Am I taking a big risk?
819120
You say you want to be "free", yet  you're looking for anarchy.....I don't think you know WHAT you want!
1028430
I invested. I make about $5,000 a month. I used over $1 million. My percieved risk was fairly low because of the way that I invested. I do not take time to manage it. That's what I hired my financial advisor and broker for.
861064
I think whatever floats your boat!!!\n   just make sure you use protection
1140593
There really is no "safe" place to put the money and get a "big" return.  Generally, the two are on complete opposites of the spectrum.  Be safe=low return, risky=possible high return
1162656
The problem is that the farther out you go, the higher the risk.  Well, it isn't actually a problem but you need to understand that risk and return are tied together.  \n\nLet me give you an example...\n\n5+ years ago:  People looked at storage on the computer and thought that it might be a good idea to create a micro disk drive.  Something that would work in the computers that kept getting smaller and smaller.\n\nSounds look a good idea right?  And it was.\n\nToday:  Micro drives (1" drives) are available now in 4, 6, 8GB capacities.  Cool, right?  The problem is that flash memory had been increasing in density and dropping in price faster than most predicted. It's almost to the point where you can buy the same amount of storage in flash...and flash is cheaper!  This drove all the profit out of the micro-drive business.\n\nSo disruptive technologies can enter a market and interrupt what sounded like a good long-term plan.  In this case Flash Memory.  And if you think it is merely a matter of switching horses early enough...  Flash memory is facing a competitive technology as well a few years from now!  \n\nSeeing the future is tough!
266047
No. Your own money would be the best. With your own money, you can pace yourself, and less pressure if the business does not work. There is greater risk if you take on loans, and more pressure.\n\nTake for example for a business whose startup capital is $50K. If this is financed from your own money and you lose out, then you are out of $50K. But if this is a loan, you will be out of $50K + interest and your collateral is at jeopardy. \n\nIt depends on your business objectives, your level and tolerance for risks, and how fast (or how slow) you want to push your business.\n\nBut if you have to go get a loan, always go for the cheapest (lowest interest rate and better terms). Shop around before signing on the dotted line
668408
I assume you mean in a business/career sense, since that's where you posted your question.\n\nThe biggest risk I took?  Quit my secure, stable job with a computer software company to sell insurance.  As it turns out, I'm a lousy salesman, and my business was short-lived and not very lucrative.\n\nHowever, because I had quit my job with the computer company, I was approached by a local college and asked to teach some computer classes - best job I ever had.  Loved every minute of it.  So, in retrospect - even though there were some pretty big bumps in the road, the risk I took paid off in the end.  When I was teaching, I was earning about the same amount that I was at the computer company, but I was much, MUCH happier.  I was home with my wife and kids more, easier to get along with.  It was better all around.\n\nLife is full of risks.  Look at ANY highly-successful person and you'll find that they took many big risks.  But when they took these risks, they never looked back.  They realized that they had made a decision and saw it through.  They believed in it, and while not all of their choices worked out as well as they had hoped, the ones that did work out well far exceeded the damage done by the poor decisions.
691340
Pay it or risk it?  It's up to you.
168983
You risked it anyhow. Just to go doc to have test and you'll feel better, don't worry you'll be fine. Just be careful not to take this risk again.
872438
Scams are everywhere-- I would be very cautious in whatever you choose to invest in-- if seems to good to be true then I would bet that it is to good to be true.
388503
i dont think its safe im not a 100% but i am quite sure there is some sort of risk involved
659312
a gaurantee? the stock market has been built on the risk of people spending their money and hitting it big... then there are the stories of people jumping from the 122nd floor after they lost it all of course.\nso you have to factor that in.\nnothing good is free. or everyone would be doing it.\nnothing good/great in life comes without a risk.\neducate your self if you plan to do this. investigate the company, market, and the stocks. it takes time  to know what is the right direction... and even then you may be wrong... but being prepared to make an educated decision is your safest bet. and thats what the stock market is....a bet\ngood luck tho!
1104813
If the interest is about the same between the guaranteed and un-guaranteed investments, I would without question take the guaranteed option.  Even if the interest is slightly higher in the unguaranteed option, having that security is worth the reduction in the interest rate.
373503
This depends on your goals, level of risk you are willing to accept, and many other factors.  For me, I like shares of small start-up companies.  Very high risk, but very high rewards IF it pans out.
1177540
honestly you should never buy any type of insurance without sitting down with someone that way you have a much better chance of NOT getting screwed. good luck
925070
your right, it is too much.\n\nand i wouldnt want to give it to my kids as then they would have nothing to work towards, so perhpas buy them a flat. you know they are secure and they can sell it to use as a huge deposit on their own house when they are ready to move on and up.\n\ncharity has got to figure pretty high, my youngest has a rare bone marrow disorder so they would get a lot - in fact if you win can you let me know so i can tap you up for a few bob for research.\n\ni think i would get them to invest it for me while i took a long cruise and considered my options.  ok you are gonna want to blow some straight away, but you would need to consider what you will do with it from a calm perspective.
83253
My company did this last year.  We asked each department to identify the top risks to our business from their perspective.  We also asked them to get out of the box and look at everything from market changes to having a key employee leave.   \n\nOnce we had a list of risks, we used a scale of 1-10 for three areas:  1) Chance of this happening, 2) Cost to Cure  3) Revenue Risk.  This wasn't a perfect science, but it gave us something to work with and a common language.  \n\nWe found there was a list of about 100 and we tackled them based upon budget and bandwidth of the key employees.  \n\nI am certain there are MBA's out there who will have better answers.  Good luck.