Timing the Market Leaves You with Empty Pockets

You check your phone at 6:05 AM, blinking at market alerts: “Stocks plunge on inflation scare,” “Tech soars on AI buzz.” Each ping tempts you to trade. Within the month, your portfolio has churned more than once, and a 2% market swing has cost you untold fees and taxes.

Contrast that with your friend Mia, who set up an automated $200 monthly drip into a total market index fund. She doesn’t even look at the daily news—most of her messages are vacation photos and grocery lists anyway. Last quarter, she discovered she outperformed you by nearly 5%.

Behavioral science calls this the “action bias”: when in doubt, do something. But in investing, doing less—just standing pat—beats frantic trading every time. Major studies show investors who trade more frequently underperform the overall market by as much as 3% per year.

By fixing a five-year minimum hold and automating contributions, you stop paying for timing mistakes. And you reclaim peace of mind, freed from the daily noise of headlines and volatility measurements.

You’re making a promise now: you won’t sell your index fund for at least five years. Schedule monthly transfers of any spare cash into that same fund, then mute all market alert apps on your phone. Watch as your balance grows, quietly outperforming frantic traders who chase every pitch and dip. Give it a try tonight.