Financial advice from the nation’s top grads
Saving is one thing, but investing is another.
The Standard & Poor's 500 stock index is down 11.4 percent from the high it reached April 26, and some young adults remain skittish about getting into stocks after watching the market tank from 2008 to early 2009.
But Sarah McGinty, a 29-year-old MBA student at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, has some advice. She threw out the passwords to her retirement accounts with Fidelity Investments, and stopped checking the daily price fluctuations.
That's helped her to stay calm during volatility and remember that investments are meant for the long-term.
"If you put money into the markets with the goal of it growing over time, you have to honor the spirit of that investment," she said.
Others agree. Mike Ragan, an MBA student from MIT's Sloan School of Management, said investors are much more attune to losses than gains. So declines of 10 percent or more can feel painful, motivating people to sell their shares.
His tip: Don't panic if a stock price drops if you still feel comfortable about the company's business.
"If nothing has changed, and it's actually cheaper, you should buy more," he said. "You shouldn't necessarily think that you did something wrong and sell out of it."