Jake of the Web

So, I'm still trying to find my niche here. Trying to figure out what this blog should be about: right now it's about whatever the hell I find interesting.
I have become a fan of MarketWatch.com lately, which seems to be the right mix of 'I already know this, thanks for the reinforcement' and 'Wow, now I get it'-type articles. It challenges me without putting me to sleep.
This article explains how "yeah, the stock market sucks right now. People are losing money. But guess what? That's what you signed up for with the stock market."
The question is: can you afford not to take the risk? More risk equals more return. Without that greater return, you are likely just losing ground to inflation. The number of dollars may stay the same; but what you can buy with that money is slowly whittled away.

I stumbled across this article and was really astounded. The specifics are probably not that realistic for most people:

Bottom line: at the age of 26, if you max out your contributions to your 401k & IRA accounts and walk away, you will have $1 Million by retirement age. The caveat? Maxing out your contributions would cost you just over $20,000. That is not realistic for most people, and it assumes a 10% return - the average annual stock market return.

So the specifics are not all that do-able for most people, but the facts of compound interest are undeniable. they can work for you or against you.