Stock Market & Investing: Should You Be In Cash?

With the stock market volatility showing no signs of pending stability and with different and often conflicting advice on every financial news show, how do you know where to put your money?You can rely on your financial advisor, but you may be getting an inkling that your best interests are not aligned with theirs...after all, most financial advisors make money regardless of whether they grow or lose yours, and many are simply glorified salespeople, trained in the art of selling the specific products their bank or institution offers. While there are many qualified and excellent financial advisors out there, the question we address in this article is should you be investing at all. Should you be in cash, which means cashing out your stocks and holding your money for a while at the sidelines? If you are currently in cash, is it time to make some moves and put some money into the market? Some experts certainly seem to think so.Historically, having at least some available cash at hand to take advantage of opportunities when they arise has been a wise strategy. In today's world, the answers revolve around the issue of just how much the U.S. dollar is worth going forward. With no gold to back the dollar and more paper and virtual 'money' being pumped into the economy each day, is it only a matter of time before the dollar is significantly devalued? What about the ballooning national debt, not to mention the skyrocketing and unprecedented debt levels held by individuals, and what does all this mean for your portfolio, your wallet and your financial future?This article does not seek to answer these questions but simply to bring awareness to the issues and questions themselves. Merrily spending or investing along without seeing the big-picture issues is not a viable game plan and could have dire consequences in the long-, if not short-term future. Financial education is more important than ever, and is still not top priority for people, a problem we see from grade school up into mature adulthood. Anyone who does not invest the time to become educated financially, however, is risking their money - whatever it may be worth - more than they realize. Whether you choose to invest in gold or oil pipelines or commercial real estate trusts, knowing there are other options aside from mutual funds or stocks (forget savings accounts) is a wise first step. As far as financial advice goes, the best tool you can give yourself is a growing awareness of what is happening in the world of money, and a growing understanding of the consequences and trends created from what is happening. In this way, if you choose to seek financial advice and/or to invest your money, or even if you choose to keep your money out of investments for now, you will be doing so of your own volition, from a basis of knowledge and perspective and not out of blind trust or guesswork.