The stock market is going to take a turn one day, there may be a short window of opportunity left so if I do get back in it may be only for a short time and that time needs to count.
Down here where I live in GA the local big name stocks are UPS, Coke, AFLAC, Rubbermaid, Home Depot but don't want to do the buy and hold.
The banks haven't paid any interest to speak of in years, the only way to make money outside of the stock market these days is through Reward Points on credit cards.
The biggest reason individuals under-perform the stock market averages is that they try to time the market. The market drops, they get scared and jump out of the market. Yes, they may avoid more downside, but they also miss some of the biggest stock market gains. It’s missing the gains which dooms them to subpar performance.
I will always invest in the U.S. stock market because I believe in the longevity and profitability of American businesses. My husband and I have invested in the stock market for decades, during both the good years and the bad years.
I’m a strong believer in the philosophy of the Bogleheads (http://www.bogleheads.org/). They follow the basics of John Bogle, the founder of Vanguard. You decide on an asset allocation which you can live with, fund that asset allocation with low cost index funds, and re-allocate when the asset allocation gets out of balance.
But even with the Boglehead philosophy, we’ll always own a minor position in a half dozen companies which interest us. You have to have some fun too, don’t you? That, along with the two 1-kilo Australian silver coins we own. They’re pretty. That’s the extent of our investment in precious metals. :-)