Every month, I invest hundreds of dollars in the stock market. Every month, my portfolio seems to hover around the same dollar value. Overall, my portfolio has lost 40%, even though it is diversified. A large majority of that loss, is due to my company stock, which has plummeted over the past two years. Still, just about every one of my stocks has lost money since I started investing in them, and some people would ask me why I continue to invest.

My answer is that I am not spending disposable income. I don't live payday to payday, and can afford to sit on the investments long term. Also, there are just way too many bargains out there to sit on the sidelines. The fundamental law of investing is buy low, sell high. Well, right now the stock market is low, and snapping up lots of shares at a low price seems to make sense. My greatest risk is that one of the companies I invest in will not recover. That is a risk I'm willing to take. The stock market has been declining for two years now, which indicates that a turn around is immanent, and I'll be right there waiting for it.