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If you currently don’t have a job, finding ways to make money is likely at the top of your to-do list. The good news is that there are numerous ways to earn income when you aren’t working a steady gig. Some opportunities require Wifi and a laptop or smartphone; others require little more than your physical presence — and some require that you have a little money that you’d like to multiply into more.

Keep reading even if you have a job, because starting a side hustle can be a great option for making money from home.

How to “Make Money With Money” With No Job

What does it mean to make money with money? In simple terms, it means finding ways to make the money that you already have work for you, without necessarily getting a traditional first or second job.

Learning how to make money with money often involves various ways to earn passive income. Passive income is money that you earn with little to no work involved. That doesn’t mean you don’t do any work at all: Some degree of work is required in the beginning to create passive income streams before you can start making money on autopilot. It’s a good idea to use a free budget app to track how much you spend to set up your income stream and to track the money you make.

If that sounds good to you, then you might consider these passive income ideas.

Earn Cash Back

When you download cash-back apps, you can link your debit card or credit cards, then earn back a percentage of what you spend at partner retailers.

There are several different cash-back apps to choose from, and they all pay different cash-back reward rates. Some of the apps you might consider for online shopping, grocery shopping, or travel include:

•   Rakuten

•   Ibotta

•   Dosh

•   Mr. Rebates

You can sign up for one or multiple apps to maximize your cash-back earnings potential.

Invest in Real Estate

Real estate can be a great investment, especially when there’s uncertainty in the stock market. Of course, you might have enough cash on hand to buy a rental property, but figuring out how to make money with money in real estate doesn’t have to be that complicated. Investing in a real estate investment trust (REIT), for example, offers the benefits of real estate ownership without the hassles of operating a rental property. You can also invest in real estate mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to gain exposure to a variety of properties in a single investment.

These investment options might be offered through your online brokerage. You may also consider real estate crowdfunding platforms, which allow you to pool your money along with other investors in a variety of property types. You make money through any of these investments in the form of dividends, which is another type of passive income.

Invest in Dividend Stocks

A dividend represents a share of a company’s profits. Some companies pay out dividends to investors who own shares of their stock as a reward for their loyalty. Dividend investing is something that might appeal to you if you’re specifically interested in passive income or residual income, since you can make a one-time investment, then collect dividends as they’re paid out.

When comparing dividend stocks, it helps to familiarize yourself with how the stock has paid out historically. You’ll also want to consider how often dividends are paid out and what kind of tax liability you’ll incur by receiving dividend payments.

Practice Peer-to-Peer Lending

Peer-to-peer (P2P) loans are funded by money pooled from different investors. Those investors make passive income from the loans by collecting interest from borrowers.

You might consider P2P lending as an investor if you’re looking for another idea on how to make money with no job passively. Keep in mind that with peer-to-peer lending, a higher potential rate of return usually equates to higher risk. If the borrower defaults on the loan you’ve helped fund, you won’t be able to collect any remaining interest.

For that reason, you might want to diversify the types of loans you invest in. You can also balance risk by investing in other things, such as real estate, dividend stocks, or even fine art.

More Ways to Make Money Without A Job

Maybe you don’t have a nest egg to invest up front via a making-money-with-money strategy. Never fear — there are still ways to pull in cash without a conventional 9-to-5 schedule.

Sell Your Plasma

Selling plasma can be an easy way to make extra money without a job or without doing any real work. Plasma donation centers pay healthy people real cash to donate their plasma. Depending on where you donate, you can make $1,000 your first month as a new donor.

Keep in mind that there may be a limit on the number of times you can donate plasma each month. You may also want to read up on potential side effects of donating plasma and how the process works.

Get Cash for Your Clutter

If you have things around the house you no longer need or use, you could sell them to make some quick cash. Some of the places you can sell items you don’t need include:

•   Craigslist

•   Facebook Marketplace

•   Facebook bargain groups

•   eBay

•   Etsy (for vintage items)

•   Consignment stores

You can also try selling items through an app like Mercari or Decluttr (for tech products).

