With the Market at Its Peak, Should You Wait to Invest?

Let's say you have some cash you want to invest for the long term. You know how important it is to get that money in the market so it can grow and earn compound returns -- but when do you invest it?

The answer lies in this fact: It's about time in the market, not market timing.

This is true even if you're in your 40s or 50s right now and feel like you need to start carefully minding your investments for retirement. Keep in mind that if you're 40-something right now, you likely have over 40 years' worth of life to enjoy and fund -- so the cash you could put in the market now certainly counts as "long term."

A lot of people are afraid of accidentally buying in at the height of the market, though. They say, "We should hold off until the market dips -- because it's going to dip. It's the longest bull market we've ever seen; it's