WHEN PATIENCE PAYS

Spexy Lady would hardly be called a patient person. Somehow, SL was doing something else-- perhaps shoe shopping-- and didn’t get the memo on “Patience is a virtue.” But being the hard-headed redhead that she is, she's had to suck it up and BE PATIENT, lest she lose her entire Manolo Money Fund to the high-roller math mavericks on Wall Street.

And Math Mavericks they are! Get this...98 percent of the stock market is controlled not by your garden variety stockbroker, but by computers. Tech-wizards with genius IQs work up endless algorithms that would make your head spin like that scary scene from “The Exorcist.”

What’s a Manolo Maven like moi to do when there seems no end in sight to the latest dizzying stock market gyrations? She does what any smart shopper would do. She checks out the sales!

But these sales are not for the faint of heart, and there's more to be lost than some undersized pair of jeans that hang in your closet with the tags still on. These are the kind of sales you shop with a real money pro. When SL goes it alone, she might be inclined to buy something that doesn’t “fit” or costs too much, or simply just isn’t a good buy.

Spexy's go-to shopping buddy is her shrewd, savvy financial advisor, worth her weight in gold (whether it's up or down). It’s hard enough for the experts to navigate the shark-infested Wall Street waters these days, let alone trying to do it on your own!

So listen up dear readers, day-trader wanna be's, or new students of The Street.

If you want to dip your toe into the market and score some good buys out there, arm yourself with good advice – whether you visit those smart people at places like Fidelity, call Chuck at Schwab, or sign on with a financial advisory firm that charges fair fees. Check ‘em out as closely as you would a nanny for your precious babies through sites like www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.

For tips on good buys, pop in on CNBC’s "Mad Money" host, Jim Cramer (photo above), airing daily at 5p CST Central, 6pm ET. His mantra is "Buy America." What a thought! Consider purchasing stock in strong, healthy U.S.-based companies that pay dividends in the 3% and up range. While your picks are riding the Wall Street Roller Coaster, they’ll be paying you to wait out the storm with a nice dividend check. And that’s the kind of waiting Spexy Lady likes—getting paid to wait.

The smart money says, "Be patient, don’t put all your eggs in one stock-basket,' and ease in knowing it could well be a couple of years or more before the skies clear.

Parting thoughts: Keep some powder (not face powder) dry to pad that Manolo Fund with cash for six-months to a year’s worth of income, 'cause you never want to run out of Manolos.

And that's your Spexy-nomics lesson for the day!