Selling items for cash could generate a steady income if you reinvest the money you make clearing your clutter into a flipping business. Flipping simply means taking things you get for one price, then selling them for a higher price. For example, you might be able to find bargains on clothing or accessories at thrift stores and flea markets, then turn around and flip them on Facebook Marketplace or eBay. You might need to spend a little money to purchase your first items to flip, but this can be another great idea for how to make money with money.

Get Paid to Do Market Research

Companies are always interested in figuring out how to gain a competitive edge. One way they do that is by paying everyday consumers to participate in market research. There are numerous apps and websites that pay you cash to complete surveys, share your opinions, or participate in focus groups. The amount you can make largely depends on which apps or sites you’re signing up for. But this can be an easy way to make money from home using your cellphone or laptop.

Recommended: Does Net Worth Include Home Equity?

Start a Blog

Blogging can help you to generate passive income in a variety of ways. For example, you might earn passive income from advertisements on your site, affiliate marketing, or product sales. You can also make a more active income by writing sponsored posts or offering some type of service, like coaching or consulting.

There is a certain amount of work that goes into setting up a blog and growing various income streams. But it’s entirely possible to make a full-time income from home as a blogger, even if you’re starting with no experience and very little money.

Offer Childcare, Senior Care, and Pet Care

If you want to make money offline, consider babysitting, pet sitting, or dog walking within your social circle or local area. You might also branch out to offer help to seniors who need it. For example, if you don’t mind leaving the house, you can hire yourself out to run errands for elderly people who may not have transportation. Or you may earn extra money by sitting with a senior for a few hours a day while their regular caretaker does the grocery shopping or cleaning.

Rent Out a Room on Airbnb

If you’ve got a spare room, you might have an easy solution for how to make money without a job. You can rent out a spare room or part of your home on Airbnb to create passive income. Or you might take on a regular roommate, which can help to reduce your share of monthly expenses.

You’ll need to register for an account on Airbnb to start hosting guests in your home. Before you do that, however, it’s important to check the zoning laws where you live to determine whether you need any special permits to act as an Airbnb host.

Rent Out Your Car

Have a car that you rarely drive? You can rent it out to people who need a vehicle short-term through a site like Turo. Renting your car for cash is similar to renting out a room on Airbnb, in that you’re effectively sharing your vehicle with someone else. This can be an easy option for making money with your car passively versus driving for Uber or Lyft.

Recommended: What Credit Score Is Needed to Buy a Car?

Become a Tutor

Tutoring is something you might consider if you’re comfortable helping students learn and you want to be able to make money from home. You might offer tutoring services virtually through a site like Tutor.com or from the comfort of your home if you’re helping students locally. Keep in mind that with tutoring websites, you may be required to pass a skills test or show proof of a college degree in order to get approved.

Freelance Online

You might try freelancing to make money without a job if you have some marketable skills. (Freelancing is also a good option if you’re looking for a good job for an introvert.) Some of the ways you can make money as a freelancer include:

•   Proofreading

•   Virtual assistant services

•   Graphic design services

•   Website design

•   Freelance writing or editing

If you’re not sure where to get started with making money as a freelancer, you might try a site like Fiverr. With Fiverr, you can list your freelance skills and services, along with your preferred rate. Potential clients can browse freelancer profiles and if yours is a good fit, hire you for their project.

Sell Photography

Selling photography online is another way to make money from home. You’ll need a good camera (or smartphone camera) to take pictures, and it’s helpful to have good editing software on hand. Once you have some pictures to sell, you can upload them to a site like Shutterstock or Foap.

These sites allow you to license the rights to your photography. When someone purchases a license, you earn royalty income. Once again, this is another good way to make money passively without leaving home.

Sell eBooks or Low-Content Books

Ebooks and low-content books like blank journals or lined notebooks can be an excellent way to create steady income without a lot of ongoing work. You can create an ebook or low-content book, upload to a self-publishing website like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), and collect income each time you sell a copy.

You typically don’t need much to get started with self-publishing, other than a great idea for a book and some graphic design software to create your covers and interiors. When deciding where to sell your finished books, take time to research the fees each platform charges, since they can eat into your earnings.

How to Make the Most of Extra Income

Figuring out how to make money with money or in another way that doesn’t involve having a job can increase your cash flow, sometimes significantly. But it’s important to think about what to do with extra money that you’re earning from a side hustle or passive income ideas.

