One of the best things that can make or break your financial plan is investing without assessing your risk tolerance. Risk tolerance can change with age or with circumstances. It is important to assess one's risk tolerance periodically, especially one's systemic risk, inflation risk and market risk. If the concept of risk tolerance appears too complex, you can seek advice from a professional financial planner. This can help you understand your strengths and weaknesses. For example, if you need money within a year you should invest in value funds or debt instruments, but if you can hold up for ten years even if the market tanks today, you should invest aggressively in equity funds. Risk tolerance is about performing a SWOT analysis of your investment personality.