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

Making money, whether by putting cash into the stock market, buying a home or jumping to a better-paying job, requires some degree of risk. While embracing any of those moves might feel as scary as skydiving off a cliff, there are times when a little risk makes financial sense.

“In certain scenarios, not taking enough risk is actually a bigger risk,” says Liz Davidson, CEO and founder of Financial Finesse, which provides workplace financial wellness programs as an employer benefit.

Davidson and other financial experts also caution against being overly risky with your finances. How to find the right level of financial risk for you is highly personal; there’s no formula that can tell you whether or not to buy that house or take that new job. But there are ways to get more comfortable with risk when you know that taking the less comfortable path is the right decision for you.

Here are five strategies to help you embrace financial risks that make sense for you.