<prompt> Human: Timing the market is bad, I get it...but the Dow is at an all time high! At a macro level, isnt now a BAD time to start buying index funds? Im not talking about beating the market, Im talking about common sense. Ive lived through several recessions, so Ive seen this movie before.I put 10 of each paycheck into my 401k. I max out my HSA. I max out my ROTH IRA. Im looking at starting to put a couple hundred a month into an index fund, but am worried a recession is around the corner and my 5 grand to start a Vanguard account will take a huge hit right out of the gate.Im not talking about timing the market on a daily, weekly, or monthly level...I just know that every time the Dow hits all time highs, a recession is around the corner. So shouldnt I wait and buy when the market is low at a macro level?I know Ill probably get slammed for this post. But this is a big step for me and I guess Ive got the jitters a bit.Thanks,Update: Thank you all for the good comments! Great perspectives that help me take my first steps into managing my own money. Ill try to up vote everyones great thoughts!  <response>: Youre still talking about timing the market. Investing in general can be risky short term as in if you are putting money in now then its reasonable that it could go down in a month. Over a long period of time though its very likely it will grow regardless of if it goes down during a recession and then recovers. You arent going to common sense your way into timing the market. 