Kimberly Palmer: How to get comfortable with taking smart financial risks

By KIMBERLY PALMER of NerdWallet

Taking on some degree of risk is a healthy part of making financial decisions, but it’s not always comfortable. To embrace smart risks, first ask yourself about the origin of the fear. It can even help to think through a worst-case scenario and how you would respond. Next, consider building up your emergency savings fund to help provide a buffer in case events don’t go as planned, educating yourself about personal finance details and making a concrete safety plan to fall back on. Finally, consider scaling back unnecessary risks.