Go here to see this blog post as a video. The start of 2023 after a very tough 2022, what did we see in the stock market? As measured by the S&P 500, we saw it up almost 6.2% in January. Great, right? But then it was down 2.6% in February. So, what do we make of this? What we’ve seen over the first two months of 2023 is called “sideways” trading. Up, down, up, down with no real stock market direction. Will sideways trading be the trend for 2023? We’ll find out come Christmas. But, sideways trading is good for two reasons. The first and most simple: sideways trading is obviously better than negative trading AKA when the market goes down. Naturally, we would all much rather have sideways trading than a repeat of 2022. Secondly, and most importantly, sideways trading gives you, the investor, an opportunity to hop on board before stocks take off again to someday soon make new highs. Before the market takes off again, use this sideways market as an opportunity to get your IRA, 401(k), and other retirement contributions into their respective accounts. The market is currently presenting you with a great opportunity to get in before it takes off again…and the sooner you can get money into your accounts, the more time you give it to grow and to compound. And time in the market is the best way to build wealth for retirement. If you need any help with this, reach out to me here.