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By Dr. Glenn Mollette

You never undo your seat belt or jump from a moving roller coaster. Nor should you when it comes to our current stock market.

Eight years ago, if you bought a share of VOO or Vanguard S&P 500 ETF stock, you may have paid about $220 for the share. Today, as of this writing, it’s worth $490.55. In other words, even with the recent fall of the stock market, you have made good money on your investment. A couple of weeks back, it was up to $560, which means you were flying high on your profit. Still yet, you have done well.

If you bought your share of VOO two weeks ago at $560, then you have lost $70 — at least for now. You may lose some more, but you have to hold tight. Don’t panic and sell now, or you will have a loss. Ride it out and give the market time to settle down and rise again. If you have to cash in your stock, then cash in while they are high.

Don’t invest your grocery money in stock. This is the money you need every week for food, shelter, travel and overhead. This is not the money you spend on stock. If you do, then in two weeks you will have to sell your stock to eat and risk losing some of the money you invested. Only invest in stock what you don’t currently need for general living expenses.

Who knows how the market will perform over the next few weeks? It’s going to be a few weeks or months before the tariffs really shape up as to what is really what. The reports are that numerous countries are coming to the table interested in making deals and playing fair with the United States. This will be good for us and them.

As these deals stabilize, look for the stock market to become more stable once again. If Japan, India, South Korea, Canada and Mexico all level the playing field with the United States, our stock market will level out. If there are more reports of industry manufacturing coming to the United States, the stock market will begin to rise again.

Now may be a good time to buy, but keep in mind that the market may go down some more. If you bought VIG two weeks ago, then you’ve already seen a significant drop. Keep in mind you only lose it if you sell it when the stock is down. I feel confident that the stock market will come back bigger and bolder than ever, but it may take a few months or longer.

The stock market has averaged making about 10% over the last 50 years. This means it has had years when it made more and years when it made less. An average of 10% is about the best you can do on your money over the long haul.

Now is not the time to faint or jump from the roller coaster. Rely on your stable income, such as Social Security or any other stable income you may have. If you have a regular paying job, you may want to stay with it a little while longer if you can and if you enjoy your work.

(Dr. Glenn Mollette is a graduate of numerous schools, including Georgetown College, Southern and Lexington seminaries in Kentucky. He is the author of Uncommon Sense, available wherever books are sold.)