In my neophyte period, I once questioned a wall-street guru why we were getting word that the market reacted negatively to a weather report. I'm not kidding, it had happened a few days before. He explained to me, about as patient as someone could, that the report indicated heavy rain for the Midwest, which could mean a bumper crop, which could cause the commodities market to drop, which could impact on other markets, which were reacting to the report. Nobody knows what the future will bring. The statement says it all.
Diversification is the best strategy.
Absolutely, and it doesn't mean putting all your money into five different growth funds. It means spreading your resources through several sectors, so when one is having a bad time of it, the other sectors might take up the slack. Savings Accounts and CDs alone will not make you financially independent. I'm not anti-banking, for we have access to brokered CDs and money market funds, which might qualify as savings accounts. But you gotta have some real growth vehicles, rather than depending on an income vehicle for growth.