Now's a GREAT Time to Invest

Here are a few more comments to the thoughts I shared yesterday on Going Against the Flow and an earlier post on Stocks "On Sale". We'll start with a piece from USA Today noting how professional investors often panic (and thus we see the market tumble) but if you're in to for the long haul, you shouldn't worry:

If you're a long-term investor, there isn't any large reason to be terrified. Before you panic, however, take a deep breath. When you sell in haste, you often repent at leisure.

There's no reason to panic is right! In fact, why sell when you can snatch up some great deals today? That's what the Motley Fool says in Why You Should Be Buying:

In fact, Miller would probably say my colleague Bill Barker understated the case when he called now the best buying opportunity in 12 years; Miller says stocks are the cheapest they've been since January 1991 (16-plus years)! That makes now, in Miller's words, "a pretty good time to be a buyer of stocks!" After all, "lower stock prices mean values are better and future rates of return are higher."

They expand on these thoughts a bit in The Best Buying Opportunity in 12 Years?:

It's also worth noting that Wharton professor, best-selling author, and leading market historian Jeremy Siegel has said that given the low trading costs and ease of diversification today, P/E levels of around 20 are probably justified for the future. If that turns out to be the case, today's levels are certainly one of the better buying opportunities you'll find.

I bought more shares in a broad-market index fund yesterday and will look at future market declines as opportunities to pick up some more shares at bargain prices.

Comments

[Lost Opportunities]

Let me be an AOL-er long enough to say 'me too!'

I made a $4000 purchase yesterday, filling up my IRA quota for the year.

[Victor]

Now is not the time to worry about the subprime mess. There is over $10 billion ARMs resetting in October. That's when the real panic will set in.

[Minimum Wage]

Knowledge without money is worthless.

[fivecentnickel.com]

Knowledge without money is worth a lot more than money without knowledge.

After all, you can use knowledge to earn money.