I am 28 with a reasonably well paying job and a small investment in the stock market. As the market falls all I can think about is how much I can buy while it's down. What people forget about is the value of a stock or home is only indirectly related to it's price, there are a wide range of companies in great shape that have tanked.
Long term I think the US GDP is limited by our lack of investment in basic infrastructure. But when you look at the "real" economy things are still looking good. It's going to be interesting seeing how many baby boomers retire and how many are going to wait until the market recovers. But, I think people pulling money out of the market is going to help keep the market realistic for the next few years. (Good for me but bad for the old people.)
I don't have a lot of cash on hand, so when I talk about buying when the market is down I am fine thinking in terms of the next 5 years. I am cutting costs and increasing my rate of investment not dumping a lot of money into the market at the same time.
PS: If you get a large chunk of money it's best to get into the market over the course of 1-3 years vs going really aggressive the day someone hands you all that cash. You might miss out on a little interest but your odds of buying at a peak are greatly reduced.
Long term I think the US GDP is limited by our lack of investment in basic infrastructure. But when you look at the "real" economy things are still looking good. It's going to be interesting seeing how many baby boomers retire and how many are going to wait until the market recovers. But, I think people pulling money out of the market is going to help keep the market realistic for the next few years. (Good for me but bad for the old people.)