“If you risk nothing, then you risk everything.” Geena Davis

What if you don’t like me? What if I vote differently? Dress strangely? Talk with an accent, have a diverse background or live a different lifestyle? Will you still be my friend?

Friendship comes with risks … risks that you’ll not be there for each other, that you’ll disagree or have misunderstandings, risks that you’ll think/vote/dress/look/live differently and, more risky, the risk that those differences will make a difference. Thankfully, friendships find the similarities and overlook the differences.

But, I hope you agree that friendship is totally worth the risk. It’s an investment of our time, our lives, our hearts. It’s a risk that pays off with kindness, support, love and friendships that bless our lives like no other relationships.

With friends, TAKE THE RISK. Make the effort. Look beyond the differences for the shared laughter and joy, for the common dreams, for the sincere support you offer each other. Take the risk. Share your lives.

With your finances, take girlfriend advice from wise friends like Girlfriend Guru and financial expert MIATA EDOGA who knows her stuff when it comes to RISK – of the financial/retirement/investment kind. Are you too worried about financial risk? Here’s her women’s wisdom:

On a financial news show yesterday the anchors were talking about risky financial markets. It made me wonder: what does “risk” really mean to the average person when it comes to investments?

A study was performed recently that showed that most people are risk takers when the market is going up. However, most people become risk adverse when there’s a threat of losing money. So, in other words, we all like big gains without any risk of loss.

Real risk is in the eye of the beholder. Sure, you don’t want to pretend that your investments are a casino game, but for some investors, risk is a part of the equation. Every investor has two components to deal with to reach their goals:

They need to save.

and

They need a return on their money.

If someone can’t afford to save very much for their goal, they can decide to a) increase the risk level of their investment or b) lower the goal so that they’ll reach it.

Most people don’t think about investing this way. Instead, they review a pie chart showing the amount of risk they’d prefer to take. Unfortunately, when it comes to goal setting, your preference doesn’t matter. All that really matters is the goal. If you work only from preferences and not from your end goal, how do you know if you’ll ever reach anything noteworthy?

Risk Matters

I don’t mean to imply that your risk tolerance doesn’t matter. It certainly matters. If you’re taking on so much risk that you can’t sleep at night, then you’re investing the wrong way. Instead, once you find out that you can’t save enough money and can’t accept the risk of an investment, you should lower the goal to an acceptable level.

It’s okay to lower the goal sometimes.

Judy wants to own a house on Lake Michigan when she retires. After looking at her savings, she’s realized that she can’t afford that house. However, if she creates a bed-and-breakfast on a hill overlooking the lake, she’ll have income to help with the payments, a great view of the lake, and lower property costs. Sure, she’ll have to work, but Judy doesn’t mind that at all and is actually excited about the possibilities.

I often find that once someone finds that they can’t accept the risk of an investment, they find other ways. One friend of mine decided to start delivering newspapers at 4 a.m. so he’d have money to invest. He explained, “I wasn’t doing anything but sleeping at that time of day, and I needed the cash, so I decided to take on another job.”

Others, realizing they don’t like the risk of an investment, begin education programs. One friend, realizing that real estate would help her reach her goals, began reading everything she could on the subject. She was surprised to find that she could own a real estate investment trust rather than invest in properties. She’d never heard of a R.E.I.T. before. Sure, they’re still risky, but for her, she became educated enough on the topic that she felt comfortable with the risk level.