As good as the third quarter was for the stock market, October and the fourth quarter sure got off to a rough start. The Dow fell 203 points on this first day of October and the broader S&P 500 lost 27.23, or 2.58%. The weakness today was evident from the very beginning of the session and the selling pressure didn’t let up until the closing bell rang.

What was the cause of today’s weakness? There were quite a few things to blame for today’s terrible start to the month of October. First of all the economic data released data was very disappointing to investors. Jobless claims rose much more than expected, and the ISM Manufacturing Index also came in below expectations. In addition to these problems market participants likely are trying to take some profits from the historical run up that we have seen in the market over the last few months. Finally, stocks were drug down by the stronger US dollar, which was buoyed by supportive comments from Ben Bernanke. In the end there were plenty of reasons to sell and with a market that has come so far and so fast, it fell quickly.

Keep in mind that October is historically not a great month for stocks. Stocks bucked the trend in September by finishing with a very nice result, but historically speaking seeing a pullback in the month of October should not come as a surprise to investors. How do you use a potential pullback in stocks? If you have confidence that the economy is indeed turning around and corporate balance sheets will continue to improve then now is a good time to start making out a shopping list of stocks to put on your radar that might be a good buy when the selloff occurs. The month of October has historically been a good time to load up on stocks when pullbacks occur, so keep that in mind!

It is only the 2nd day of January in 2009 and there are already predictions coming in galore regarding the year that will be in 2009. It certainly isn’t uncommon at this time of year to get plenty of people playing the role of prognosticator, but the average individual should be careful of reading too much into these 2009 predictions.

How big is the prediction buzz already in 2009? CNBC has already started its own 2009 Predictions Special Report Page, where pretty much everyone who ever comes on their network is given the opportunity to play forecaster. Every industry reporter speculates as to what will come of that specific group in 2009, and how investors should play the stocks in the year ahead.

I thought with all the calls of a bottom in the economy or the stock market on a certain date in the coming year, today would be a good time to remember to take all these predictions with a grain of salt. Remember, many of these people who are now calling a bottom or speaking so highly of certain areas were very wrong in 2008. This stock market and this economy is one that no one who is currently analyzing the market has ever seen the likes of before, so I truly believe their predictions should weigh far less than normal on your personal finance and investing strategy.

The truth of the matter is that no one knows exactly what 2009 will bring for the stock market or the economy. As an investor and an individual in control of your hard earned finances keep in mind that uncertainty still rules in 2009 until proven otherwise. If you really need to follow some expert advice, watch what people like Warren Buffett do. Please don’t just listen to every so called financial guru or your head will be spinning and you’ll probably be losing money in the process.