take the bulk of your money and invest it in a diverse set of index funds that have low costs And now, a very important note for those of you who are even youn

take the bulk of your money and invest it in a diverse set of index funds that have low costs And now, a very important note for those of you who are even younger than me: The massive bear market is an incredible stroke of luck for you. (I didn't realize this back in 2000, and I paid the price. Don't make the same mistake I did.) When you're young you don't need immediate profit from your investments. You have many years to sit on them. You want to buy low and sell high. When's the best time to buy low? When the market is crashing! So now, more than ever, is the time to save, save, save. Earn money and invest it. Live cheaply and save. Buy stocks with a portion of your savings. Buy them while everyone else is selling them, and take time now and then to bless the universe for giving you a 25% (and counting!) drop in the S&P500 over the last year. No matter whether stocks are overvalued or undervalued, buying them at a 25% discount from what they used to be is a good thing. Of course, those of us who already have some stocks have a mixed blessing: The portfolio value is collapsing, but there's also a chance to buy more at fire-sale prices. And those who happen to be baby boomers are totally screwed, because they have to retire tomorrow and their savings -- even if they happened to have had any -- are rapidly vanishing at precisely the wrong moment. So stock market crashes aren't all wine and roses for everyone. But, if you happen to be in your twenties, they're good news. (For more details I recommend Bernstein's The Four Pillars of Investing. Sadly, it's clear to me now that every year that I didn't know about this book was costing me money.)