If you are a seasoned do-it-yourself investor who lived through the dot-com bubble, the financial crisis and the coronavirus market, think back to 2000.

Say you invested $10,000 in an S&P 500 Index fund in January 2000. By March 31, 2024, your investment would have grown to $55,000 at a rate of 7.3% annualized -- but, not before dropping to $6,229 by the end of 2002. From March 2000 to October 2002, it was down about 45%.

The fund dropped again in 2008 (by 37%), its worst year since 2000, and again by 4.5% in 2018 and 18.2% in 2022. The fund's best year between January 2000 and March 2024 was 32% (2013).

A popular technology fund that I'll call the "Tech Fund" grew from $10,000 to $115,000 (10.6% average annual return), more than doubling the March 31, 2024, balance of the S&P 500 fund -- but not before dropping to $3,478 by the end of 2002, a decline of about 80% from January 2000. The Tech Fund's best year was 85% (2009); its worst year had a 51% drop (2002).

Both funds own Apple and Nvidia.

A 2000 investment of $10,000 in Apple dropped dramatically to $2,800 by the end of 2002, a decline of about 79% from its January 2000 price. Apple's best year during the January 2000 to March 2024 period was 201% (2004); its worst year was a negative 71% (2000).

Nvidia started the dot-com bear market quite differently. In 2000, Nvidia rose about 40% compared to a decline of 9% for the S&P 500 fund. Notably, 2001 (308%) turned out to be the stock's best year, compared to a decline of 12% for the S&P 500 fund.

But 2002 was Nvidia's worst year (down 83%), which wiped out the gains of the previous two years. However, Nvidia's 2002 balance ($9,809) still outpaced the S&P 500 fund's balance ($6,229). March 2000 was the peak of the dot-com bubble that led to the three-year bear.

Headlines such as "Stock Market in Steep Drop as Worried Investors Flee; Nasdaq Has Its Worst Week" (April 15, 2000, New York Times), caught investors' attention, continuing even as the bear was coming to an end: "S&P 500 Index Drops to Its Lowest Level Since 1997" (July 19, 2002, Bloomberg News) or "SCREAM! Hold On for a Wild Ride" (July 21, 2002, New York Times).

Major price declines occurred not just once during the dot-com bubble, but also throughout the financial crisis and the coronavirus bear market, and intra-year declines occurred every year. For example, eight out of 12 months in 2002 and 2008 were negative for the S&P 500 Index. In 2023, when the S&P 500 Index returned 26%, four months were negative. In 2019, when the S&P 500 Index returned 31%, two months were negative.

Even the savvy investor needs to really think about how he or she will react during declines. Should declines lead one to buy more, sell some or all, or hold on for a set or unknown period of time?

Personal situations dictate the most appropriate action. For example, a retiree whose living expenses are covered in full by Social Security and pension income with an inflation adjustment is in a very different position from a retiree who depends on his portfolio for cash flow.

The first retiree would have the luxury of investing aggressively if he thought in terms of leaving a legacy.

The second retiree would need to prioritize cash-flow management before deciding how to invest. This retiree would have been in a much more difficult position making buy, sell and hold decisions, especially during downturns.

No matter how you look at it, you can't help but see that emotion would play a role. What would you have done if you lived through this time frame day by day, without the benefit of hindsight?

In case you are wondering: $10,000 invested in Apple in January 2000 grew to $2.2 million (25% annualized) by March 31, 2024. A comparable investment in Nvidia grew to $10 million (33% annualized).

The data for this column comes from an online tool called Portfolio Visualizer (portfoliovisualizer.com). Give the free version a try.

Conflicts Disclosure: The author and her firm's clients own the investments discussed in this story, either directly or indirectly.

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There are about a billion reasons for close to a million people to pay special attention to this tax column, even though Tax Day, April 15, has come and gone.

For starters, the IRS would like to pay back more than $1 billion in refunds that nearly a million people are due, but refunds are not automatic. You need to act.

The billion dollars is the amount that remains unclaimed because approximately 940,000 people have yet to file their tax returns for tax year 2020, according to the IRS (tinyurl.com/mpfpmw2).

Under the law, taxpayers have three years to file and claim their tax refunds. If they miss the deadline, their refund "becomes the property of the U.S. Treasury."

May 17, 2024, is the deadline to file for 2020 tax-year refunds. Why is it not the traditional April 15? Because in 2021, the tax-filing deadline for 2020 tax-year returns was moved to May 17 due to COVID.

(Note: If you requested a filing extension in 2021 for your 2020 tax-year return but subsequently never filed the return for that year, you have until Oct. 15, 2024, to file a refund claim, according to an IRS spokesperson.)

The estimated average midpoint for unclaimed individual refund amounts for tax year 2020 is $932, according to the IRS, which means half the refunds are above that amount and half are below.

Texas (93,400) and California (88,200) are the states with the greatest estimated number of individuals who are owed a tax refund, with the two states combining for an estimated total exceeding $200 million. (In my home state of Connecticut, it's estimated that only 9,800 individuals are owed a tax refund, worth a total of more than $11 million.)

