Those collapses were great buying opportunities.

During the pandemic, I bought energy stocks near the bottom. Remember when the price of oil went negative? I was watching CNBC at the time. I felt either the world was ending and none of this mattered anyway, or it was a great time to buy. The fund I bought (VDE) is now up almost 150%. And I'm getting a great dividend, relative to my initial investment.

I got good deals on AMZN, GOOG in 2022. Bought them all under $100. I got a good deal on AAPL, too.

The banking problems in 2023 was a good time to get into bank stocks. I started averaging into a regional bank fund and it's done quite well.

My advice to the average retail investor is simple: don't panic.