Stocks and Investing During the COVID-19 Pandemic

To me, investing is like doing something as simple as taking some seeds, putting them into the ground, covering with some dirt, and then pouring on some water. You’ve done what you can and then you have to wait and see what grows. From my perspective, it requires no intellect. You have to get real lucky sometimes or have some gut feeling. If you’ve done it right, those seeds can sprout into great big plants. If you’ve done it right, those seeds can sprout into medium sized plants. If you’ve done it right, those seeds can sprout into nothing. There’s a reason why you’ve done what you could and then you have to wait. That’s because the thing you cannot control is the market. The market changes and is uncertain. Even if your plant suddenly grows big and tall, it can stop growing even though you keep pouring water on it and you are giving it plenty of sunlight. And sometimes, you could neglect your plant and deprive it of water and sun, yet it can grow larger than anyone could have ever imagined. Sometimes a little knowledge mixed with that luck can make a big difference.

When the pandemic hit in the United States circa March 2020, the market dropped like most of us have never seen. Some of us had the disposable income to invest in particular stocks and did quite well, while some of us had uncertain futures due to massive job layoffs or had family members who suddenly became infected and got sick or even eventually succumbed to COVID-19. 

I hear all the time about someone who became “a millionaire” over the past year as the market recovered. Whether you made out or didn’t, there still could be some opportunities now and in the future. You might think your chance has not left the train station, but I urge you to think twice, and then think again a few more times. I’m seeing more and more people losing more than what they had because they jumped in too late.