How a regular 9-to-5 employee earns passive income for financial independence
3 Times I Almost Sold… And Why I’m Glad I Didn’t
If you’ve been investing long enough, you’ll know the feeling.
The sinking stomach when the market dips. The creeping thought: “Maybe I should sell before it gets worse.”
I’ve been there, not once, but many times.
And looking back, I’m so grateful I didn’t give in to fear.
In fact, since I started building my dividend paying portfolio at the end of 2015, I have not sold a single share of any stock in it. Not once. Every holding remains in my portfolio today, through thick and thin.
Because here’s the truth: the moment you feel most tempted to sell is often the exact moment you should hold.
Below are three specific moments from my investing journey when I almost sold, the emotions I battled, and why I ultimately stayed the course. You’ll see familiar names – big, blue-chip companies facing very real crises. But these experiences taught me that in long-term investing, patience (and sometimes buying more when others are running away) often pays more than panic.
1. Exxon Mobil & the COVID Oil Price Collapse (2020)
What happened:
In early 2020, the pandemic froze global travel. Planes were grounded, cruise ships docked, and people stopped commuting. Oil demand plunged so fast that, for the first time in history, crude oil futures briefly traded below zero.
Exxon Mobil (XOM), one of my core holdings, saw its share price sliced almost in half. The dividend yield spiked into double digits, not because of good news, but because the stock was getting hammered.
The temptation to sell:
Every headline screamed doom: “The end of oil.” “Permanent shift to renewables.” Analysts predicted XOM’s dividend was unsustainable. Some investors were dumping oil majors entirely, convinced fossil fuels were finished.
I remember thinking, “What if Exxon cuts its dividend? What if this really is the end of the oil era?”
Why I didn’t, and bought more:
I asked myself: Was the world truly going to stop using oil overnight? My answer was no. While renewables were growing, the infrastructure, supply chains, and global economy still ran on oil and gas. Exxon had survived oil crises before, and it still had the balance sheet strength to weather this one.
I also reminded myself that I invest for income. And even at the worst of the crash, Exxon kept paying.
So instead of selling, I doubled down, buying more XOM shares at fire-sale prices.
The result:
By late 2022, oil prices had rebounded sharply, and Exxon’s stock price reached all-time highs. The shares I bought in the depths of panic have delivered both strong capital gains and a stream of dividends.
2. 3M’s “Forever Chemicals” Lawsuit (2022–2023)
What happened:
3M (MMM) has long been known as a diversified industrial giant – Post-it Notes, N95 masks, adhesives, and more. But in 2022, the company faced mounting legal claims over PFAS, the so-called “forever chemicals” that don’t break down in the environment. The lawsuits threatened tens of billions in liabilities.
MMM’s share price began a steady decline, losing over 40% from its highs.
The temptation to sell:
It’s easy to hold a stock during a general market downturn, but specific company issues especially legal ones can shake your conviction. I wondered: What if this becomes another asbestos-type disaster? What if the lawsuits drain the company for years?
Why I didn’t, and bought more:
I went back to the fundamentals. 3M’s legal liabilities were significant, but the company still had strong cash flow, global brands, and a long dividend growth history. I reminded myself that blue-chip companies often survive big legal battles, think BP after the Deepwater Horizon spill or Johnson & Johnson with talc lawsuits.
I also realized the market was pricing in a worst-case scenario. If the actual settlements were smaller, MMM could recover significantly.
So while others were selling, I picked up more shares at depressed prices, confident that the company would find a way forward.
The result:
3M eventually announced a major settlement that, while large, was manageable. The uncertainty still lingers, but my position remains intact and the extra shares bought during the panic continue to pay dividends.
3. The Wells Fargo Scandal & Federal Cap (2016–Present)
What happened:
I bought Wells Fargo (WFC) for its reputation as one of the best-run banks in America – steady, conservative, and shareholder-friendly. Then came the revelations: millions of fake accounts opened without customer consent, management failures, and regulatory penalties.
In 2018, the Federal Reserve even imposed an asset cap, limiting WFC’s growth until it improved its governance.
The temptation to sell:
When trust in a bank evaporates, it’s scary. Banks run on confidence, and the fear was that customers and investors would abandon Wells Fargo for good. Its stock dropped sharply, and the dividend was eventually cut in 2020 during the pandemic.
I thought, “Why keep a bank that can’t grow and is in the regulators’ bad books?”
Why I didn’t, and bought more:
I reminded myself that big banks have immense staying power. Wells Fargo still had a massive deposit base, strong brand recognition, and the ability to earn profits even under restrictions. The scandal was ugly, but fixable over time.
I decided to take advantage of the low price, buying more shares when sentiment was at rock bottom. My thinking was simple: when a fundamentally strong institution is under a cloud but still profitable, the panic discount can be a gift.
The result:
WFC has been slowly rebuilding trust and profitability. While it’s still not back to its pre-scandal glory, the worst-case fears have not come true, and my patience, and extra purchases have preserved and grown my income stream.
4. AT&T’s Copper Cables & Dividend Cut (2021–2023)
What happened:
AT&T (T) was one of my early high-yield holdings. I enjoyed the steady income until the WarnerMedia spinoff and dividend cut in 2021. Then in 2023, a Wall Street Journal investigation revealed that decades-old lead-sheathed copper cables, still owned by telecoms like AT&T, posed potential environmental hazards.
The stock price took another hit as lawsuits and cleanup costs became a concern.
The temptation to sell:
Between the dividend cut and environmental liabilities, the “safe” income stock I once knew now looked like a potential long-term headache.
Why I didn’t, and even added more (temporarily):
I resisted the urge to dump it on the news. Instead, I actually bought more shares during the sharpest drops, taking advantage of the price swing. This gave me a lower average cost and allowed me to collect extra dividends before eventually planning my exit.
When the price recovered slightly, I rotated the funds into stronger dividend growth stock like Realty Income (O).
The result:
By adding in the depths of panic and selling on my own terms, I avoided panic-selling at the absolute bottom and redeployed my capital into companies that have since grown both in price and income.
The Big Lesson: Time (and Buying in Fear) Rewards the Patient
These moments tested my patience and conviction. The temptation to “do something” when the market or a stock turns against you is intense. But more often than not, that “something” ends up costing you in the long run.
Since 2015, I have not sold a single share of my dividend-paying portfolio. Not because I’ve been stubborn, but because I’ve built it with quality companies I’m willing to own for decades.
In each case – whether it was Exxon with negative oil prices, 3M’s legal troubles, Wells Fargo’s scandal, or AT&T’s dividend drama, holding on, and in fact buying more during peak fear, turned out far better than panic-selling.
If you take one thing from my experience, let it be this:
The market will test you. Headlines will scare you. Your emotions will scream at you to act. But if you’ve done your research, invested in quality companies, and focused on the long term, the best move in turbulent times is often the simplest – do nothing… or buy more.
Because sometimes, the money isn’t just in the waiting, it’s in having the courage to buy when others are running away.
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