<prompt> Human: Recently, feeling ashamed that Id entered my 26th year without investing a single penny, I put a chunk of my savings into a couple mutual funds. At first I lost a little money, but I knew these things go up and down and I wasnt worried. Now its been almost a month and Ive lost two hundred dollars. Should I get out of those funds and reinvest when the market is better? Is this normal market fluctuation or is it starting a downward slope.Im not used to losing money like this and its painful.Assistant: Should I get out of those funds and reinvest when the market is better?How are you going to determine when the market is better? Market timing does not work and you just need to leave your money in the market for a longer time period. A month tells you nothing.You should just make regular contributions to your account and dont check it very often. Which funds are you invested in?Human: USAA Moderate and USAA Science and Tech.Thanks, what youre saying is along the same lines I was thinking. I just needed to hear it from another person to know I wasnt doing something wrong or boarding a sinking ship.  <response>: Typically, you dont want to invest in index or mutual funds unless you are comfortable not touching that money for 5-10 years. Given that youre already nervous after a month tells me that you either need to make sure that you are keeping enough money liquid in your bank accounts if you think youll need it in the near future, or readjust your mindset when it comes to long-term investing. That said, risk and comfort are a very individual thing and nobody can tell you what the right amount of risk is except for you. Take a look at your funds on a longer timeline and youll see that it has come out positive most years over the past decade, with exception of the 2008-era crash. However, I always use that as a great example to show how a longer timeline can be beneficial. Those who weathered the crash likely made back their investment and more over the next several years. One thing I noticed is that your expense ratio is upwards of 1. If you compare to something like Vanguard index funds, youll find that they have much lower fees. Something to consider. 