play the market or leave things alone

Computer programs, company bios, hunches, tips, sure things, or whatever method one decides on to do better than average on investing money seems like a terrible gamble and waste of time and effort. Me? I'm not that smart or tuned into what is going on to make wise investments.

I have, I must admit, changed how my money is invested from time to time and I havbe been a risk taker. A few years ago I had less than nothing so when I finally was able to save some money, I could not afford to be conservative or I would doom myself to being broke forever.

I did pay attention to how different categories of investments were trending and moved more of my money into the segments that were showing good growth. I, like most everyone, took a big hit when the bubble burst and it was a hard thing to not pull my money out. Not only did I leave my money in the stock market but Ieven left it exactly as it had been invested and when things started recovering, my money increased quickly.

There was a second rough period when the market would slip and slide-like three steps up and two backwards, and sometimes three backwards and only two forwards. I di, during that time frame, investment my money in a balanced mode rather than growth. I came out of that period just about like I had gone into it. Now, I am back into the growth formulas mode.

How has all this worked out for me?

The total amount of money that I have invested has increased 271% over the last five years. Considering the volitity of the market during that time, I believe I did okay.

It was hard just to let things ride when the market was losing money on a daily bases but the truth is, I just wouldn't know how to tell when the bottom came or the ceiling was reached. I just figured that the less stocks sold for the more shares I was buying with each dollar invested and when the market recovered, I would recover faster.

Even if I was smart enough tp pull my money out when the ceiling was reached and keep it out until stocks hit bottom, I believe I still am better off just leaving it alone. Maybe not. I'm not sure how to figure that out.