Now is not the time to make money in the markets

Take it from someone who got out at 13,000: don't try and make money in the current financial markets as they tumble to new lows.

The volatility is too extreme. And picking stocks at low prices with high dividends won't work either. For every two stocks you pick right, three you'll pick wrong. And you'll end up losing money.

Now is the time to preserve your worth, not to try and build more. Seasons will change but not for another year at least.

And if you still have your money in the markets in hopes of recouping what you've lost, that's a fool's bet that will never pay off. What you lose from now to the ultimate bottom, you'll never get back. That might well be another 20 percent of your holdings.

But for the folks such as me in cash on the sidelines, we'll pick up your losses in new profits -- a reward for our patience amid calamity.