It’s staggering when you consider how many people are trying to separate you from your money. Early in the post-Madoff days, I once joked to a colleague at a financial planner’s conference that we should add a fee for our integrity. Imagine the email clients receive at year-end: “I didn’t steal any of your money this year. Attached please find an invoice for my integrity.” Sadly, that gallows humor joke has yet to wear out as the years have passed.

It’s easy to be seduced into going along with the herd when it comes to investments. When the stock market soars, we all get a little more bravado. “There’s nothing like the stock market! It’s so easy to make money! Buy! Buy! Buy!” Similarly, when the stock market is falling, going from downturn to correction to bear, it’s just as easy to switch gears: “The market is falling and is never going to stop! Get me out! Sell! Sell! Sell!” Yes, whiplash is a thing when it comes to investing, but only if you let it be a thing.

I used to teach Economics to evening students. They were mainly adults working full-time jobs and attending college at night. To many of them, the idea of understanding a supply and demand curve, or even a chart of any kind, was terrifying. I always started with the basics, and as we added pieces, I could (almost) literally watch the light bulbs go on. They got it!