I can patiently wait till something I want is marked down and then I buy it. It's considered being frugal and I'm not the least bit embarrassed about my shopping style and neither is my bank account.

Now my problem. It has taken forever for me to transfer this philosophy to my stock buying purchases. For months now I religiously check my stocks to see how they're doing. They keep going down and I keep worrying.

That's my money going down the tubes! What if I can never recoup it?

Am I really cut out for this investment stuff? Look at my stocks for goodness sakes. They keep going down. They're supposed to be going UP.

And finally, finally I had an epiphany. Similar to my marked down Christmas items, when my stocks dip I should be celebrating. How should I celebrate? For me it should translate into buy, buy and buy some more.

My Compliance Officer wanted me to remind you that investing on a regular basis does not assure a profit and does not protect against losses in declining markets, and you should consider your financial ability to continue to purchase through periods of low price levels. Now that I got the legal jargon out of the way you may want to check out the articles "Buy and Hold . . . and Buy!" and "Stocks for Sale" by Charles Carlson:

Your companies are having a stock market sale! The cost of your stocks has dropped. Consider buying now at a bargain. Don't wait until they go up and wish you had spent the money and purchased them when they were cheaper.

This epiphany can be so difficult to grasp. The fear of losing my money overshadowed the real deal of cheap stocks, but thankfully, it's finally sinking in.

As we have learned in the past, the stock market typically goes up and down. When it goes up it might enjoy a lengthy stay and when it goes down it might enjoy another length stay. However, as history has shown, it has usually inched upwards (and this is no guarantee of future growth but it's the best we've got, so let's pay attention).

We're in for the long-term and as such should consider these dips a possible bear market. Remember, doom and gloom and the paws of the bear striking down. And I still do not like that analogy. I was hoping it would grow on me as I became a more knowledgeable investor, but it hasn't. It seems to have gotten worse. What were they thinking?

So in a bear market, prices drop and investors get skittish as they pull their money out of the market.

Bargain hunters…get ready! This is a bonanza that we can't and shouldn't ignore. My portfolio is dropping like a lead balloon and I'm thrilled. I've picked competent companies and I trust that the market will eventually recover.

Similar to those after Christmas sales, save a bundle of money and pat yourself on the back for being a frugal and insightful investor.

Next time I'll continue to look at diversification. I don't think we're quite ready yet to leave this topic, but I did want to share my epiphany with you. And now I'm off to bargain hunt.

Thank you for joining me,

Joyce