When to start buying again?

You are probably wondering what you should do now that the stock market has continued to decline. During the decline I have been buying small additional amounts of shares in ETFs and stocks that I already own. I also started a position in Jet Blue Airways (JBLU). Today some of my ridiculously low buy limit orders triggered for some stocks I plan to hold for the long-term.

However, starting tomorrow, I am putting a hold on all buying. I might make a few exceptions, but they would have to be ridiculously tempting. For example, if Ford stock started trading below $4 per share, I would buy more shares. My advice to my readers at this point is to hold off on additional purchases of any investments until the big scare is over. It is better to start buying on the way up rather than continuing to buy on the way down.

Don’t sell! Turn off automatic reinvesting.

Whatever you do, don’t sell. That is foolish, in my opinion. Keep a long-term perspective. You may also want to turn off automatic dividend reinvesting for now. I will keep automatic dividend reinvesting turned on for my grandchildren’s UTMA accounts, but I have it turned off for all other accounts.