It's normal and sensible to invest money you are okay with potentially never seeing again, yes. I don't think we are even disagreeing, just probably not on the

It's normal and sensible to invest money you are okay with potentially never seeing again, yes. I don't think we are even disagreeing, just probably not on the same page what "savings" exactly is. I consider savings as monies that shouldn't "just" go away (like investments failing), monies that are expected to always be there for when their time comes. That sort of money should be handled with the worst case scenarios accounted for, you presumably depend on that money (either now or in the future) for your life. >It is unlikely that the value of the S&P500 will be zero in our lifetimes. If it is, your 50,000 US dollars won't be worth much. Never say never, the Great Depression was bad enough it took a second world war for everyone to get out of the funk.