Originally Posted by
Chimpy
There has NEVER EVER been a 10 year period where the market was down as a whole.
. Invest in Index Funds and don't sell to lock in the losses. I'm already maxing out 401k and will continue to do so. As well as continuing to invest.
It's not about timing the market it's about the time In the Market.
This is advice for the inexperienced and uneducated investor, especially in the computer/internet age. Here's why.
If you invested in an Index Fund at any point before July of last year, you are sitting on profits. If you invested like the poster above, you stayed in the market during the 2008 bust and it has taken you 7 years to recoup your losses and are just now back to break-even in your portfolio.
Someone used a craps analogy earlier. The shooter (the stock mkt) has been on a 7 year roll. Look at the chart I posted earlier today. It is throwing craps now. Take your money off the table and come back when all the suckers have been cleaned out.
The problem novice investors/bettor have isn't WHEN to invest/bet,
it's knowing the odds and when to take profits.
You can always buy back in later when the odds are back in your favor.
Easy rule to remember:
There are 3 outcomes to any bet/investment/stock trade:
1. make $$
2. break even
3. lose $$
Inexperienced bettors/investors think 2 out of the 3 above are losers (ie. breaking even and losing), when in fact 2 of the 3 are winners! Breaking even is a WINNER ever single time, because it means you have the $$ to re-invest/bet when the odds are better.
DON'T BE AFRAID TO TAKE YOUR PROFITS OR BREAK EVEN! The house is counting on you to leave your money on the table.
Btw, the DOW is currently down another 511 points as I type this and the S&P 500 is now trading below the lows of last August's "correction".
You have been warned.