cash reserve to spend during a Bear Market instead of buying the dip (because when prices fall significantly, selling assets is necessary to cover daily expenses). This way, the main assets can patiently wait for recovery.

There's another heartbreaking fact: If you live long enough (for example, invest for 50 years), you will experience about 14 Bear Markets. If you want to scare yourself, think about this; if you want to feel at ease, think about the money made in Bull Markets over the past 100 years, which far exceeds the losses in Bear Markets.

In one sentence: A Bear Market is not the end, but the starting point of another wealth transfer. Only by maintaining a stable mindset can one stabilize their wallet.