Why might you be due a refund? Did you have a job in 2020? Did your employer withhold taxes for you? You may not have filed a tax return for 2020 because you did not need to pay additional taxes.

Or, you may be eligible for the Recovery Rebate Credit (tinyurl.com/p3p4sjbv), a refundable credit for individuals who did not receive one or more Economic Impact Payments, also known as stimulus payments, distributed in 2020 and 2021, according to the IRS. Those who are eligible for a Recovery Rebate Credit must file a tax return first by May 17, 2024, to claim it, even if they had minimal or nonexistent income. (For those who want to claim a 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit, they must file a tax return by April 15, 2025.)

To be eligible for the credit, you must have been a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident alien for the year in question, not have been a dependent of another taxpayer and have a Social Security number issued before the tax return's due date (tinyurl.com/4twm26xb).

Even if you didn't owe the IRS any income taxes for 2020 and are owed a refund, you need to file your 2020 tax return in order for the IRS to send you a check. For more information on who should file, see the IRS webpage "Don't Lose Your Refund by Not Filing" at tinyurl.com/34kpe5cm.

A cautionary note from the IRS: The refund may be held up if an individual has not filed a tax return for 2021 and 2022. Also, the refund will be applied to amounts owed to the IRS or a state tax agency, and it may be used to offset unpaid child support or other past-due federal debts, including student loans.

And while some have the option of filing in an effort to receive funds, the IRS is also reaching out to others who failed to file a tax return and owe money. More on that in an upcoming column.

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Does the post office come to mind when you're expecting a tax refund? Here's why it should be.

The United States Postal Inspection Service warns that combating mail theft is an ongoing effort, with more than 1,000 arrests occurring between May 2023 and March 2024 (tinyurl.com/ycfe47pr).

Here is an example of what can go wrong, according to the United States Postal Service's Office of Inspector General (tinyurl.com/3sjwtaxp). IRS refund checks topping a total of more than $500,000 went missing from a New Jersey township postal route. An investigation found that a postal carrier failed to deliver 15 refund checks. The carrier admitted that "he'd been approached multiple times and offered cash to take IRS refund checks from the mail."

The investigation eventually uncovered "an elaborate scheme involving multiple suspects (not USPS employees) who, using different delivery routes in the region and a network of co-conspirators, defrauded the U.S. Treasury of more than $10 million."

To avoid being scammed, consider the following advice from the IRS (tinyurl.com/38shctd8): When you file your tax return (whether by paper or electronically) you can choose direct deposit for refund checks, and the "fastest way for taxpayers to get their refund is to file electronically and choose direct deposit."

This is pretty easy: Since direct deposit avoids a paper check being mailed to you, "there's no risk of having a paper check stolen or lost in the mail."

If you do file a paper return and request direct deposit of your refund, the IRS points out that "it will take longer to process the return and get a refund." That may be a reasonable price to pay for added security.

What happens if you lose your check or believe it's been stolen? You can use the IRS tool Where's My Refund? (tinyurl.com/2p8fh8sr), call 800-829-1954 and use the IRS automated system, or speak with an IRS agent by calling 800-829-1040. The automated system is not available if you sent a "married filing jointly" return. Instead, you can download Form 3911, Taxpayer Statement Regarding Refund (tinyurl.com/2ddtb95z), and fill that out to get the process started.

There are two ways the IRS will process your lost refund request (tinyurl.com/356k78sf). If the check was not cashed, you will "receive a replacement check once the original check is canceled." If the check was cashed, you will receive a claim package from the Bureau of the Fiscal Service (tinyurl.com/8wck65yw). Included in the package will be a copy of the cashed check. Once you complete the claim package, the bureau will review it. The review "can take up to six weeks to complete."

If your identification is stolen, resulting in someone else filing a fraudulent tax return using your Social Security number, you'll want to request an Identity Protection PIN from the IRS (tinyurl.com/y64bwet3). According to the IRS, "If a taxpayer hasn't heard from the IRS but suspects tax-related identity theft, they should complete and submit a Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit" (tinyurl.com/4fms576h).

Among the possible indications that your identity has been stolen:

-- You can't e-file a tax return because another tax return was filed using your Social Security number.

-- You receive a tax transcript in the mail that you did not request.

-- Your tax-preparation software company sends you a notice that your existing online account was accessed or disabled.

-- You were assigned an Employer Identification Number by the IRS, but you did not request or apply for it.

Once you receive an Identity Protection PIN, you will be issued a new one every year for security purposes. "Once an individual is enrolled in the IP PIN program, there's no way to opt-out," according to the IRS.

If you want your refund check mailed to you, notwithstanding the potential for lost checks, you can sign up for the Postal Service's Informed Delivery (tinyurl.com/4kb66rvn), which will let you see, via email, photos of your mail before it arrives in your mailbox. Or, you can purchase a device that alerts you to when someone opens your mailbox.

For everyone else, direct deposit is certainly worth considering.

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