When — not if — the market drops.

• The S&P 500 has had 26 drawdowns of 20% or more since 1928.
• All 26 fully recovered. The average recovery from a 20% drop is about 14 months.
• Bear markets feel longer than they are. Most last 9–18 months. The recovery often happens before the news says it has.
• "This time is different" are the four most expensive words in investing.

The plan was built for this moment. The decisions we made together months or years ago do the work now.

• Foundation = 5 years of withdrawals in conservative assets. You don't have to sell stocks at a low to pay your bills.
• Diversification across asset classes. Not everything falls at the same time, or the same amount.
• Rebalancing. When stocks drop, we may buy more — at a discount — to get back to target.
• Tax-loss harvesting. Losses in taxable accounts get banked for future use.

• Don't try to time the bounce. The recovery often starts when the news is still bad.
• Don't stop contributing if you're still working. Down markets are when contributions buy the most.
• Don't check the balance daily. The plan is measured in years, not hours.
• Don't make big lifestyle changes based on short-term portfolio values — unless we've talked about it.

• Tax-loss harvest in taxable accounts — convert paper losses into a real tax asset.
• Roth conversions at depressed values. The same dollar tax bill moves more shares.
• Rebalance back to target if drift exceeds 5%.
• Top up the Foundation when markets recover, not when they're still down.
• Stay the course on auto-investments. Dollar-cost averaging into a falling market is a feature, not a bug.

Anytime — but especially when you find yourself wanting to "do something." Often the right answer is "wait, and let us tell you why." We'd rather have the conversation than have you watch alone.