Hello! As the GME stonks situation continues, it's likely that you might be interested in learning more about investing - or even taking the leap and putting some money in yourself. To that end, here's some little tips to help you retain your sanity with your money!

1. The GME situation is relatively unique and these sorts of pumps are unpredictable at best, without being a part of certain communities in certain spaces (particularly crypto pump-and-dump groups). Trying to make money off these situations is risky at best.

2. Speaking of communities - Reddit is generally a BAD place to learn. People will often flock to a subreddit to gloat and backslap about their gains, and might throw around terminology that sounds high-level to the uninitiated - but these people are lucky rather than strategic.

3. Most of investing is relatively mundane, looking at long-term growth and the magic of compound interest. A strong portfolio is diverse and might have a risky bet like GME somewhere in it, but would not make it the anchor ot the portfolio. Only risk what you'd be happy losing.

4. If you are chasing the bull run, don't invest more than you can afford in the short-to-mid-term. Stocks can crash as quickly as they rise, and if you're likely to need the money in the next few months, you can leave yourself in a really rough place.

5. A diverse portfolio also means cash on hand! Having a nest egg first can minimise the impact a crash can have on you. Consider whether you could survive for 3 months without work beforehand. Investing can mean waiting a few weeks to get money out when you need it.

6. If you have the money but you're not sure how to invest, don't be ashamed to invest with a porfolio manager or similar. There are plenty of online platforms for this now, as well as traditional institutional funds - although see above about time to withdraw.

7. In the UK, you will need to understand Capital Gains Tax if you're going hard and making big profits. No, I am not an accountant. No, I cannot help here. If this applies to you (something like £10k in profit) then hire an accountant for some advice.

8. If you do want to learn more, you can open practice portfolios on sites like EToro, and there's plenty of online resources like Investopedia and Babypips to learn from. Combine the pair for a few months to see how you get on before putting real money on the line.

9. Investing and gambling are not a million miles apart. If you have a compulsive personality, be very, very cautious. You might be better with traditional investing rather than self-managed online portfolios if this applies to you.

10. I am not an expert nor do I pretend to be. But I have learnt a bit about what my comfort zone is for risk and potential gains over five years of investing. I'm happy to share what I know and discuss further, but I have more cautionary tales than incredible success!

11. You will - like me - make mistakes and take L's. You will learn from them. This is why day trading is absolutely not for beginners. You won't understand your mistakes, or sometimes even have time to recover from them. Take your time and understand the why, not just the what.

12. It's worth saying one more time to wrap this up. Do not invest more than you can afford to lose - particularly on single trades/stocks!