until you sell, you've not made a loss. mr market can be...

until you sell, you've not made a loss. mr market can be temperamental to calm-ish but at times fear-filled as well as hyperactive. personally I'm saving atm and might buy more if the sp heads south; I have enough shares to make me happy. always have a 'rainy day' fund for your home budget, don't carry debt (like credit cards) and live on less than you earn. I'm invested in IOU for the 2-3 year period. imo fintech will come into vogue again; the beaten down resources sector and EV world are popular right now. I would have netted a nice 7 figure sum after investing a five figure sum in NVX and VUL but the numbers didn't stack up; so I sold...early. that's the other extreme. speculative stocks take a while to build the business and SP. large caps take a while to build your investment as there isn't as much capital growth; but build usually if you reinvest the dividend. the odd 20-30% jump every several months in stocks happens, but you have to be in cheap and get out quick...not recommended to play this way unless you're a seasoned trader. I have made some $ that way; but it was all luck in my opinion. empower yourself by adding to your savings and having a long term view. you already have the hardest job of all; being a single mum. be proud of that! just by having some money to invest is a massive achievement within itself! the rule of thumb I live by is; I max out my concessional superannuation contributions and I don't have massive daily gains...it's a long play. vanguard and individual investing for me is the same, but over a 2-3 year period I see iou has a great chance of getting me 'there' sooner.