As I write this, I am laughing.

Most stock market gurus I read are bearish. Most have significant cash. As a result, they are missing out on this market.

As of today, March 5, the S&P 500 is up almost 12 percent. If we continue at that rate, we will be up 72 percent for the year! (We financial people love to do that.)

My point is that, and I talk about this all the time, no one — financial professionals, the news media or individual investors — knows what is going on.

I remember back in 2009 at the depth of the bear market (when we should have been buying) almost 70 percent of investors were bearish.

I learned a long time ago that you should not fight the market. Someone once said, if the market is going up, it is likely to continue to go up. If it is going down, it is likely to continue to go down.

You would be surprised how many investors make bets against that. It takes courage.

I know I am not as smart as the market, so I just let it do what it does. Investors should be prepared for any eventuality and just relax.

People ask me about being successful in the investment world. My best piece of advice is to be patient.

Over the past 120 years or so, if you owned a Dow Jones industrial average index, it has been almost impossible to lose money. You just could not sell.

Most investors do not have staying power. That is why they made people like me. People like me hold a lot of hands.

No one likes to see money disappearing from their account. It is emotional.

My wife wasn’t talking to me much in 2008. It sounds so easy, doesn’t it?

Here is the sticker. We only know what happened historically. No one knows about the next 10 years.

I suspect that the uptrend will continue, but what do I know? That is why I use asset allocation to make me comfortable. Not having all your eggs in one basket, so to speak.

So, determine your risk, build your account accordingly and keep adding money.

That is something else I can talk about.

Many of you know that one of the secrets to becoming wealthy is to save your money and invest. It does not have to be the stock market, but unless Rich Uncle Ernie is going to lay it on you, most of us have to save.

Get used to saving. I have found that saving breeds more saving.

“OK Howie, I can afford to put $50 a month in my account.” Pretty soon I hear, “You know, Howie, I can up that to a $100.”

It amazes me how investors can figure that out. OK, my Budweiser costs me $1 apiece. If I drink five less Buds a week, that is $20 a month and $240 a year.

What if you made it 10 less a week? See how it works?

I’m not kidding. Everyone can figure out how to come up with some money if they want something badly enough. You can do it too.

I like to chat sometimes about stuff that has nothing to do with investing, but has a whole lot to do with money. You have heard talk about “Medicare for everyone.”

What I am talking about is basically wanting government to pay for taking care of you. Sounds good, right?

In England, the U.K., where the government basically pays for health care, there are about 60 million citizens. On Sept. 30, 2018, there were 4.1 million Brits waiting for non-urgent surgery, cataract surgery, hip replacement, etc. That is roughly 6 percent of the population.

How would you like to be there?

It is the same story in Canada. I have met several Canadians who come to the United States to get health care because their free care in Canada is not available.

So, what is the Howie financial lesson for the week? Work hard, save some of your money for investments and if you do a good job, you won’t need anyone to take care of you.

The wife came into the man cave the other day. She told me about this TV show that she was watching. The show gives awards to heroic people who put themselves in danger for people they hardly know. I told her that sounded a lot like marriage. She doesn’t think I am funny.

Howie Pentony is a Portersville Client Portfolio Manager.