Time in the market can also lose you everything you have. Most small investers depend on stockbrokers, blind luck or mutual funds to make money in the market which is the reason most small investers end up with little or no return on there money. I dont try to time or play the market but I also do not buy stocks and hold them for any lenth of time. I do a lot of research on the co. whose stock I am going to buy then I decide what price I am going to pay for the stock and what price I am going to sell it at. I do not get attached to stocks some I may only keep a few weeks some I will keep for as long as 6 months but I watch them everyday. I also use buy and sells. If I have a stock that drops 10 % below its purchase price it is automatically sold this way you limit your exposer to risk at 10% of the value of your portfolio at any given time. If a stock goes up 30% in a short run I will usually sell it. These are some strategies that have worked for me in the past. The stockmarket is basically just a huge casino in the end you pays your money and you takes your chances. But do not sit by while some stockbroker keeps telling you it will come back ,look at all the people who lost fortunes in companies like enron, worldcom, tyco ,at&t and the mutual fund scam. Do your own research and make your own decisions based on what your goals and expexctations are.