For years now, we’ve heard about living in unprecedented times. As a result, you’ve probably found yourself reading about uncertain finances in the market headlines on more than one occasion. That often raises the question, “Is now a good time to invest?” 

The answer is almost always yes! Let’s combat those market jitters and explore why now might be the best day to start investing.

Why Now is a Good Time to Invest

If you're asking the question “Is now a good time to invest?”, there is a good chance that you've got a lot weighing on your mind. That can lead to analysis paralysis, causing you to miss out on months, years, or even decades of investment gains.

So, how can today be a good day to invest when the news seems so bad lately? Take a look at the top reasons why now is a good time to invest.

If You Wait For Things to Get Better, You’re Buying Your Shares at a Higher Price

Uncertain times can be difficult for investors. This is your hard-earned money after all. 

Realize that if you decide to wait until things get better in the stock market, then you’ll be buying your shares at a higher price. When you do that, you’ll be getting fewer shares and in the long run, building less wealth. 

Let's step back in time for an example.

Imagine it's 2021. The stock market is having a terrific year. News outlets are celebrating, and the markets are closing in on all-time highs. Investors are rejoicing over the robust growth.

Then, 2022 shows up. The headlines turn quickly, focusing on fear and volatility. The market falls from its all-time highs. And people started to worry that the market would continue to drop. Are we headed for a recession? Is this going to be a market crash? As people ask those questions, some of them start to sell.

By 2023, the market noise had calmed. By year’s end, we were back at new all-time highs.

So what happened to the people who sold? If you owned SSSYX (State Street Equity 500 Index Fund, which is meant to mirror the S&P 500), your shares were valued at $361 per share on January 1, 2022. By October 2022, the SSSYX was down to $272 per share.

Between January and October, as the market started and continued its slide, some investors sold off their shares. That locked in their losses. It also meant that they likely missed out on the recovery. Or if they were willing to get back into the market, they had to pay a higher entry fee than if they had just left their initial investments alone.

That's because within a year, SSSYX (as well as the overall stock market!) was trending upward again. In September 2023, it traded at $342 per share and was trading above the previous all-time high at the start of the new year. In 2025, the SSSYX is trading at $465 as of July 1!

There's a reason investors often say, “Time in the market is better than trying to time the market”. You simply don't know when those highs and lows will appear and that often means your entry (or re-entry) cost is much higher.

No One Knows What the Stock Market Will Do This Year

Ignore all of the financial news experts who tell you what is going to happen with the stock market this year. Do you know why?

Because they are guessing. They have no idea what the stock market will do this year. They make a living based on making guesses. Sure, their guesses are educated and can sometimes be correct. But they are guesses nonetheless.

Since they don’t know and we don't know, we just need to start as soon as possible. 

And we need to realize that the stock market will go up and down like a roller coaster for the next few decades until you retire. But over that timeframe, historically, it’ll more than likely go up. 

The Stock Market (Historically) Goes Up in the Long Run

Over its nearly 100-year existence, the average annual returns of the stock market are around 10%. 

Does it return that every year? No, but on average, over the decades, your ability to stay in the market in good times and bad can yield a 10% return. 

So even if times are uncertain, investing today, instead of tomorrow or one year from now, will get you in the investing habit and take advantage of time. 

This may be one of those moments when the stock market is down. That’s good news for new investors because you’re buying your shares at a slightly lower price. 

Investing Favors Those Who Start Early

The earlier you can invest, the more wealth you can build. Let’s do an example that demonstrates “waiting to invest” for the right time. 

$500 Per month for 30 Years

In this hypothetical example, you are 35 years old. You start investing today with $500 per month in a total stock market fund like Vanguard's VTI. 30 years later, you could potentially have $566,000, factoring in inflation. 

$500 Per Month for 29 Years

Let’s say you wait just one year to start investing. Your total drops to $524,000. That delay costs you $42,000!

That gap grows even larger the longer you wait. 

