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Money Magazine reports that now may be a great time to begin investing.  If you haven’t started saving for retirement perhaps you should consider beginning to assemble a nest egg.

They begin by stating:

Starting a 401(k) is a bit like entering a marriage. It’s a long-term commitment, not a short-term fling…. If you’re in the early stages of your career, you’re going to be investing money that you won’t even begin to touch for 30 or more years. And even people who are closer to retirement are still effectively contributing for the long term. After all, they’re not pulling out all their dough the minute they hit 65. They’re going to withdraw it over the course of many years.

They continue to state that:

If I were going to factor current economic and financial conditions into the decision, I’d say that you can actually make the case that this is an excellent time for someone to be starting his or her 401(k).

I couldn’t agree more. If you are just starting your career or just starting to save for retirement getting your foot in the door when the market is down is a great idea.  It’s common for the media to say things like this is the worst recession since the Great Depression, but for some reason they neglect to say that since stocks have been beaten to a pulp in recent years that this may be the best time to get in during a new investor’s lifetime.

A few other points:

• Make sure that you diversify your investments.  Keeping everything in stocks can yield big gains, but can also take big hits.  And when the hits come you’ll be wishing you diversified.
• Make sure you invest enough money in your 401/403 to get your employer’s match (if they offer one).
• Make sure you take advantage of other tax sheltered savings options like IRAs.
• Make sure that you save and invest as much as possible.  The more money you put away now, the more you’ll have down the road.