Investing can be a tedious and time-consuming process. Making the most optimal decisions for growing your retirement funds can even be daunting for many people. If one makes decisions without proper research or is easily swayed by the "unbiased" advice of a friend or paid expert, the effects can haunt the investor and his/her family for the long term. Here are ways to make the best investment decisions for oneself.

Look at All Angles

Building the most profitable long-term investment portfolio is a complex task that it is easy to overlook important details. Look at your prospected portfolio's sensitivity to economic events, if it can weather high inflationary periods, and if it makes sense to invest in that particular niche.

Cover all your bases to avoid mistakes later on. Keep in mind that building an investment portfolio will take a significant amount of time and focus. If you are not savvy in the finance department, seek help from someone who is. Even the most experienced financial analysts and hedge fund managers have difficult times looking for profitable ventures for their company.

Use Online Brokers

The Internet has made a number of things possible and achievable since its conception. Today, many if not all financial markets are more or less dependent on the virtual arena, with new and old brokerage firms offering web-based services and packages of all sorts and sizes. Even standalone brokers operate now more than ever via the channel of the data-enriched superhighway that is the Internet.

Using the services of online brokers gives you access to this wealth of information without having to peruse through all of the financial niches contained within the Internet. This information can be converted into making the right investment choices that best suit you and how much you are willing to risk and what your targets are.

Stop Thinking About the Money

It's easy to lose yourself in the world of finance. Most people think of the cash and how they'll spend it even before they make any. Subconsciously, this affects your ability to make rational decisions. For instance, the stock you've been eyeing for quite some time has risen to a dollar per share. Because you're afraid to miss the potential rally, you buy with haste, thinking that it'll continue to rise when in fact the stock is already overvalued. A few days or weeks later, you find yourself sitting on a losing investment with no one to blame but the greed and fear that drove you to buy the stock in the first place.

Think about the process itself rather than the potential profit. The money comes as a perk from good preparation and spot-on execution of your investment decisions. Also, accept the fact that you'll find your investment to be in the negative a few times before it actually produces any gains. No one in the investment world can predict the exact pivot points in which the prices of stocks or commodities reverse.

Accumulate Experience

If you're starting from scratch, invest small amounts of your capital first. This gives you a margin of safety from the possibility of losing all your investment money in one swing. Gain as much experience as possible and you'll later develop great decision-making skills that professional investors have.

Author's Bio: 

Chris writes for his blog about budgeting tips and credit card debt. He loves the outdoors and playing golf. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisLindsey23