the stock market is no place for your money right now unless you are in it for the really long haul, and even then it is going to be a rough ride. depending on who you listen to, the s&p has peaked for generations to come, mainly due to way higher than average returns for the past 20 or so years. i cashed out of the market a couple of years ago and diversified my 401K with largely overseas small and mid caps. i put the majority of that cash into real estate locally following katrina, and nationally following the "untimely demise of people who got in way over their heads so they could impress their friends with their big mansions on adjustable rate mortgages that any idiot can tell you are, in fact, adjustable rate (which means they can go up too) and the overzealous commission hounds that sold them to them" or the "sub-prime crisis" if you so desire. now i am enjoying renting out property to poor saps that won't even be able to get a home depot card for years to come for about 20% higher than i could have 3 years ago. the dollar is a joke, and uncertainty (war, upcoming election, mortgage crisis, bear stearns et al, etc.) is exacerbating the problems. the rest of my cash is in nice slow, stable cd's and none of it is going to see the light of day until 2010 at the earliest.

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1983 300D classic white 196,xxx
2007 toyota yaris lb
2007 nissan versa (wife's)
2001 nissan frontier
2006 bmw r1150gs
2001 ducati monster 900
2003 zr7s
2007 klr650