Some of the best ways to put extra income to work include:

•   Paying down high-interest debt

•   Increasing your savings

•   Investing money in the market, where it can grow through compounding

•   Reinvesting it into new passive income ideas

Those are just a few ways to make the most of supplemental income, versus simply spending all of the extra cash you’re bringing in.

The Takeaway

Earning money while still having the flexibility that comes from not having a conventional job is an attractive prospect. If you’re testing out different ideas for how to make money with money (or make money even when you don’t have capital to invest), there are plenty of passive income ideas worth trying. A budgeting app can help you track your expenses and revenue to find the method that delivers the biggest rewards.

Take control of your finances with SoFi. With our financial insights and credit score monitoring tools, you can view all of your accounts in one convenient dashboard. From there, you can see your various balances, spending breakdowns, and credit score. Plus you can easily set up budgets and discover valuable financial insights — all at no cost.

FAQ

How can I make money with no job?

Starting a side hustle or online business, or doing gig work, are great ways to make money without a job. It’s possible to make money online or from home doing things like market research, shopping with cash back apps, mystery shopping, or offering freelance services.

How can I make $100 without a job?

The fastest way to make $100 without a job is to sell something. For example, you might sell items around the house that you no longer need, or resell bargain items that you find on Facebook or at flea markets. If you’d like to make $100 a day or $100 a week consistently, then you might consider pet sitting, dog walking, freelancing, or blogging.

How do I live without a job?

Living well without a job starts with creating a realistic budget and understanding how you spend your money. Having savings to rely on can make it easier to live without a job if you expect to be out of work temporarily. You can also work on finding ways to make money without a job, including passive income ideas, or gig work.

Photo credit: iStock/Natalia Bodrova

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Non affiliation: SoFi isn’t affiliated with any of the companies highlighted in this article.

Third-Party Brand Mentions: No brands, products, or companies mentioned are affiliated with SoFi, nor do they endorse or sponsor this article. Third-party trademarks referenced herein are property of their respective owners.

Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.

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Navigating the cost of law school can be daunting, but scholarships offer a valuable way to reduce financial burdens and make your legal education more affordable. Whether you’re a prospective law student or currently enrolled, understanding the variety of scholarships available is crucial to securing funding for your studies.

Keep reading to learn the types of law school scholarships available, tips for finding law school scholarships, and strategies for crafting compelling applications to increase your chances of success.

The Average Cost of Law School

The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) reports that the average annual cost of a public, out-of-state law school in 2023 was $43,590, or $30,554 for in-state students. For private law schools, the average in 2023 was $55,963. And according to Education Data Initiative, the average total cost of law school is over $230,000.

Because students aren’t yet racking up those billable attorney hours, it can be helpful to research law school scholarship opportunities before applying.

Types of Law School Scholarships

Per the numbers mentioned above, there might be a fair amount of sticker shock for those who haven’t yet applied for graduate school and are only thinking of someday going the lawyer route. Fortunately, there are a range of options for aspiring attorneys seeking to fund law school.

Full-Ride Tuition Law School Scholarships

In some cases, there are full-ride tuition scholarships and need-based grants out there. Full-rides, of course, are not available at all law schools. If a law school doesn’t explicitly advertise or highlight information regarding full-ride opportunities, interested students can contact the school to ask.

Students deciding whether to apply to law school may want to familiarize themselves with the language universities adopt to explain these scholarships. In some cases, specific scholarships are designated for particular students. Full-ride law school scholarships can be highly competitive — with some schools offering as few as two to four per enrollment year. One potential tip for the search for scholarships is to target law schools with more tuition help.

General Law School Scholarships

There are many options for law school hopefuls to find potential scholarships. The nonprofit organization Law School Admission Council (LSAC) has compiled a list of law school scholarships available to applicants. It could be well worth your time to go through the list and make note of the scholarships you’d qualify for.

Many law schools themselves offer competitive scholarships to attract stronger candidates, as well. It might also be helpful to check if a school also offers in-state residents specific tuition reductions or grants.

