TOLEDO, Ohio — The past year has been challenging on many folks' wallets.
So some are looking for ways to make up some of that lost income.
WTOL 11 spoke with a local financial expert, who helped break down what it takes to begin investing your money the smart way.
"Risk is not just a one size fits all type of thing," said Kirk Weldy, Vice President of Investment Advisory Services with CIG Financial.
Whether you're new to investing or a professional, there's always going to be some degree of risk. That's because the stock market is not always predictable and some people are bigger gamblers.
Weldy says when investing, you have to be willing to potentially lose something to get the reward you're looking for.
The amount of money someone risks is different for every individual because of various factors and the ways we want to use our money.
"One might be ultra-aggressive, one might be more conservative and that's okay," said Weldy. "Risk is not just an age-based thing. It may vary from every single account that you have. Every person is different, every financial situation is different."
Weldy compares investing to playing a game of cards or baseball; no matter what move you make, you're always taking a risk.
You want to make a move that gives you opportunities to be successful.
"I think the ultimate question is what risk I'm taking and why am I taking that," said Weldy.
He also says you can make money as soon as you can lose it, so you want to be comfortable with the amount and where it's going.