MAKE SURE YOUR PLAN IS REALISTIC AND APPROPRIATE FOR YOU

Be sure to rationally consider yourself in terms of the following: age, income, net worth, and investment experience in the different areas of investing such as income, capital appreciation, speculative trading, domestic and international.

What other variables do you consider important? Obviously, a 70 year old retiree will have different goals and objectives than a 25 year old new entrant in the workforce.  Make a thorough plan outlining your goals and objectives and how you plan to reach them.  Have a feedback mechanism and a plan to adjust your goals as you progress on the journey.

Be sure your goals and expectations are reasonable.

Have you determined what a reasonable expectation for appreciation might be?  How you will attain it?  Will you have to utilize leverage?

Have you decided how you will deal with risk?  How you will recognize and manage poor results?

Periodically, measure your performance against the plan.  Reevaluate and adjust your plan if you are not meeting your goals, or your situation changes.

How will you handle results that are outside of your expectations?  Both depreciation and appreciation of your portfolio caused by better or worse than expected results may force you to alter your plan.

It is very important to determine (and be comfortable with) your goals for reward and appetite for risk before you venture into the markets.

GOOD LUCK!