“Whether you’re rich or poor,” goes the old saying, “it’s nice to have money.” For many millennia, the only way people could have money was to save it – to thriftily manage to keep their outgo at a lower level than their income so they could accumulate what was left. Some people are still trying to do it that way, but it becomes increasingly difficult when you’re living in a consumer society (there’s always some new must have product or service coming on the market) and having to worry about a host of variables including the price of your next fill-up at the gas station and the alarming shrinkage of the once almighty dollar.

But there’s another reason why it’s nice to have money aside from its buying power. The knowledge that it’s there, or that it will be when we’ll need it, tomorrow or even years from now, is what gives us a sense of security, gives us peace of mind – and that, as they say in the TV commercials, is priceless.

It didn’t take most people long to figure out that, if one wants to keep one’s head above water financially, it isn’t enough just to save money; you have to invest it. You need not only a bank account but a brokerage account as well. And that means you have to make choices among a vast and bewildering assortment of investment vehicles such as stocks (common and/or preferred), bonds (government, industrial, convertible and/or junk), T-bills (laddered?), mutual funds (open and/or closed-ended), puts and calls, derivatives, commodity futures, real estate investment trusts, and on and on – the list is endless.

It’s endless because new investment “products” are being marketed all the time, products that may or may not be just what you need to fill that hole in your portfolio. What’s more, the market is constantly reassessing the worth of each product already out there. The price of each stock or bond or other security is constantly in flux as buyers and sellers react to newsbreaks, to rumors, to changing conditions and circumstances. And, of course, each uptick or down-tick means that somebody is either making money or losing money – even those of us who think we are just “standing pat” or even sitting on the sidelines.

It’s a situation that is fraught with peril but also astonishingly rich in opportunities. That’s why so many people, in all income brackets, are finding that looking after their personal finances is taking more and more of their time and effort. Some look upon it as a necessary chore; others see it as a rewarding (in more than one sense) hobby. Either way it’s a challenge. It requires both prudence and a sense of adventure, both level-headedness and a willingness to dare. We must make sure that we get all the helpful advice we can, but that we follow only the best of it.

We must never become complacent, just as we must never become reckless. Nor can we ever fail to keep abreast of developments that might affect the value of our holdings – not only the news but also the latest trends, the newest ideas – for if we do any of those things, it just might be catastrophic not only for ourselves but for the people we love most dearly. Of course, that’s why they call it “personal” finance, why we have to take it personally. And why we do.

As another old saying says: It’s a tough job but somebody’s got to do it. And another: Anything worth doing is worth doing well.