Before investing, it is imperative that you have money to set aside for such purposes. This means income beyond that needed for your living expenses. Once you have an amount that you can invest, it is up to you to focus on your investment objectives. Common reasons why people begin their investment portfolios are retirement, college tuition for your children, and buying a home. Below are some common investing mistakes.

1. Lack of diversification. Rule of thumb, if you put all of your eggs in one basket you are taking a much greater risk than if you diversify. Spread your investment money around.
2. Looking for instant results. Most investments take time to grow, particularly if you are invested in the stock market. Too many investors make the mistake of getting easily frustrated and selling quickly. While there are successful day traders, it is not recommended for most people and not the way to build an investment portfolio.
3. Chasing results. Yesterdays hottest stocks or funds are not necessarily today's. Research investment vehicles and look for those that you anticipate will do well based on past results and indicators of future performance.
4. Not thinking of allocation first. Buying a stock, bond, fund or other investment before determining your asset allocation is a very common mistake. Too many people put the cart before the horse. The first step toward successful investing should be determining how much you plan to invest in each asset class (i.e., bonds, stocks) to meet your goals.
5. Not assessing your level of risk. Essentially, you have to consider how much money you can comfortably afford to lose without losing too much sleep. Investors frequently make the mistake of jumping into high risk investments for which they were not prepared.