Quote from rew:
Actually, I have been putting in money since the mid 80s. Most of the gains were lost in the crashes of 2000 and 2008. I estimate that had I simply stuffed the cash under my mattress I would have about 50% more money saved up by now. The stock market is a treacherous place.
I think it's stupid to come to an option trading section and argue long term buy and hold. But what you said specifically makes no sense unless you did not stay invested during the bull years or picked more risky assets.
Below is the sp500 chart, if you started in the mid 80s and kept adding little bit money to it every month, you would have done very well even with the crashes.
http://stockcharts.com/freecharts/historical/spx1960.html
My company matches 100% of my 401k contribution up to 6% salary a year, so i have been contributing the pre-tax limit since i first started working. The whole argument about long term vs trading is retarded, a lot of it depends on the tax situation and your benefit. It makes perfect sense for a lot of people including me, but that doesnt mean i cant also have a trading account...