Law School Scholarships from Law Firms

Similarly, some law firms offer scholarships to law school students. Applying is typically a straightforward process, with many firms requiring a short essay, transcripts, and sometimes references to be considered. One such law firm scholarship is offered by The Dominguez Firm, which offers $5,000 and $2,500 annually to selected student applicants.

On top of this, there’s the rising trend of law firms helping new hires to repay a portion of their student debt once onboarded.

Diversity Law School Scholarships

Some scholarships are awarded to students with diverse backgrounds. One example of this is the Legal Opportunity Scholarship Fund offered by the American Bar Association. This scholarship is awarded to law students from a racial or ethnically diverse background.

The USLAW NETWORK Foundation also offers a $5,000 scholarship for up to 10 diverse students.

Law School Scholarships for Women

Some scholarships are offered to women attending law school. One resource is the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Fellowships and Grants, which offers scholarships to women in graduate studies, including law.

Finding Scholarships for Law School

There are dedicated resources like Fastweb and SoFi’s scholarship search tool to help prospective students find scholarships for which they may qualify. Fastweb is an online resource to help students find scholarships, financial aid, and even part-time jobs in support of college degrees.

The American Bar Association’s law student division also has a running list (along with deadlines) of law student awards and scholarships. Additionally, the Law School Admission Council offers a list of diversity scholarships available to students from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Recommended: Applying to Graduate School: Smart Tips & Strategies 

Negotiating Wiggle Room

Doing all this research and the math around law school scholarships could put applicants in a more informed position when evaluating which program to attend — and, potentially, help them to identify schools more likely to be interested in their application.

A reality of today’s admissions process for law school is negotiating scholarships. Some schools have a strict policy against negotiating, but others fully expect their initial offer to be countered. That’s why it can help to save acceptance letters and anything in writing from schools that offer admission.

Suggestions for Negotiating Law School Scholarship Offers

Offer letters could be shared with competing schools, asking if they’re able to match another university’s aid. It might be uncomfortable asking for more tuition assistance upfront, but a little discomfort now could help applicants shoulder less law school debt later on.

Doing research on law schools (and figuring out the likely cost of living expenses at each institution) could help applicants to determine which scores or grades to aim for in an effort to make law school more affordable for them. Tabulating expenses (and having records on hand) may also demonstrate to universities that the amounts being negotiated are based on well-documented expenses.

Recommended: Law School Loan Forgiveness and Repayment Options

Federal vs Private Loans for Law School

Students wanting to apply to law school should consider the differences between federal and private student loans. Federal loans come with certain benefits not guaranteed by private ones (such as forbearance or income-driven repayment), and should be used first before seeking private student loans.

Private student loans can also help applicants cover the expense of graduate school. They typically offer competitive rates and terms, but you need to have a solid credit score to qualify.

It’s important to note that private student loans don’t offer the same benefits and protections afforded to federal student loan borrowers, like Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). If a law school applicant is interested eventually in becoming a public defender or pursuing non-profit legal work, forgiveness and forbearance perks may play a role in their decision.

The Takeaway

Students looking to offset law school costs with scholarships can look to their law school, scholarship databases, local law firms, and other organizations for resources. Consider contacting the financial aid office at your law school if you are looking for scholarship resources. If students interested in law school find themselves coming up short on funds for the JD after scholarships and federal aid, additional options may be available.

If you’ve exhausted all federal student aid options, no-fee private student loans from SoFi can help you pay for school. The online application process is easy, and you can see rates and terms in just minutes. Repayment plans are flexible, so you can find an option that works for your financial plan and budget.

FAQ

What LSAT score will get me a scholarship?

One general rule of thumb is that students who have a LSAT score (and sometimes GPA) above the median for a certain school could qualify for a scholarship. Chances of qualifying are even greater if your score falls in the 75th percentile for the school.

What is a good scholarship for law school?

Any scholarship for law school is a good scholarship. Scholarships typically don’t need to be repaid and can help reduce a student’s debt burden. Students looking for law school scholarships can apply for institutional aid and aid through other sources like nonprofit organizations.

Do top law schools give scholarships?

While some top law schools do not offer scholarships, many law schools do offer law school scholarships to students. For example, in the 2023-2024 class at Yale, 71% of students qualified for some form of financial aid and 62% qualified for an institutional law school scholarship. Check directly with the schools you are interested in to see if they offer scholarships to students.

