In order for economy to have enough strength for a taper, gas buddy should hit 3.20 and start rising as you can see here in Dec 2011 and Jan 2013:

The consumer gets enough extra money in the pocket for the economy to have a 3 month boost.

I say be cautious this month as taper worries and debt limit will cause SPY to drop and go sideways.  I want to hold off until SPY hits the 200 dma (not October as 200 dma is 160 and November will be 162). After a rebound, I will also watch for $0.75 below the middle of the BBdaily.  This occurred last year on Nov 19 indicating a return to bull mode. As gas buddy keeps falling, the best opportunity will most likely be Nov 4-7 (8d after Fed mtg). The econ numbers in early Nov may not be good as Oct will be a bad month for econ and stocks.

SPY has now crossed the middle of the BBd and is headed down.