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Don't Wait for Perfect Prices

Jim Cramer

Good stocks never get to where you want them to go. They never let you in at prices that make them seem like bargains.

In the 1989 mini-crash -- man, am I dated -- we had a 15% correction in an afternoon. (No wonder I am taking this one in stride.)

Yet, do you know what? When the smoke cleared, almost none of the stocks I wanted were at my price. Many of them were a point or 2 above if they were in their 20s or 30s, and 3 or 4 points above where I thought we had ideal levels.

I whiffed on most of them. I just didn't want to pay up.

Yet it was, in retrospect, a fabulous time to buy.

I bring that up because I am now reading articles about how "it is not down nearly enough" and "it has much further to go," typically from people who have hated the market or sat out the last 15% of it.

Look, I don't know if this is a bottom. In fact, I don't think it is except for the third that I have highlighted endlessly, but I do know that those of you hoping for perfection buys will be disappointed.

You just never get them. And when they do happen, you will be scared to death to buy them.

Figure out your prices and your levels, but be ready to be a little flexible. You want to buy some AT&T (T), make your target price $35 and change. Not $35 plain.

Give yourself some give. If you don't buy all at once, you can pay up a tad if you have to get something on.

But don't shrug your shoulders and say, "Nothing's down enough to buy." I can tell you from experience that something is down enough to buy, and you have to do your best to find it.

Random musings: My friend Dan Dicker, commodities trader extraordinaire, has a great piece coming later today on the site.