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Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.

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A bear market is defined as a broad market decline of 20% or more from recent highs, which lasts for at least two months. Although bear markets make for dramatic headlines, the truth is that bull markets tend to last much longer — the average bear market typically ends within a year.

While most investors might know the difference between a bull and a bear market, it’s important to know some of the characteristics of bear markets in order to understand how different market conditions may impact your portfolio and your investment choices.

What Is a Bear Market?

Investors and market watchers generally define a bear market as a drop of 20% or more from market highs. So, when investors refer to a bear market, it usually means that multiple broad market indexes, such as the Standard & Poors 500 Index (S&P 500), Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), and others, fell by 20% or more over at least two months.

Note, though, that 20% is a somewhat arbitrary barometer, but it’s a common enough standard throughout the financial world.

The term bear market can also be used to describe a specific security. For example, when a particular stock drops 20% in a short time, it can be said that the stock has entered a bear market. Bear markets are the opposite of bull markets, the latter of which is when the market is seeing a broad increase in asset values.

Bear markets are often associated with economic recessions, although this isn’t always the case. As economic activity slows, people lose jobs, consumer spending falls, and business earnings decline. As a result, many companies may see their share prices tumble or stagnate as investors pull back.


💡 Quick Tip: How to manage potential risk factors in a self-directed investment account? Doing your research and employing strategies like dollar-cost averaging and diversification may help mitigate financial risk when trading stocks.

Why Is It Called a Bear Market?

There are a variety of explanations for why “bear” and “bull” have come to describe specific market conditions. Some say a market slump is like a bear going into hibernation, versus a bull market that keeps charging upward.

The origins of the term bear market may also have come from the so-called bearskin market in the 18th century or earlier. There was a proverb that said it is unwise to sell a bear’s skin before one has caught the bear. Over time the term bearskin, and then bear, became used to describe the selling of assets.

Characteristics of a Bear Market

There are two different types of bear markets:

•   Regular bear market or cyclical bear market: The market declines and takes a few months to a year to recover.

•   Secular bear market: This type of bear market lasts longer and is driven more by long-term market trends than short-term consumer sentiment. A cyclical bear market can happen within a secular bear market.

History of Bear Markets

The most recent U.S. bear market began in June 2022, largely sparked by rising interest rates and inflation. The bear market officially ended on June 8, 2023, lasting about 248 trading days, according to Dow Jones Market Data, and resulting in a market drop of around 25%.

Including the most recent bear market, the S&P 500 Index posted 13 declines of more than 20% since World War II. The table below shows the S&P 500’s returns from the highest point to the lowest point in a downturn. Bear markets average a decline of 32.4%, and generally last around 355 days.

Bear markets have occurred as close together as two years and as far apart as nearly 12 years. A secular bear market refers to a longer period of lower-than-average returns; this could last 10 years or more. A secular bear market may include minor rallies, but these don’t take hold.

A cyclical bear market is more likely to last a few weeks to a few months and is more a function of market volatility.

What Causes a Bear Market?

Usually bear markets are caused by a loss of consumer, investor, and business confidence. Various factors can contribute to the loss of consumer confidence, such as changes to interest rates, global events, falling housing prices, or changes in the economy.

When the market reaches a high, people may feel that certain assets are overvalued. In that instance, people are less likely to buy those assets and more likely to start selling them, which can make prices fall.

When other investors see that prices are falling, they may anticipate that the market has reached a peak and will start declining, so they may also sell off their assets to try and profit on them before the decline. In some cases panic can set in, leading to a mass sell-off and a stock market crash (but this is rare).

Is a Recession the Same as a Bear Market?

No. Bear market conditions can lead to or preempt recessions if the market slump lasts long enough. But this isn’t always the case.

What Is a Bear Market Rally

Things can get tricky if there is a bear market rally. This happens when the market goes back up for a number of days or weeks, but the rise is only temporary. Investors may think that the market decline has ended and start buying, but it may in fact continue to decline after the rally. Sometimes the market does recover and go back into a bull market, but this is hard to predict.

