Tips from an amateur on how to invest

For my "first" real post I decided to share my "rules" on the world of investments.
Some are easy to follow, others are not so easy, some you may adapt according to your investor profile. Here they are:

1. Never invest money you cannot afford to lose (in my case I take away 10% of my salary to invest, a fair amount in my opinion);
2. Take some time evaluating where you put your money, study the company you are inclined to invest in. Also check out the competition to understand a little bit on how the market works in that particular segment;
3. Check the past stock values of that company;
4. Clearly define your investments plan (quick-buck, long-term investor,...);
5. The most important of them all, be weary of your emotions, as they can ruin your investments.

Hope you can "identify" yourselves with these "rules" (or at least some), and that they may have proven themselves useful for you.