<prompt> Human: Hi, Im 22 years old, living in Eastern Europe and I have accumulated about 10K over the years. The money is currently just sitting in my bank account. I will be also accumulating extra about 3-4K a year to invest.Id estimate that Id be looking to spend the money in about 10 years.What would be the best investment option for me? Keeping it in a bank account isnt probably the best idea...I know that index funds are usually suggested, but when I look at the current SP chart, it seems to be in a similar position as it was in 2000 or 2007...Additionally, I have no debts and I already have a small emergency fund.Assistant: I dont know what chart youre looking at but according to Yahoo Finance, the SP 500 index was at 1250 in 2005 and is now at 2100. Even if you had bought just before the crash started in September of 2007, youd still have about 35 more than what youd started with. And thats not including dividends. For the inexperienced investor, an SP 500 index fund is always a good place to start. Obviously there is still risk, but over 10 years it will be minimal. Human: Another option would be to wait for a crash of SP and then buy at low. What would the disadvantages of this strategy be?  <response>: Basically, you have no idea if the market WILL crash. If it doesnt, you just lost out on all those sweet sweet gains.Time in market timing the market. 