Investors wealth to the tune of about Rs 6 lakh crore was wiped out during the week as the stock market witnessed a record single-day loss as well as gain on global developments.

The Bombay Stock Exchange barometer plunged by a record 1,408 points on Monday and 875 points (second biggest fall) on Tuesday after a credit crisis in the US and fears of imminent US recession created panic across the world markets.

Bourses at home were hit hard due to margin calls earlier in the week coupled with heavy pullout by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs).

If you are in your 20s and you are thinking of saving and investing then you are way ahead in the game of investment world. One year of loss in the investment world can cost you thousands of dollars in 20 to 30 years because of the power of compounding.

Read the blog Steps to become a millionaire and you would get a general picture of where to invest to reach the goal of building wealth.

Even though the Fed has cut the interest rate by 3/4 of % point there is no sign of recovery in the housing market. It is expected that the housing market will suffer in 2008 and it will be slugging throughout the year. Merrill Lynch's report on real estate market forecasts around 15% drop in the median house price. The full story is available at Housing prices to free fall in 2008.

Well, we all know Buffet's strategy of picking stocks on sale. Following Buffet's strategy here are the stocks that are deep value considering the hit they have suffered because of overall market downturn

1. BNSF Railway (BNI) - It's a railroad company and it's sheer size is a formidable barrier to the competition. Buffet got around 11% position in this company around April'2007 and the stock has become cheaper. So it's a big buy considering Buffet always buys deep value stocks.

"Slow and Steady wins the race"

Who hasn't heard about the importance of being steady even if you are slow? It very well applies to the financial market.

Who doesn't want to be a millionaire? This is a living dream that we see even when we are wide awake. It is not impossible to be a millionaire. One can realize this dream with perseverance, and time tested formula of discipline and regular savings.

Consider these while hunting for the best stock:

• Look at S&P 500 index P/E value. Inverse it to get the yield. Compare it with 3 month Treasury bill yield. If the S&P yield is higher then chances of overall market performing better in the next year or so is much better. The closer the spread the problematic it is. Basically low valuation of the market means more chance of having better return in future.
• Look at http://www.bigcharts.com for the sector that are performing well in last 3 months to 1 year.
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When we are kids we don't care a lot about money and terms like banks, savings, investment etc. just sound so confusing that we want to stay away from anything that resemble these terms. Saving, investments, fixed deposits, CD etc sound so abstract that we just can't understand them when we are kids. Some of these concepts elude people throughout their lives too. Money saving and investments have been always there in front of us but we don't realize it quite early in our lives and when we realize them it's too late for most of us.

It is a general belief in investors that hand picking stocks can give higher return than that of market. I know there are many investors out there who believe that they have the knack of picking stocks and they can beat the market by buying low and selling high.

But in reality no one can predict the market and no one can predict the future of the company. You can never guarantee that the stock that you picked will give you great return. After all one bad news from the company and the stock can become worthless while you are working at your office or enjoying getting tanned at the beach.

The title says it all. I first got introduced to investment concept at the age of 24. Yeah that's pretty late considering now a days a 6yrs old kid owns a stock and parents now teach their kids about saving and investment at a very early stage.