After two days of market gains, we can all see that you should not give up on investing just because you had a few bad days. It is important to build a portfolio no matter what the markets are doing.
Remember to diversify your investments. If you are all in one stock, one industry, or one the of company, you are not diversified. Even some mutual funds are not diversified, as they target one type of investment.
If you do not have a portfolio yet, I suggest heading over to Sharebuilder.com. Sharebuilder has a program where you can make automatic investments with low costs. You choose where the investment goes. I would start with one stock or fund that you like. Make investments into that fund at a regular rate ($50 a month? $25 per paycheck?) that you choose and will stick to. Once you hit a pre-determined investment level in that company (in dollars), you should switch to a new investment. Keep going indefinitely. Eventually you might invest more into companies you already have stock in, but never stop investing.
By the time you are ready to retire, you will have a nice nest egg to fall back on, aside from your 401k that is.
