5. Know when and who to ask for help. It doesn't take much of a household emergency to get me to hire professional help. I'm not going to fix my water heater, furnace or car. It's best left to the professionals. Doing so saves me time, frustration and, quite often, money.

Hiring a professional also makes sense when it comes to financial planning.

Financial planning is a lot more than just managing investments. A comprehensive financial plan looks at the big picture. It includes a review of insurance, employee benefits, income taxes, investments, retirement and estate planning. Sound financial planning also examines personal financial statements, measures your attitudes toward risk and develops your goals.

A good planner is the coxswain of your financial boat, controlling the rudder and making sure all the other professionals have synchronized their strokes and are pulling you in the same direction toward your goals.

6. Know your risk tolerance. How do you really feel about risk in investing?

In 2008, a lot of stock market investors learned the hard way that they didn't have the stomach for sitting tight through a bear market. The stock market, as measured by the Dow Jones industrial average, lost 47 percent of its value from the all-time high on Oct. 9, 2007, to the recent low on Nov. 20, 2008.

If you find yourself tossing and turning at night -- and it's not the mattress but the markets keeping you awake -- it's time to dial down the risk level of your portfolio.

The investment risk tolerance quiz offered by the Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station can give you a quick read on your risk tolerance. Bankrate also has a risk-tolerance quiz.

Knowing your risk tolerance will help you decide how to invest. Conservative investors may not be comfortable investing much money in the stock market because of its volatility. Lower volatility means lower potential returns, so a conservative investor may have to save a higher percentage of income to be on track to meet financial goals.

Investors have to manage investments considering twin risks -- the risk that the investments lose principal and the risk that the investments lose purchasing power.

Conservative investors can protect principal by investing in FDIC-insured certificates of deposit, or CDs. However, the FDIC doesn't protect the purchasing power of those deposits from the ravages of inflation. Keep an eye on purchasing power, too.

7. Know your portfolio. Take a holistic approach to your savings and investments. A large emergency fund held in money market mutual funds or cash investments will lessen your need to hold short-term investments in other investment accounts.

The downdraft in the stock market makes it a good time to review and re-balance your portfolio. While no one can predict the future, deciding on an asset allocation strategy and periodically re-balancing to match that strategy are important parts of investment management. Bankrate's Asset Allocation Calculator offers a starting point.

If you don't do it already, take a stab at reading a prospectus or two from the mutual funds you own. You'll have a much better sense of what the investment manager is trying to achieve, a better handle on the fees and expenses associated with the investment, and a better sense of whether the investment is right for you.