@lain @meowski @laurel @lnxw37b2

You don't have the $100 now. You have the $50 now, and you (or the person you're investing in) figures that can be turned into $100 in a month. Otherwise, it wouldn't be worth trying. This is counterbalanced by the element of risk, and the passage of time between now and then.

If you decide to hoard your $50 now because you don't think you can turn it into $100 later, and you don't trust that anyone else can either, you might be right. If the market dips, then your money actually became worth more than everyone else's because you didn't risk it on a venture at a time when ventures failed. The deflationary environment thus preserved and even enhanced the value of your $50.

But what's much more common is that others invested and profited while you held on to your cash for fear of that deflationary event. In that case, everyone else turned their money into more money, while you remained still. So you fell behind relative to everyone else as a result.

Don't worry too much about it, because opportunity cost is a buzzkill, and whatever decision you make, bearish or bullish, you'll always be wrong and lose money. That's the magic of capitalism.