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Rule No. 25: There's Always a Bull Market

Jim Cramer

Editor's note: Jim Cramer's new book, Real Money: Sane Investing in an Insane World, is available in selected bookstores now. As a special bonus to RealMoney readers, we will be running Cramer's "Twenty-Five Rules of Investing." For more about the new book and to order it, click here. Today, we present Cramer's twenty-fifth, and final, rule of investing. Read more about his rules:

1. Pigs Get Slaughtered
2. It's OK to Pay the Taxes
3. Don't Buy All at Once
4. Buy Damaged Stocks
5. Diversify to Control Risk
6. Do Your Homework
7. Don't Panic
8. Buy Best-of-Breed
9. Defend Some Stocks
10. Don't Bet on Bad Stocks
11. Don't Own Too Many Names
12. Cash Is for Winners
13. No Woulda, Shoulda, Couldas
14. Expect Corrections
15. Watch Bonds
16. Don't Subsidize Losers
17. Check Hope at the Door
18. Be Flexible
19. Quit When Execs Do
20. Patience Is a Virtue
21. Be a TV Critic
22. When to Wait 30 Days
23. Beware Stock Hype
24. Explain Your Picks

I like to end every television and radio show I have with this signoff: "There is always a bull market somewhere, and I will try to find it for you." I say that because it's true.

Something is always working! Maybe it's gold, so you buy best-of-breed Newmont Mining(NEM - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr). Maybe it's oil, so you buy some Halliburton(HAL - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr). Maybe it's the chemical complex, so you pick up some Dow Chemical(DOW - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr). I've seen moments where the only stocks in bull mode were in your supermarket or your medicine chest, stocks like Anheuser-Busch(BUD - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) and PepsiCo(PEP - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr).

Now, I know that might mean you have to do some trading. It might mean that you may have to look further and harder than your time and your inclination allow. That's OK, too. What matters is that you don't simply default to what's in bear mode because you are time-constrained or intellectually lazy.

This is not just a criticism of do-it-yourselfers. Many professionals stuck with the PMC-Sierra(PMCS - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr)/Applied Micro Circuits(AMCC - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) complex or the Novell(NOVL - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr)/Sun Microsystems(SUNW - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) leg irons long after they should have. If they looked around, they might have spotted the bull market in oil, and bought something as simple as Exxon Mobil(XOM - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) or as complex but rewarding as Ultra Pete(UPL - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr).

Just remember:

There is always a bull market somewhere.

I will always end my shows with this tag line because it is vital for me to get you to think more opportunistically than the average investor does.

Oh, and by the way, it has the added advantage of being true. For 25 years there has always been a sector that works. You just have to find it. I know it, and I am honored if you will let me help you.

	1.	Pigs Get Slaughtered		2.	It's OK to Pay the Taxes
	3.	Don't Buy All at Once		4.	Buy Damaged Stocks
	5.	Diversify to Control Risk		6.	Do Your Homework
	7.	Don't Panic		8.	Buy Best-of-Breed
	9.	Defend Some Stocks		10.	Don't Bet on Bad Stocks
	11.	Own Fewer Names		12.	Cash Is for Winners
	13.	No Regrets		14.	Expect Corrections
	15.	Know Bonds		16.	Don't Subsidize Losers
	17.	No Room for Hope		18.	Be Flexible
	19.	Quit When Execs Do		20.	Patience Is a Virtue
	21.	Be a TV Critic		22.	When to Wait 30 Days
	23.	Beware the Hype		24.	Explain Your Picks
	25.	Find the Bull Market
Check back for more of Cramer's Rules