He answered all of your phone calls, spent precious time with you and made you feel like he really cared. Now that he has your money, that’s all changed. He’s too busy for you and his secretary lets your call ring through to voice mail. Sound familiar? At some time, if you’re working with a financial advisor, it probably will.

The truth is that most brokers are salesmen, and the bigger the investment, the bigger their commission and the more frequent their attention to a client. So what’s a girl with only $10,000 (or less) to invest to do in a sea of more desirable investors with $100,000+ to play with? The secret is to get involved with your investments, and learn as much as you can.

How risky do you want to get?
Before you invest, ask yourself what you’re looking to achieve from an investment: growth or income. Growth involves making risky investments that may lead to rapid returns, but could also lead to failure; while income is lingo for steady returns. If you’re young and in a good place financially, go for growth but don’t get reckless with your investments.

Also ask yourself how much diversity you want in your investments. Diversity—having an array of investment types, like stocks, mutual funds, bonds, etc.—reduces overall risk, because it’s rare to have all of your investments perform badly at the same time.

Grab a grown-up cheat sheet.
If attempting to invest with or without the help of a broker sounds too intimidating, then you might try an established forecast (a “cheat sheet” of the stocks with the best outlook) with a proven track-record. The Coffeehouse Investor website and newsletter are a great resource for investment newbies—their recommended plan is about as hands-off, limited-risk, no-investing-experience-necessary of a system you’re going to find. Or, if you’re heading to the library, pick up a copy of the The Coffeehouse Investor: How To Build Wealth, Ignore Wall Street, and Get On with Your Life.