If you want to invest regularly, even under shaky market conditions, consider using an investment strategy called dollar-cost averaging.  The name may imply something daunting; it is a simple concept.

  Dollar-cost averaging means you invest the same dollar amount at regular intervals over time.  Simply, you invest the same amount of money at the same time each week or month.  By consistently following this strategy, you may be able to reduce the impact of market fluctuations on your investment portfolio.

By the numbers:  For example, say that you decide to invest $100 each month.  As the following illustration shows, you automatically buy more shares when prices are low and fewer shares when prices are high:

Average market price per share:
  $25 + $10 +$20 + $10 + $25 divided by 5 purchases = $18

Investor's average cost per share:
  $500 total investment divided by 33 shares = $15.15

  Your regular monthly investment of $100 bought more shares when the price was low and fewer shares when the price was high.  As you can see the average cost of the shares you purchased is less than the average market price per share over the period.  

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