In late March, I was speaking with someone about IRA contributions.  Both of us agreed that we were hoping that the market would come down a bit before the April 15th deadline to make a contribution for the 2009 tax year.  By April 15th, the market had gone even higher on early signs that a recovery was gaining steam. 

Recent data in this past month has cast doubt on hopes for a strong recovery and the market has declined 16% from its high on April 23rd.  Now might be a good time to think about making some part of a 2010 IRA contribution.  If you think the market could fall further into bear market territory, a 20% or greater correction, then stagger or dollar cost average your contributions.  Too often we make the mistake of not thinking about IRA contributions till a few months before the deadline.