I absolutely disagree. Remember Black Monday? I do. 20% gone in a matter of hours. Dot Com Bubble? About a 70% decline (NASDAQ) over 2.5 years. Or how about October 2008? 60% gone over the next agonizing 18 months. Invest in chunks at the wrong time and there can be a lot of pain that takes years and years to recover from. Monthly contributions, i.e. dollar cost averaging, protects against market fluctuations and reduces (not eliminates) downside risk..especially if one invests in mutual funds (which I absolutely hate).
I think the difference, at least with how I invest, is that I invest 3 different categories.
1. Long Term Retirement: IRA, 401k, TSP, Mutual Funds, etc. you get the idea. In those areas, I don't care if the DIA, NASDAQ, S&P500 go down at times. They will; and they will go up. You can't time the market, and if you try, you will lose. But in the long term, those investments have NEVER LOST A PENNY. EVER!!! Long term of course means at least 10 years. And even in the DOWN TIMES; like in 2008, it did not take YEARS AND YEARS to recover. Not unless you STOPPED investing or took your money out. Bases on the profits I had in there prior, I was barely down at all. Yes, I lost a lot of profit, but I was barely down on my principal investments. And by 2009-2010, I was back in the profit again. If I look at 2006-PRESENT DATE, even with the 2008 crash, my portfolio is up about 35%. (Principal investment 2006-present; vs present value)
2. Conservative/Secure Investments: My house, becoming/staying debt free, emergency funds, savings accounts, cash/gold/silver on hand. This is the asset class I use to ensure that I don't have any immediate financial issues. I could lose my job tomorrow, and I could continue to pay all my bills, eat, clothes, utilities, etc. for at least 3 years. WITHOUT TOUCHING #1 above investments.
3. Short term investments: CD's, lock-out accounts, bonds, etc. These are areas where I tie up money that I can't really touch; but only for a short period. 1-5 years. Usually designed if I'm specifically wanting to spend/buy/save for something specific. I use this to buy a car for instance. (Yes, in cash. No loans). I used this for preparing for both my kids to go to college. Used this to pay off my mortgage. Usually discretionary funds, leftover money, etc.
The reason I bring this up, is because, if you are buying stocks and "PLAYING THE STOCK MARKET", then the DOT.Com crash or 2008 would definitely have an affect on you. If you were "INVESTING" in a retirement type fund; IRA, 401K, TSP, or even lump sums, then you weren't affected bad at all. (REALITY CHECK: No investment is going to be POSITIVE for the 40-50 years of your life. That's how economics, inflation, deflation, etc. work). Matter of fact, I was quite happy with the 2008 crash. The market needed a reset; and for the reason you mentioned about dollar cost averaging, it was AWESOME. I was buying monthly at 25-35% of traditional costs. Which means, I was buying a whole lot of shares at a fraction of what I was buying them for. And when the market recovers, which it will, I will be in great shape. (Which is exactly why I AM in such financial great shape today).
I do agree with you on "DOLLAR COST AVERAGING". But let's clarify something here. Except for PRIVATE mutual funds, stocks, etc. (Playing the stock market), there's no way that you are ALLOWED to invest that entire $35K into your RETIREMENT ACCOUNT. You're only allowed to put in $5500 per year. ($6500 if you're over 50 years old). If you read back a few posts, you'll recall that I said if you were going to invest the $35K, you'd put the $5500 into your ROTH IRA, the remainder in CD's, then each year, roll $5500 worth of CD's into the ROTH IRA. This also BENEFITS YOU if there is a market crash. Then your $5500 will buy even more. But you only invest $5500 per year.
A lot of people are afraid of investing. Many people are afraid of the market. But there is a BIG DIFFERENCE in "Investing in the market" and "Playing the Market". If you invest the $35K ($5500 per year) into a ROTH IRA for your retirement, that is one of the safest things you can do. And if you STOP putting money into it, after the 5 years of the loan money, and let it sit for 40 years, that $35K will be worth in the neighborhood of $1.2 million dollars. That's without putting any more into it. But if you're not into investing, that's cool. Use some, all, OR NONE of the $35K for what you need. Don't invest it. Just put money into a savings account. Hopefully the cadet, when he graduates, will at least look into TSP or some other retirement plan. (Same exact risk as investing in an S&P500 Roth IRA), but whatever.
Remember though: This topic started and evolved, because questions were being asked also about doing something with the $35K (Loan/Advance) that is offered. Some will use some/all of it to set up an apartment. Some will use some/all of it to invest. Some will use some/all of it to pay off debt they came in with. Some will use some/all of it to buy a new car or other frivolous things. Neither I, nor anyone else is telling anyone they MUST do anything with the money. These young men and women are old enough now to make decisions for themselves. If they don't know what to do, then make the decision to LEARN. But no one is saying a person should/must do anything with their money. At the same time, I don't think anyone you tell a cadet what NOT TO DO with this available money. No one should tell them to NOT TAKE the money; or to NOT INVEST the money; etc. All we should do is provide experience and options. It is up to them to decide.
Caveat: You knew it was coming. I think there are SOME THINGS that we should definitely recommend AGAINST USING the money for.
1. Buying drugs
2. Setting up a meth-lab
3. Laundering money for the mob
4. Using to start fires on camping trips
5. Use it to patch holes in sneakers
etc.