What workarounds did people try for "How do you know when to sell investments or take profits?"?

Community members documented 9 workarounds: 1. Keep short-term money for a house down payment in a high-yield savings account (HYSA) or certificate of deposit to protect the principal. 2. Use a 'set it and forget it' mutual fund approach. 3. Follow an 'always be buying' (ABB) strategy rather than constantly trying to take profits. 4. converting the currency to USD and investing it in stock market index funds 5. cutting losses and abandoning currency speculation 6. Using a sinking fund for vacations 7. Saving up cash over time 8. Taking out a loan for a car or other large expenses 9. Constantly checking net worth and portfolio balances before spending money on daily necessities.

How do you know when to sell investments or take profits?

Knowing when to sell depends on your personal timeline and whether you need the cash soon, such as for a house purchase. Holding onto losing assets like currency for a decade waiting for a rebound can trap your money instead of letting it grow. A clear plan prevents you from second-guessing when to cash out or reinvest.

Overview

Last updated Oct 6, 2026

People affected5 accounts across 1 forum

Workarounds found9 items attempted

Community agreement1 total upvotes

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

9 items+ Contribute

Found another way around this?

Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.

1
Keep short-term money for a house down payment in a high-yield savings account (HYSA) or certificate of deposit to protect the principal.
Did this help you?
2
Use a 'set it and forget it' mutual fund approach.
Did this help you?
3
Follow an 'always be buying' (ABB) strategy rather than constantly trying to take profits.
Did this help you?
4
converting the currency to USD and investing it in stock market index funds
Did this help you?
5
cutting losses and abandoning currency speculation
Did this help you?
6
Using a sinking fund for vacations
Did this help you?
7
Saving up cash over time
Did this help you?
8
Taking out a loan for a car or other large expenses
Did this help you?
9
Constantly checking net worth and portfolio balances before spending money on daily necessities.
Did this help you?

Tried another approach not listed above?+ Share your workaround ↑

In their words

Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.

r/personalfinance5 people · September 2026 – October 2026

“So naturally we bought yen at 130.. but then it didn’t go back down. Instead it went to 140.. then 150. 160… 😭”source ↗

kenji4861 · r/personalfinance · 1 upvotes

“So I have no knowledge on how to invest.”source ↗

“My question is how do you know when to 'sell' or 'profit'?”source ↗

“I would like to buy a house soon, I'm not sure if that makes a difference on how to invest.”source ↗

Imake289 · r/personalfinance

“I’ve had about $30,000 worth of Japanese yen for 10 years because I thought the yen would go back up but hasn’t in a decade. Should I just exchange it and invest it at this point?”source ↗

KDurocher2 · r/personalfinance

“Looking for people to share their philosophies regarding using brokerage funds for large purchases.”source ↗

thegreatestajax · r/personalfinance

“Would you sell your portfolio to 'lock in' the gains while unemployed?”source ↗

“I'm finding every day super hard to spend money on my own food / living expenses without checking my net worth and portfolio.”source ↗

cupofjoe001 · r/personalfinance

Where this came up

r/personalfinance brokerage accounts budgeting financial anxiety foreign exchange investing personal finance unemployment