$500 Per Month for 28 Years

Let’s say you wait two years to start investing instead of starting now. That new total could drop to $484,000. A delay cost of $82,000!

Start investing early and don’t delay.  

You May Have Already Started Investing

Sometimes, people are farther along with their investments than they realize. If your workplace offers a 401 (k) (or a 403 (b) in the case of some jobs like teaching or government work), you might already be investing.

Take Advantage of Your Workplace 401k

You especially want to take advantage of your workplace 401 (k) if they offer a company match. Some companies will offer a partial match of your money, while others will offer a dollar-for-dollar match.

If your employer offers a full match, otherwise known as a dollar-for-dollar match, they will invest the same amount of money that you do up to a certain point. It's fairly common for companies that offer this kind of matching to set a limit at 3-5% of your salary. That means that if you put in 3%, so will your employer.

This can be quite a perk, which is why many people set this up right away when they start working.

Open an IRA

Another way to start investing early and to really have control over your investments is through an individual retirement account, or IRA. There are both traditional and Roth IRAs. Limits are set each year, and you can contribute up to that amount.

The best part of IRAs is that you can choose the brokerage and your investment mix. This is a great way to optimize with low fees!

Roll Over Your Old 401 (k)

Did you know that when you change jobs, you can move your old 401(k)s too? This sounds like a paperwork nightmare, which is why so many people don’t prioritize this.

However, it’s really helpful to streamline your investment accounts. It makes it much easier to keep tabs on your net worth. Plus, if your accounts are streamlined, it cuts down on the mental load. You only have to make one or two smart financial moves! 

Thankfully, a resource like PensionBee can make the rollover process much simpler. With PensionBee, you can enter your old 401(k) details and roll them over into either a Roth or Traditional IRA, making it easy to have all your money in one place.

Dollar-Cost Averaging Makes it Easy

Deciding when to get into the stock market can be really stressful. That’s why concepts like dollar-cost averaging allow you to relax and let the market do its work. 

Dollar-cost averaging is an investing strategy that allows investors to invest equal amounts periodically, no matter what is going on in the stock market. 

For example, investing $500 per month for the next 30 years, no matter what, is dollar-cost averaging. 

Over time, this has been proven as a solid and effective strategy for long-term investing success. If you allow automation to take care of the process for you, then you’re not tempted to stop your dollar-cost averaging plan. 

You’re buying consistently over time in good times and in bad times. And you’re allowing yourself to ignore crazy market cycles and difficult global news. 

By ignoring that news, you can focus on what matters most: your family and personal life goals.

Reasons You Shouldn’t Invest Now

I’m a big proponent of investing, but there are times when you should consider holding off on investing. Here are a couple of reasons:

No Emergency Fund

If you have no cash saved up for emergencies, you are setting yourself up to go into debt if and when an emergency arises. 

That's why we suggest holding off on investing until you have at least $2,000 set aside for emergencies. That number might be slightly lower or even higher. A good rule of thumb is to make sure that you can cover your insurance deductibles and other house emergencies (if you are a homeowner). Eventually, you want to fully fund an emergency fund with an amount that will cover at least 3-6 months of expenses. 

High-Interest Credit Card Debt

If you are paying high-interest credit card debt, you’re paying more in interest than you’ll be making in interest in the stock market. 

For example, the median interest rate on credit card debt in June 2025 was 23.99%!  Making that much in the stock market consistently is very unlikely to happen, but you are guaranteed to save that amount by paying off your credit card debt. 

For that reason, we suggest holding off on the stock market until you are free of high-interest debt.

Final Thoughts: Is Now a Good Time to Invest?

If you have eliminated your high-interest debt and you have an emergency fund with one month of expenses, it is likely a good time to invest. Despite the market noise and predictions of more bad news on seemingly every channel, today could actually be the perfect day to start investing.

And if you’ve already laid the groundwork by starting 401(k)s at your previous job, you can use PensionBee to consolidate your old 401(k)s into one IRA with ETFs powered by State Street.

What do you think? Is now a good time to invest?

Please let us know in the comments below.