I think it's stupid to come to an option trading section and argue long term buy and hold. But what you said specifically makes no sense unless you did not stay invested during the bull years or picked more risky assets. Below is the sp500 chart, if you started in the mid 80s and kept adding little bit money to it every month, you would have done very well even with the crashes. http://stockcharts.com/freecharts/historical/spx1960.html My company matches 100% of my 401k contribution up to 6% salary a year, so i have been contributing the pre-tax limit since i first started working. The whole argument about long term vs trading is retarded, a lot of it depends on the tax situation and your benefit. It makes perfect sense for a lot of people including me, but that doesnt mean i cant also have a trading account...
I think this chart is missing re-invested dividends (there is a total return S&P some place on the web) which would make the buy and hold argument even more compelling. There is one big BUT there - your median returns would probably look significantly worse then your mean returns. Which means - if you get lucky, you'll be OK, but if you are unlucky... well, with the late retirement and an early death you'd still get by.
I've done Investools, John a Carter, Dan Sheridan, etc. they are all good but if you want something that is free and much better, go to tastytrade.com. Watch the segments Market Measures and Where Do I Start? There's no need to read books especially Larry M's large book. Good luck!
I agree with Texas Johnny, it's free and it's interactive (you can e-mail and ask them questions). good place to start