What are 10 questions to ask yourself before investing a penny？

<section id="nice" style="font-size: 16px; padding-right: 10px; padding-left: 10px; line-height: 1.6; letter-spacing: 0px; word-break: break-word; overflow-wrap: break-word; font-family: Optima-Regular, Optima, PingFangSC-light, PingFangTC-light, &quot;PingFang SC&quot;, Cambria, Cochin, Georgia, Times, &quot;Times New Roman&quot;, serif;"><h2 style="margin-top: 30px; margin-bottom: 15px; font-weight: bold; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(239, 112, 96); font-size: 1.3em;"><span style="display: inline-block; background: rgb(239, 112, 96); color: rgb(255, 255, 255); padding: 3px 10px 1px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-top-left-radius: 3px; margin-right: 3px;">What are 10 questions to ask yourself before investing a penny?</span></h2> <p style="padding-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 8px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 26px;">Keeping it to ten is difficult but I will make a stab at it.</p> <ul style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; padding-left: 25px;"> <li><section style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; line-height: 26px; color: rgb(1, 1, 1);">Do I need an emergency surplus of cash in case I lose my job? If so, do I have 3-6 months of living expenses saved up?</section></li><li><section style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; line-height: 26px; color: rgb(1, 1, 1);">What do I need beyond pure investing advice? For example, if you are an expat you might need account portability as you are moving around. Or if you are high-net-worth you might require inheritance tax planning.</section></li><li><section style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; line-height: 26px; color: rgb(1, 1, 1);">Do I understand the investment, or have somebody (like a consultant or advisor) who does?</section></li><li><section style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; line-height: 26px; color: rgb(1, 1, 1);">Do I often get influenced by the views of the news media, friends and family? Will I therefore panic if markets go down?</section></li><li><section style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; line-height: 26px; color: rgb(1, 1, 1);">Following on from the last question, do I therefore need an investment advisor to control my emotions as much as for knowledge?</section></li><li><section style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; line-height: 26px; color: rgb(1, 1, 1);">Am I comfortable with volatility because risk and volatility aren’t always the same thing.</section></li><li><section style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; line-height: 26px; color: rgb(1, 1, 1);">What am I investing for? A medium-term objective, or something like retirement? If it is short-term, it is best not to invest in most kinds of stock assets, as they are best left as long-term investments.</section></li><li><section style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; line-height: 26px; color: rgb(1, 1, 1);">How much risk do I want to take?</section></li><li><section style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; line-height: 26px; color: rgb(1, 1, 1);">How much risk am I taking now by leaving money in cash, due to the threat of inflation and currency falls?</section></li><li><section style="margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; line-height: 26px; color: rgb(1, 1, 1);">Is my attitude to any of the above sensible? For example, am I too risk-adverse or want to take too much risk?</section></li></ul> <p style="padding-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 8px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 26px;">However, I would say one of the biggest mistakes people make is overthinking things in the first place, and asking too many questions.</p> <p style="padding-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 8px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 26px;">As per this quote, most of life is about showing up:</p> <p style="padding-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 8px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 26px;">It is better to get started today with 80% certainty than wait for 99%, as that never happens.</p> <p style="padding-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 8px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 26px;">That is one reason people tend to “think about” investing for months, years and even decades!</p> <p style="padding-top: 8px; padding-bottom: 8px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 26px;">Subsequently most regret not getting in sooner, as it usually allows people to retire earlier, help out children etc.</p></section>