The rough and tumble state of the economy has many customers, homeowners, and investors wondering if it would be better to batten down the hatches and weather the storm of rising inflation and declining property values before committing more of their money into stock market investing.

While trepidation is not always a vice — you can’t lose any money if you don’t invest any money — many investors are watching their forecasts go up from a series of smart, well planned strategies. The most fundamental strategy of investing money into the stock market is never to think with a short-term mindset, as the first instance of declining value will set off panic and only result in net losses. Investors who approach their portfolios with long-term, gradual planning have a far greater chance of seeing their net worth blossom over the course of years or even decades.

Approaching the stock market is understandably a daunting task. Economists have studied trends and variables for years and still cannot predict market behavior with much greater accuracy than weathermen. Public opinion of banks and investing schemes is, naturally, at an all-time low. The consensus is that, with decreasing employment and increasing housing costs, there are safer investments than stock portfolios. While there is obviously less risk with a certificate of deposit or treasury bills, the rate of return — even on the highest yields — simply pales in comparison to a solid ten or twenty year investing plan.

The concept of returns over an extended period of time is not particularly well known to most Americans. As such, they rely on 401(k) plans and mutual funds rather than directly handle their investments. For customers without time, paying a broker’s fee may be a welcome relief from a headache, but there’s no need to pay a percentage commission (along with endless fees) so long as a basic approach is used. A five percent interest rate over the course of ten years will only increase a $5000 yearly commitment by a few thousand dollars. By comparison, a ten-year plan can quadruple the amount of money — the Dow Jones Industrial Average scale has risen 100% in only the last four years.

Deciding which futures to invest in can be a hornet’s nest, as there are no guarantees, but again the real enemy is short-term commitments. Investors in oil, for example, saw prices rise to $100 a barrel in spring of 2008, only to be cut in half by the end of summer. Short-term investors lost countless dollars by selling their shares in a time of fluctuation. Oil has since risen again to nearly what it cost two years prior, and investors with long-term planning have come out the stronger for it.

Investing requires commitment and the self-discipline to weather the peaks and valleys of stock values. Gauging which stock will fluctuate over the course of a few months is tempting but irrelevant. To commit money to long-term investing strategy, decide on the futures that will return equity over the course of a decade rather than overnight.