[Finnster]

In one sense its a great time to be in the market as there is a lot of volitility, and you need moving prices to make money. OTOH there is a lot going on and you need to be careful on what you buy/invest in, as there are sharp gains up as well as down.

I think one of the biggest lessons to be learned in all this is one has to be vigilant and really watch their investments. I believe I read the avg return for many mutual funds over the last 1yrs is 2%. Granted things were way up, and now way down, but if you were planning to retire soon, like a number of baby boomers, a number of them are going into retirement with decimated retirement accounts that they may not have the time to wait out for the rebound back up. OTOH, don't count on having pensions from your job (they are nearly extinct) and I'm not counting on SS to fund my retirement either. Who knows what shape it will be in in 40 yrs.

So, you have to look out for yourself. The earlier you start the better off you will be and will have the benefit of time to recover from mistakes. Don't get too caught up in trends (usually doing the opposite of the crowd or your instincts/emotions is better ironically,) don't be too risky, but don't be so timid you never make up making any money either.
Seriously. So many people never save any money, get to retirement age and realize they are going to be broke. The avg baby boomer is retiring w/ savings = to less than a yr's worth of their working salary. Maybe I should invest in Fancy Feast, as a lot of these bitches are gonna be eating a lot of cat food.