It would be hard to develop a strategy to pay off your debt if you had no idea how much debt you had. Its just as difficult to develop an appropriate investing strategy if you dont have a reason for investing. Without a purpose, its impossible to make decisions about the type of investments you should invest in, and without a goal- how do you measure your level of success?
Diversified Porfolios
Anyone you talk to about investments will probably tell you the same thing: Dont put all your eggs into one basket! This cliché simply means that when you are investing, you should not put all of your money into a single company; or a single industry. This technique of investing is called diversification, but there is more to diversification than just following the cliché.