Volatility part 2! S&P 500 edition

Leslie Lewis (she/her)
Jan 24, 2022
2 min read

Updated: Oct 31

If you have been tracking the S&P500, which is the core investment of the philosophy of the Investing Starter Kit, you will see that it has dropped in value to 4,397.94 as of the close on Friday. The market is about to open in 2 minutes, and I'm guessing it will be a wild ride.

The last post on "What is volatility" is HERE.

If you have been tracking it, please notice what emotional reactions you might be having. Are you thinking, "Oh no! This is a big problem!" or "Wow, it's going on sale! Now could be a good time to buy." or anywhere in between?

Stock market investing ALWAYS comes with the risk of losing your money.

Investing is a long term game, and it's so important to be patient and considered in your actions.

Update after the market closed at 4:30pm: A wild day in the market, indeed, with the S&P 500 dropping as low as 4,222.62, but rising up to close slightly higher, to 4410.13. Did you watch the fluctuations? I did, a bit, and it was fascinating. what did you think?

UPDATE 7/7/22

The market has gone through a MAJOR correction, and today, the S&P 500 closed at 3902! That's down over 300 points from the last time we checked. How does it feel to see that? Assessing how we relate to the volatility is a key element to learning to invest.

Please take note of how this volatility in the value of the S&P 500 affects you, and let me know in the comments?

UPDATE 10/31/25

And... The S&P 500 closed at 6840.20 today, up over 75% in total, and 19% annualized, assuming dividends were reinvested. Want to check the math? Look at THIS CALCULATOR.

Wild.

And as always, thanks for reading this!