I agree, it's a great time to invest, but remember - the market can stay irrational longer then you can stay solvent.

It may take 15-30 years for the market to "recover", can you wait it out long enough without being forced to withdraw money from the market at a bad time?

The market does not need to "recover" fully in order for life to return and remain normal for most people. Simply getting back to "where we were" is an arbitrary goal.

That saying was invented to warn people buying on margin. For people who are saving and have a steady income, this kind of solvency is really not an issue.

So there is a New York Times article saying now might be a buying opportunity, and you readily find posts here in the same vein. This STRONGLY indicates the bottom is a LONG way away. At true secular bottoms nobody mainstream is even asking if the bottom is in; they're too scared off the asset class.

Think of the mirror image: the top. In 2000 and 2007 did you repeatedly hear the press and random normal people debate if the top is in and things were set to plunge? No, you didn't. That's just not how mass market psychology works.

I see where your coming from, but this NYTimes article is far from the "mass" opinion of the press or the average stockholder.

The simple fact is that people who have enough wealth/capital to take risks during a recession, generally do very well when the economy recovers.

> is far from the "mass" opinion of the press or the average stockholder

I think it is very much the mass opinion. People are expecting some sort of rebound next year or the year after. Surveys show most home owners continue to think their houses will appreciate substantially over the next three years. The contrarian buy-time is WAY off.

Hm, the prices might eventually rise again. On the other hand, they might continue to fall even lower.

Information gained: zero

They may also find themselves poorer in the future, which is an indication that they need to understand more about the present to successfully invest.

I still don't think I feel comfortable about putting money back into the stock markets. Or even into stock markets altogether. The stock market, at least in its current design, is by nature going to go through bubbles.

I'd almost rather take the money and invest it into something I know I have control over, such as a side project or a startup of some sort.

People are not feeling comfortable with the stock market - it may be a good sign to get back in.

(Disclaimer: As a poor student I do not have enough disposable assets, yet, to practise what I preach.)

Whatever you do, just do it slowly and mostly in dividend issuing companies/money market funds/cash generating investments. World diversified dollar cost averaging portfolios are hard to beat.

Not yet, I predict the dow to hit rock bottom around 5k in the next couple of weeks, then rebound. Be alert, then buy.