[ZaoLahma]

It's scary headlines like this that make me push more of my money into index funds (can't be bothered to deal in stocks with the increased effort required).

But... the problem with being on lower incomes / net worth is that there is a highly increased risk that you're forced to pull money out of stocks / funds when they are low because you have little or nothing else to take from to cover unexpected expenses (and you will have a lot more of those when you can't afford to act and instead always react). So if you're living anywhere close to the limit of your income, you really are better off with a savings account.