challo, most people don't appreciate the fact that you can just stay in cash.
There will likely be a 3-6 month rally next year on the indices, new lows in 2010, and maybe even a test of those lows in 2012 according to my models.
That would mean you'd possibly need to wait until the year 2014 to break even if you just left your money in the S&P at today's prices.
T-Bills are also a decent bet, although I believe we'll probably see a 50-year low in yields in the next 6-months.