Tired of the Trump market mayhem? Follow these tips to stay calm during this wild ride

Market mayhem got you down?

Tired of waking up to another seat on the Trump tariffs stock market rollercoaster?

You’re not alone, but market volatility is a normal part of an investor’s journey — even when the swings seem, well, swingier.

To put everything in perspective, here’s the best advice I could find to help protect your finances — and mental health:

Investor, know thyself

It’s natural to feel fear during a downturn and excitement during a rally.

But letting either emotion drive your investment decisions is a recipe for regret.

Many investors sell in a panic when prices drop, only to miss the rebound. Others buy during a frenzy, right before a market correction — the opposite of ‘buy low, sell high.’

Awareness is key. When you feel the urge to make a drastic move, pause for a day or two and consult with a trusted financial advisor, and not your hair-on-fire friends.

Write down your thoughts and go for a walk. Often, the initial emotional impulse passes and good-decision making returns.

Hop off the FOMO train

So called fin-fluencers on social media tell you to ‘buy investments right now because they are cheap,’ but this isn’t for everyone.

You need to have excess cash and knowledge of what actually is, or isn’t, a good investment.

It’s not smart to try and do this if you’re barely able to afford your living costs, you have next-to-zero investment knowledge and if you have high-interest debt.

The better strategy for most people is to carry on with regular contributions that you’re making to pre-existing investment accounts, allowing you to steadily invest and not try to time the market.

This is called dollar-cost averaging, an investment strategy to help smooth out the rough patches that even experts struggle to avoid. 

Curate your sources and tune out the panic

Finding a balance between staying informed and taking in too much information is crucial to investing — and your sanity.

Too much exposure to social media drama and sensational headlines can feed your anxiety and prompt poor decisions.

Instead, curate your information so it helps you. Rethink your feed, who you’re following and the sites you’re getting notifications from.

Are they top quality sources of intel with a balanced perspective?

Take mindful breaks from the news so you can focus on work (now more than ever you’ll need to protect your job) and your personal well-being.

And avoid checking your portfolio constantly as it will start to feel overwhelming.

Zoom out and think about your own plan

Stock market swings come and go — much like presidents — but the long-term market trend over decades has always been the same: upward.

If you were to look at a chart of the S&P 500 over the past 70 years, the daily, monthly and even yearly fluctuations seem minor in comparison to the overall growth.

The question for you is: are you investing for the next six months or more long-term? By the way, the financial community considers ‘long-term’ seven plus years.

If your goals are long-term (retirement, a child’s education, future wealth-building), then short-term volatility is just noise.

I personally coach and counsel Canadians to have a written financial plan, especially at a time like this.

A plan helps you anchor to ‘the why’ of your investment life and can clarify your risk tolerance, asset allocation, and goals.

From there, a diversified and resilient portfolio that matches your needs can be built, taking into consideration market fluctuations and long-term goals.

Your plan needs to incorporate things like portfolio rebalancing and dollar-cost averaging and potentially even doing nothing differently during turbulent times.

Most importantly, it considers your personal needs.

Control what you can and save your energy for staying the course

By focusing on what you can control, the narrative shifts from “I’m helpless and exhausted” to “no matter what the market does, I’m going to make the smartest money moves possible.”

There are five things within your control you can start doing today: 

1) Set a budget for your hard-earned money (any template will do.)

2) Get the best deals possible on what you need (research the best places to shop and save, while still being a patriotic spender.)

3) Top up your emergency fund and add more each week.

4) Review your investment risk exposure with your financial adviser.

5) Cut back on unnecessary spending and prioritize paying off consumer debt with this these savings.

Finally, most importantly, stay calm and stick to your master plan, course correcting along the way.

Your patience will pay off in the long term.

This article was originally published in The Star. Lesley-Anne Scorgie is a Toronto-based personal finance columnist and a freelance contributing columnist for the Star.