It was a calm summer evening in June when I stared at my computer screen and said, "Hey, the financial crisis is pretty much over -- time to start investing!"

Um, yeah.

So that was pretty much the worst miscalculation of my life, with the possible exception of my decision in eighth grade to join the Pen 15 club.

With the market crashing and burning, there are a lot of people running around thinking they're going to lose their life savings.

You've seen the pictures of the stockbrokers with worried looks on their faces staring at screens.

Even if you don't follow the market, you might be freaking out, too.

But you shouldn't be. In fact, if you don't know what's going on, you're probably better off.

For instance, let's say you don't invest. You just keep your money in a checking account. You're not making money, but you're also not losing money. So while the super investment professionals are dipping deeper and deeper in the red, your lack of financial sophistication is starting to look pretty smart.

Of course, over the long term, the expected return of investments more than makes up for the risk of loss. But even if you are investing, ignorance has its benefits.

I, for instance, like to log onto my computer once a week and cry softly as I stare at my investment account. Some people, after doing this enough times, start to think about cutting their losses and selling.

However, there are a lot of smart people that say this is a very bad way to invest, and they have research to back it up.

Just ask Warren Buffett. Earlier this year, he bet about $320,000 of his own money that the S&P 500 index would outperform a collection of hedge funds over the next 10 years.

As he wrote in a letter to shareholders of his company, Berkshire Hathaway, "the burden of paying [brokers, managers and consultants] may cause American equity investors, overall, to earn only 80 percent or so of what they would earn if they just sat still and listened to no one."

The S&P 500 index essentially shows the average return of a number of stocks. You're not going to hit the lottery investing in a fund that tracks it, but you're not going to lose your life saving either.

Remember when Lehman Brothers went down earlier this month? If you had invested everything you had in the company, you'd have virtually nothing left right now. If you invested in an index fund or other diversified investment, your loss probably would have been less than a percentage point.

Basically, what Buffett and others are saying is that you, without studying the market for hours on end, probably can't predict where it's going.

In fact, many people that do spend hours staring at the market don't have a very good idea either. Most fund managers don't beat the S&P 500.

Instead of worrying about the stock market and checking it every day, the smartest thing to do is just invest and don't touch the money until you really need it, like for buying a house or retirement.

So while I'm feeling kind of stupid right now to have put money in the market back in June, in the long run, maybe it wasn't such a bad idea.

If you're confused about the market, relax. Chilling out might just make you rich someday.

Ryan Pfister is a senior majoring in economics and information sciences and technology and is the Collegian's Monday columnist. His e-mail address is ryan@psu.edu.