When is the best time to invest?

Is now a good time to invest?

Should I be in the market now?

I get these questions, and variations on them, all the time. I get them from friends, family, even from people I've just met at a party or other gathering. I'm not a financial planner or a broker or any kind of fiduciary for that matter. People ask me this because they know I'm in the market. They think I know what I'm doing in the market. They think I'm some kind of expert. Somewhere I got the reputation for being "in the know".

Here's what I tell them: I'm no expert. I don't know anything more about where the market is going tomorrow than the next guy. Then I tell them I'm invested. I tell them the best time to invest is right now. I tell them that if they're not in the market now, they should be.

You know why? Because the average investor won't have enough money to retire on and live happily ever after if he doesn't invest what he's got. It doesn't matter if you're 24 or 42 or whatever your age, sitting on cash and waiting for the right time to invest is a losing proposition.