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I'll say one thing that worked for me over the years in my retirement savings is just to keep buying each pay check.  It's automatic, don't think about it, and over time you get a nice cost average.  As far as timing, I never get it right.  Back to my retirement, I had to think too much back when ole Covid started and I thought I was smart and pulled out well before that big dip.  But, as Michael stated, how do you know when it is going back up and gonna stay up.  I kept thinking with all the money that gov't was dumping in, we would crash (yeah, I was right, just happening now, not back then).  Of course I finally slowly put back in, and now it is crashing it down.  The unfortunate part is I also got myself into stock playing and that is all down 25% too.  Oh well, gonna leave it ride and keep my rule of putting more money in and cost averaging.  Fortunately I'm able to put a good amount into my retirment (although I still like playing my stocks too).

Mark, if I understand you correctly I would respectfully disagree. I have watched too many family members and friends try to wait to buy at the bottom and as you said end-up buying on the way up. When that was happening I would get frantic calls saying they were trying to buy but they couldn't get in at a certain price point and the buy rates were escalating faster than they could predict or possibly afford. My only advice was to decide what they could possibly tolerate and proceed - as what other choice did they have?

At a certain point in any market sell-off there should be a time when investors can reasonably predict the market will not go much lower unless their is a fundamental and pervasive restructuring of the economy at which point all bets are off, think (1929-30). My belief, in our present situation, is that will not happen. If I am correct, we should be close to the bottom now, hence my elevator analogy.

Yes @Willhound I really like dividend paying stocks and bonds. My American stocks generate the US funds I use to travel when there is a disparity in US/CDN money. I'll be 72 in December so in Canada I have already had to start withdrawing money from my RRSPs (which go to RIFFs) and yes I too will be an investor for life having timed our profile to the time the Admiral reaches 99 years of age. Up to that point she will not have to alter our present lifestyle - after that she may have to be a greeter at Walmart! 

What I have said is of course just my opinion and I am not a certified financial planner!

There's two ways to decide on when to invest, try and guess when to enter on the way down, or look for confirmation of the bottom, and then buy it on the way up. Both tactics rarely mean you are buying the bottom, but buying on the way up is most likely the safer approach.

Could not have said it better @Michael T
I would only add, depending on your risk tolerance, look at solid companies with good long term track records and preferably one that pays dividends and is trading lower not because there's anything wrong with the company, but because of all the nervous Nellie's out there that pulled out. Over a medium to long term time frame you will never regret it. Also remember that although a lot of us are investing and saving for retirement, you still need growth in your portfolio after retirement to keep up with inflation and keep a steady income until the end. At almost 60 I'm not investing for the next 3 to 4 years, I'm still investing for the next 30.