The stock market is NOT the place to put money that you are going to need, or want in the next 5 years. the stock market is the place to put money that you will allow to ride out 10 or more years. If you can do that, it CAN be a wonderful tool to earn some money, BUT...you MUST pay attention to what stocks you or your 401k are invested in, and what direction they are headed in. Many 401k plans will allow you to pick, safe ride, or risky ride type investments. My 401k is invested in the "safe" ride and my personal investments are the riskier rides. I heavily control, and am ontop of this risky ride. I have made some great money, and lost some money, but its a balance thing. its a hobby, and its something that I watch closely. NEVER put money into a stock market that you cant afford to completely lose. The old days of the big blue stocks (GM, Ford, IBM, Microsoft, and so on) being a safe bet, are NOT safe bets anymore. Its all kind of a crap shoot right now.

Fasten your seatbelt, its gonna be a bumpy ride folks!