Fun with Numbers

I got all excited the other day when one of my stocks went up nearly 50% in a few hours. I must be a genius.
But then I looked closer. In round numbers, it went from $4 to $6. But I bought it at $10, so there is little to get excited about.
Don’t let the numbers fool you. If something goes down 50%, it has to go up 100% just to get back to even. The percentages on the way up have to be a heckuva lot bigger than they were going down.
I have one stock that’s selling at about 10% of the price I paid. It could go up 100% three days in a row and still not get back to where I bought it.
When I’m on a roller coaster, I keep my eye on the horizon and pray to get back to where I started.