If the bear market continues on long enough then it becomes a recession, which can go on for months or years. That said, it’s not always the case that a bear market means there will be a recession.

Once asset prices have decreased as much as they possibly can, consumer confidence begins to rise again, and people start buying. This reverses the bear market trend into a bull market, and the market starts to recover and grow again.

Example of a Bear Market

The most recent bear market occurred in June of 2022, when the S&P 500 closed 21.8% lower than its high on Jan. 3, 2022.

While the Nasdaq and the Dow showed a similar pattern in early 2022, the decline of those markets didn’t cross the 20% mark that signals official bear market territory.

Bear Market vs Bull Market

A bull market is essentially the opposite of a bear market. As consumer confidence increases, money goes into the markets and they go up.

A bull market is defined as a 20% rise from the low that the market hit in a bear market. However, the parameters of a bull market are not as clearly defined as they are for a bear market. Once the bottom of the bear market has been reached, people generally feel that a bull market has started.

Investing Tips During a Bear Market

There are a few different bear market investing strategies one can use to both prepare for a bear market and navigate through one.

1. Reduce Higher-Risk Investments

When preparing for a bear market, it’s a good idea to reduce higher-risk holdings such as growth stocks and speculative assets. One can move money into cash, gold, bonds, or other less risky investments to try and reduce the risk of losses if the market goes down.

These safe investments tend to perform better than stocks during a bear market. Types of stocks that tend to weather bear markets well include consumer staples and healthcare companies.

2. Diversify

Another investing strategy is diversification. Rather than having all of one’s money in stocks, distribute your investments across asset classes, e.g. precious metals, bonds, crypto, real estate, or other types of investments.

This way, if one type of asset goes down a lot, the others might not go down as much. Similarly, one asset may increase a lot in value, but it’s hard to predict which one, so diversifying increases the chances that one will be exposed to the upward trend, and you’ll see a gain.

3. Save Capital and Reduce Losses

During a bear market, a common strategy is to shift from growing capital into saving it and reducing losses. It may be tempting to try and pick where the market has hit the bottom and start buying growth assets again, but this is very hard to do. It’s safer to invest small amounts of money over time using a dollar-cost averaging strategy so that one’s investments all average out, rather than trying to predict market highs and lows.

4. Find Opportunities for Future Growth

However, in a broad sense if the market is at a high and assets are clearly overvalued, this may not be the best time to buy. And vice versa if assets are clearly undervalued it may be a good time to buy and grow one’s portfolio. A bear market can be a good time to identify assets that might grow in the next bull market and start investing in them.

5. Short Selling

A very risky strategy that some investors take is short selling in anticipation of a bear market. This involves borrowing shares and selling them, then hoping to buy them back at a lower price. It’s risky because there is no guarantee that the price of the shares will fall, and since the shares are borrowed, typically using a margin account, they may end up owing the broker money if their trade doesn’t work out as they hope.

Overall, it’s best to create a long-term investing strategy rather than focusing on short-term trends and making reactive decisions to market changes. It can be scary to watch one’s portfolio go down, especially if it happens fast, but selling off assets because the market is crashing generally doesn’t turn out well for investors.

The Takeaway

Bear markets can be scary times for investors, but even a prolonged drop of 20% or more isn’t likely to last more than a few months, according to historical data. In some cases, bear markets present opportunities to buy stocks at a discount (meaning, when prices are low), in the hope they might rise.

Also there are strategies you can use to reduce losses and prepare for the next bull market, including different types of asset allocation. The point is that whether the markets are considered bearish or bullish, any time can be a good time to invest.

Ready to invest in your goals? It’s easy to get started when you open an investment account with SoFi Invest. You can invest in stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds, alternative funds, and more. SoFi doesn’t charge commissions, but other fees apply (full fee disclosure here).

FAQ

How long do bear markets last?

Bear markets may last a few months to a year or more, but most bear markets end within a year’s time. If they go on longer than that they typically become recessions. And while a bear market can end in a few months, it can take longer for the market to regain lost ground.

When was the last bear market?

The most recent bear market started in June of 2022, when the S&P 500 fell from record highs in January for more than two months.

Photo credit: iStock/Morsa Images

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