Rule 8: Don't minimize the impact of compounding! A lot of people believe that it's impossible to achieve financial security without having a big pile of money to begin with.

Wrong!

If you take just $1 per day and invest it at 8% compounded interest, on average, here's what you'd have:

• After 5 years you'd have $2,245
• After 10 years you'd have $5,595
• After 20 years you'd have $18,045
• After 30 years you'd have $45,751.

Now you may say, "Hey Dolans! Where the heck can I get 8% interest at today's rates?"

That's why we said on average. In a good year you should be able to get a 10% average annual return with stocks or a mutual fund. In bad years, you get less, and in an occasional whopper of a year you might get 15% to 20%, but that is not the norm. Averaged out, 8% is what you want to strive for over time...a realistic goal.

Rule 9: Avoid the next Enron. It's impossible to foresee 100% of the time when a company is in trouble and its stock is about to go down the tubes. But you can exercise due diligence to evaluate a stock before you buy it and keep tabs on the stocks you own. That includes your stock in the company for which you work. We recommend keeping only a small portion of your company's stock in your investment portfolio, because you already have a huge stake just by working there, and we don't care how solid your company looks–if an ill wind blows, you could be wiped out. Just ask all those Enron employees who kept most of their 401(k)s invested in company stock!

Rule 10: If you can't afford to lose it, don't invest it! If you open a brokerage account, you'll be asked to review a form that has a little section on assessing your risk. It's a bunch of bull.

Absolutely every investment carries an element of risk, unless it's a government-guaranteed instrument, such as U.S. Treasuries or certificates of deposit (CDs). If you tell a broker, "I don't want to lose money," the meeting is over on the spot.

Wall Street insiders and the financial media have made it seem as if anyone who doesn't buy stocks or mutual funds is a fool. This kind of "advice" is the worst disservice that's been done to the average American.

Hence our rule: If you really can't afford to lose money right now, don't take chances! Investing 5% in a guaranteed investment (Treasuries) is always better than a 5% loss in stocks or a mutual fund. If you're in debt, you are losing more money in interest than you could gain from almost any investment. If your marriage would suffer because your spouse is worried about paying off debts while you're hot to invest, or vice versa, the cautious party wins this round. If putting money into the stock market would keep either of you from having the good night's sleep you need to get back on your feet, don't do it!

But if you can afford to invest just a little bit - even $50 to $100 each month - you'll be on your way to gradually building your wealth!

We encourage you to start building your wealth today! For more investing insights, click here to visit our Invest Wisely Center on Dolans.com. You'll find all kinds of information-articles, video features and audio alerts- to help you get started on the path to fulfilling your dreams. Here are just a few things you'll find today:

• Getting Started in Stocks
• Can You Trust Your Broker?
• Avoid These 401(k) Mistakes!
• The Skinny on ETFs

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