Login

I’m trying to stick to a disciplined dollar-cost averaging plan into my core portfolio holdings, but every time I see a big red day like yesterday, I get this strong urge to double up my scheduled buy. I know it’s just trying to time the market, which goes against the whole point of the strategy, but it feels like I’m leaving money on the table if I don’t. Does anyone else struggle with this temptation to overrule their own automated plan when prices dip sharply?

Yeah I feel that tug all the time. I set up a strict schedule and I just keep staring at the auto buys while the red day bleeds. I still watch the price move and remind myself this is why the plan exists. I have learned to breathe and not touch the order though I want to. It is telling me to time the market but I keep telling myself to trust the plan and the dollar cost averaging approach.

I did double up once just to prove I could beat the dip. It felt brave in the moment but the next days came with more drops and my numbers looked worse once the dust settled. I tried to measure things by watching the average cost per share and I did not like what I saw. Since then I vary the amount only by the planned schedule and kept my nerve. It was rough but I learned a small lesson.

This may not be the real problem I wonder if the urge is about control more than money. When it happens I question if the plan is really about long term or about feeling proactive. Could it be that the risk tolerance or the horizon is not the same as the market move. If I am honest I cannot always answer that. But I try to log it and move on.

I try a quick pause on red days and check the cash reserve and whether I have enough to stay on track. Then I write a line in my notebook to resist and I remind myself what the plan says. I do not always win that moment but I keep returning to the rule. Some days I feel rushed and then I breathe and go back to auto buys.

Login
Username:
Password:	Lost Password?
	Remember me