What is the #1 obstacle to a stellar portfolio? You are.

Thats right, most people are their own worst enemy, especially when moneys on the line. Have you heard the old saying, Dont change horses mid-stream? That saying is a key to successful investing: pick a long-term strategy and stick to it. regardless of how your portfolio is faring in any given week, month or year.

Its not all glitz and gold. What kind of investing risk can you stomach?

So when your stocks take a battering like they did in 2008 are you prone to sticking with your long-term plan, or are you going to panic and do something foolish?

People rationalize their panic by saying, Well, I changed my mind. Thats B.S.

No, you didnt just change your mind you chickened out. Which means youre not as risk-tolerant as you thought.

Understanding your tolerance for risk is one of the most important parts of building a million-dollar portfolio. Dont pretend you changed your mind. Admit your risk tolerance is lower than you realized. And in the future, invest according to the risk tolerance you have not the risk tolerance you WANT.

This Quiz will help you realize your personal risk tolerance so you can form a long-term plan that best fits YOU.

Q1) How far down the road do you plan on withdrawing and spending the money youre investing?

a. Less than 1 year or who knows?

b. 1-5 years

c. 5-10 years

d. 15 or more years

Q2) How often do you check the balance in your portfolio?

a. A lot. I like to know how my money is faring.

b. Occasionally, like when the market makes a dramatic move I want to see how it affected me.

c. Rarely. I glance at it every 6 months or more.

d. Almost never. Im in it for the long-haul, so I dont really care about the balance right now.

Q3) How often do you watch stock-market TV shows or channels, or read stock-trading books, magazines or blogs?

a. Im a big fan I love watching stock-market TV shows like Mad Money with Jim Cramer.

b. I might catch stock-trading shows or read a day-trading blog once or twice a month.

c. If Im channel-surfing or web-surfing I might glance at them for a while.

d. Those exist?

Q4) Two years ago, you invested $10,000 in mutual funds. Now your $10,000 has fallen to $4,800. What do you do?

a. Sell it off and keep my money in the bank or in savings bonds.

b. Re-think my strategy. Clearly something Im doing isnt working.

c. Keep the money in the market I cant bear to sell it at such a loss but refrain from investing any new money in there.

d. Wonder how I can find extra cash so that I can invest even more in the market. Index funds are on sale right now!

Q5) Your spouse, parent, partner or best friend hears that your $10,000 has fallen to $4,800 and tells you to sell it. They caution: never hold money in a down market, and tell the sad story of someone they knew who lost everything in the last recession. What do you do?

a. Strongly consider their advice. Perhaps theyre right. The market is crazy these days.

b. Weigh their comments while you read books, magazines, blogs, and other comments about what to do. Youre trying to make a decision and need to gather lots of ideas.

c. Mull it over for a couple of days before deciding that youre going to stick to your original plan.

d. Politely thank them for their advice  and promptly ignore it. You know what youre doing.

Okay, ready to score?

Quiz Results

If you answered Mostly As:

Nervous Nellie You check your balance constantly, second-guess your investment choices, and are easily influenced by the opinions of others. If the market crashes, youll feel sick to your stomach knowing how much money you just lost and how hard you had to work for that lost money.  You should NOT be making any risky moves or placing your money in volatile mixes.

What you should do: Divide your investment between stocks and bonds using this rule of thumb. following the rule for people with a low risk tolerance. Put your bonds in a broad-market bond fund, like Vanguards Total Bond Market Index. When investing your stocks, follow this advice on asset allocation, and use the breakdown listed under the heading, If risk makes your stomach queasy.

If you answered Mostly Bs:

Nervous Nellie Jr.: I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you might pose more of a danger to yourself than the Nervous Nellie above who answered Mostly As. This is because Mostly As Nervous Nellie is so clearly risk-averse that he knows it and can invest accordingly. You, on the other hand, THINK that youre not averse to risk and invest as though youre okay with risk. But when push comes to shove, and you get tested, youre actually more risk-averse than you realize. When the market moves, you check your balance (a clear sign that youre nervous). If you see that your portfolio has taken a beating, you second-guess your strategy. If someone you trust advises you to do something contrary to your long-term strategy you just might do it.

What you should do: Follow the advice I gave to the Nervous Nelly who answered Mostly As. Divide your investment between stocks and bonds using this rule of thumb. following the rule for people with a low risk tolerance. Put your bonds in a broad-market bond fund, like Vanguards Total Bond Market Index. When investing your stocks, follow this advice on asset allocation, and use the breakdown listed under the heading, If risk makes your stomach queasy.

Now, wait for 3 years, and take this quiz again. See if your answers changed. If they did, you can graduate to a more middle-of-the-road risk approach but youre not ready yet. (Im serious when I say 3 years. You need that amount of time to get tested, again and again, in a variety of market circumstances, so you can see how you act in real-life. So write down the date that youll take this quiz again go ahead, write it down. And dont re-take the quiz a day earlier.)

If you answered Mostly Cs:

Moderate Millie: Youre pretty sure of your investment strategy, and while a dramatic event might cause you to second-guess yourself such as a huge dip in the market, or a deep conversation about investing with a trusted loved one you usually recover from that moment of self-doubt without changing your core strategy.

What you should do: Resolve, first and foremost, to stop watching TV shows or reading articles that glorify day-trading and lots of buying/selling. Secondly, write down your core investing strategy. Keeping it in writing and looking at it every time an event or a conversation makes you question your long-term direction will help you consistently stick with your long-term goals.

Divide your investment between stocks and bonds using this rule of thumb. following the rule for people with an average tolerance. Divide your bonds equally between high-rated government bonds (safest) and low-rated corporate bonds. When investing your stocks, follow this advice on asset allocation, and use the breakdown listed under the heading, If your risk appetite is so-so.

If you answered Mostly Ds:

Risky Roller Coaster: Congratulations! You possess that rare combination of key factors that enable you to take on higher amounts of risk and sit through periods of wild ups and downs for the hope (not the guarantee) of a future payoff. You dont need to touch the money for at least 15 years, you dont check your balance too often or listen to the chatter of the talking heads, and you dont make spontaneous decisions based on a hot tip, even if it comes from someone you love and trust.

What you should do: Your biggest risk is taking on too much risk like getting into day-trading or hedge funds. A little day-trading here and there can be a guilty pleasure, as long as you remember that this is play money, and as long as youre playing with less than 5 percent of your portfolio.