Imagine that...DCA works!

[kork13]

I know that for many people on these boards, this is simply preaching to the choir. However, in the interest of our friendly collection of lurkers, one-time visitors, and skeptics, here's an excellent article detailing the benefits of Dollar-Cost Averaging, where you make small, consistent contributions to your savings/investments over time and let compounding be your best friend.

Slow and Steady Still Pays - WSJ.com
For younger retirement savers who diligently put money away, that long march of time also provides a crucial ally: the ability to recover from inevitable losses. That's especially the case for 401(k) investors who don't pass up the essentially free money that comes by taking full advantage of any matching contributions provided by their employers.
...
Let's look at how steady savings and the passage of time can benefit younger 401(k) investors. Consider a person making $40,000 per year in 2000 who contributed 6% of her salary -- $200 per month -- in the first year with a company match of 3%, or $100 to start.
...
As of the end of November 2010, there would be almost $52,000 in that account, with just $30,470 of that money coming from the saver's own pocket. The rest would have come from the company match and a nearly 14% gain in the S&P 500 fund from January 2000.
...
Despite the stomach-churning ups and downs of the stock market during the past decade, an investor who started with $300 in an account 11 years ago, and who has nearly $52,000 socked away today, is much further down the path toward a comfortable retirement.

That's a pretty reasonable scenario for many people, and although I started investing only ~4 years ago (at the height of the market), my accounts have reflected essentially the same result. Bottom line: DCA rocks.