If you don't get out of the stock market, you're in for a lot of pain and another sharp drop

I am saddened for the many people I've met who have lost so much money in the stock market.

The impact has been dire. One fellow writer who also is a doctor has had to get a parttime job -- now as a retiree at 70. He has lost half a million dollars in the market.

There are more such stories that defy demographics. Contributions at the largest Catholic Church in the 11th most affluent county in America where I live are down almost $500,000 year-to-date.

Yet what's worse is that so many people who have lost so much are still leaving their money in the stock market believing some bull market is just over the horizon. It is not, at least not until March 2009.

Until then, the market is going to tumble again, wiping out even more wealth. And if you need that money between now and March, it won't be there to tap.

I still believe the market and Dow will fall below 7,000 points. Yet so many people still are believing all the brokerage firm sham salesmen and women who say to stay put for the long term.

They don't have a long term. They've already made their money off commissions from you to buy into mutual funds. And they continue to get money from the mutual fund companies for the longer they keep your funds hostage.

Get your money out now. Put it in T-bills. Let someone else take the losses, and then put your money back into the stock market at the bottom in March and make some profits. Or better yet, get a certified financial planner who does not make money unless you do.