I have a friend attending a school known for finance, and they are actively pushing students to start investing now (at 18, 19) because, if they only save in cash, they won't keep up with inflation. 

I'm pretty confident I wouldn't have seized them because I didn't when I had the chance to.

Imagine all the advice they're getting about how dumb they are for not being in the market, too.  Letting their cash melt away.  And those critics are right, too, except when they're not right.

I don't envy 'em, I'll tell you that.  There's a path forward, and great opportunities, but I don't know that I would have been able to seize them at that age.

elvismercury

It's also not usually obvious when something's a bargain. If it were, someone else probably would have bought it already.