The stock market can be an emotional roller coaster

How to properly fasten your seat belt, according to the experts. Something I’ve long been semi-ashamed of is my fear of risk. It plays out in a number of ways: I don’t drive a car, I don’t ride roller coasters, and, perhaps most detrimentally to my long-term happiness, I’m uncomfortable putting my money anywhere I can’t see it. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve gotten better about the latter (I still can’t go on any ride with a drop greater than like, two feet), cautiously investing what I can and tentatively planning for the future. Part of my shame, though, has to do with the fact that money shouldn’t be emotional in the first place, right? Shouldn’t I be able to remove “feelings” from the equation altogether? According to my colleague Emily Stewart, the reality is actually more complicated than that. Money, and particularly the risk thereof, always contains some element of emotion, she argues, and she’s got [an excellent piece about how to assess and navigate risk]( in your own life and finances (although, it should be said, neither she nor Vox can provide financial advice). I found it extremely helpful and even calming — not just because of the actionable, concrete framework for thinking she provides, but also because it made me feel less alone in my own contemplations. —[Alanna Okun](, senior editor of The Goods   The stock market can be an emotional roller coaster. It shouldn’t be. [illustration of hand reaching for money in an animal trap]( Getty Images/iStockphoto Investing can feel very good when things are going well. It can also feel very not good when things are not going well. Case in point: If you were investing (or, let’s be honest here, speculating) in crypto in the fall of 2021, you probably were much happier with the situation than, say, if you were doing so in the summer of 2022. Conventional wisdom goes that you’re not supposed to factor in emotions at all when you invest, or at least you’re supposed to try to keep your emotions out of them as much as possible. To the extent that’s not possible for you, it’s important to know, too. Investing is inherently risky, no matter how supposedly safe or speculative the asset, and not everyone is equipped to handle risk equally. Finding the right risk-reward mix is a tricky balance. There’s also a difference between risk capacity, meaning the risk you should take to meet your financial goals, and risk tolerance, meaning how much risk you can deal with emotionally. You don’t want your retirement account to keep you up at night. You also don’t want to keep your money in cash your whole life and then run out of money once you actually retire because you never invested it. "Different people at different times in their lives and with different investments are more able to accept volatility,” said Zach Teutsch, managing partner at Values Added Financial. Experts generally say younger people are better off in riskier investments, such as stocks, [because they’re better able to wait out a downturn](than someone older and closer to retirement. But there’s more to it than stocks vs. bonds vs. retirement date. There is no surefire formula for determining how much risk you can and should take on in investing, and it’s definitely not a one-size-fits-all situation. But as you approach investing — whether you’re already in the market or considering it — it’s absolutely something to keep thinking about. [Read the full story »]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...](   Instagram is once again in its flop era A slew of new changes has drawn the ire of celebrities and regular users alike. But hating Instagram is nothing new. [Read the full story »](   The inflation prices that broke us From chicken tenders to tampons, the price hikes that are irking people most. [Read the full story »](   More good stuff to read today - [Stopping inflation is going to hurt]( - [What we mean when we say Beyoncé is “saving” house music]( - [Getting started with activism when you don't know how]( - [The deadliest road in America]( - [The rise of land acknowledgments — and their limitations]( - [Should you get another Covid-19 vaccine booster now or wait for the new shots?]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Manage your [email preferences]( or [unsubscribe](param=goods). If you value Vox’s unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring [contribution](. View our [Privacy Policy]( and our [Terms of Service](. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Floor 12, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2022. All rights reserved.