There are many similarities between your average relationship and owning a stock.

Inevitable are the many ups and downs that come throughout the course of “ownership”. There are the “bears” who are slow and resistful to move, and the “bulls” on the other end who move hard and strong. And there’s nothing worse than staying involved for too long after the fall-out and leaving when things have bottomed out.

In the mid 1990’s the US stock market was soaring to levels that was almost fantasical.

However in early 2000 the Dow and Nasdaq began to experience volatility unseen ever before. Swings of a hundred to several hundred points were becoming the norm, and not long after setting a record that would stand until just a few months ago, the Dow spiraled downward until bottoming out a thousand days later.

The investors who bought these once blue-chip stocks, much like the ones who invested heavily in housing more recently and saw their fortunes multiply overnight, found themselves in the doghouse not long afterward.

The ones who put their money in more boring options like government bonds, CD’s, or plain savings accounts saw their money grow much more slowly than others, but, as strange as the concept may be, actually kept the money they saw.

Even those who put their money under their mattresses were *much* better off than the people who lost entire fortunes in just a few short months.

The point?

Relationships are the same way.

Figure it out yourself.