All you hear on the news and in the papers is how we are in recession, going into recession, global recession or some combination of these terms. Well… I still remember the last big crash, September 11, 2001. I remember the markets being closed because the actual infrastructure that allows Wall Street to trade was damaged in the attacks. I was in college then and if I had invested my money then my financial situation would be very different today.

What is my point you ask? For all the small investors out there like me, do not listen to the news. Stop reading the headlines. We have been through worst and now is not the time to panic but to invest. Warren Buffet is probably the most successful investor ever and he says “To buy when people are fearful and be fearful when people are greedy.” I know what you may be thinking, he has billions of dollars, he does not care if he loses money. I can assure you he cares very much how his investments perform. Now granted he may not miss a mortgage payment if he loses a couple thousand or even a couple billion but the principal remains intact.

Great companies that not only have great balance sheets but a dividend to boot are trading at unprecedented lows. I encourage you to invest now, while stocks are at fire sale prices. ( This is my opinion , please always do your own due diligence and seek professional help as necessary. ) Buy strong stocks with a good yield and you will watch your wealth grow as sanity returns to Wall Street. You may argue that stocks continue to fall, well I say continue to buy. Because it just means you have good stocks at better and better prices. We need to stop perpetuating the dropping prices in stocks because we think the media knows best. Remember their job is to sell stories, not to make you wealthier. So why do we care what they say? We should not, we should invest, because if everyone was buying and not selling, we would all see plus signs on our statements , instead of red.

Matt