After many years of bitter experience, I've realised that investing your own money is about two things.

First, even if you're adventurous with part of your portfolio, you need to accept that investing should generally be boring. Paul Samuelson, the Nobel Prize winning economist, summed it up wonderfully: "Investing should be dull . . . it shouldn't be exciting. Investing should be more like watching paint dry or watching grass grow. If you want excitement, take $800 and go to Las Vegas . . . it is not easy to get rich in Las Vegas . . . or at the local Merrill Lynch office."