I knew I should have bought yesterday.

[progree]

6. I bought more equities when the market had gone down 20% or more. More than once

And then I returned to my original allocation when it had returned to its previous high. It's called buying stocks on sale (in my case broad-based equity funds). It is a form of market timing (buying stocks when the stock market is down). Can you tell me when that has not worked? Perhaps in the Great Depression one would have had to wait a long long time to get above water again. But other than that? Since WWII? Anyway its worked for me. Every time so far. So if "trying to time the market is always a fool's game", well, if making some extra money on cheap stocks is being a fool , then I'm glad I'm a fool.

Also I note that rebalancing to get back to one's target allocation is a form of market timing. Rebalancing to maintain an asset allocation is pretty much a universally recommended strategy. I never heard it called foolish or a fool's errand before.

Ditto bucket strategies, where for those who need to withdraw from their investments/savings occasionally to meet living expenses or emergencies, they suggest withdrawing from cash or other non-equities when the market is down (so that one is not selling their equities cheap). And withdrawing from equities when the market is doing well (depending on the state of where one's asset allocation is to the target allocation). This too is a form of market timing. I've never ever heard of bucket strategies like this called foolish.