If market volatility makes you wonder if you have the stomach for investing-at least investing in anything more adventurous than certificates of deposit-here are some tips from Certified Financial Planner professionals that might settle those nerves.

Have a plan. Know why you're investing and have a plan to accomplish your goals. Are you saving for college? Retirement? A new home? How far away are those goals? Five years? Ten? Thirty? Your goals make a lot of difference about what you do and how you night react when the market drops If you're investing for retirement 20 years from now, why worry about what the market does in a single day or even a single year. But if you're saving to buy a home soon, don't put your down payment money in stocks.

Know yourself. Invest in what you're comfortable with. Don't follow fads. If stock investments keep you awake all night, maybe you better stay out of them, or at least make them a smaller portion of your portfolio. However, keep in mind that the more educated you become about investments, the more likely you'll feel comfortable about them if they are right for your needs.

Diversify. Hold a mix of asset classes such as domestic stocks, bonds and cash. You also may want to hold some real estate, say through REITs (real estate investment trusts) and international securities. You diversify so that not everything in your portfolio is dropping (or risings at the same time. Consider diversifying within asset classes, such as large company and small company stocks.

Stay diversified. Don't judge everything in your investment mix against a single benchmark, such as the Dow or the S&P 500 Bonds or international stocks or small company stocks may not look good right now against the S&P 500, but at some other point they may. If you shift everything into that hot portion of your portfolio, or move entirely out of a poor-performing sector, then you're sacrificing diversification.You never know when those hot segments are going to cool or the cool segments turn hot.

Invest regularly. Keep investing steadily, come rain or shine. Put money in every month in that 401(k) plan or SEP or individual retirement account or other tax-favored retirement account. That way, you won't be tempted to try to "time" the market-over time a difficult task. Steady investing also means that you'll buy during those lows as well as the highs. Buying during lows is like buying investments on sale.

Be realistic. Let's face it, you're not likely to earn 20-or 25 percent returns every year. And the market isn't going to drop 554 points in a day very often, either. Again, the more educated you are about investing, the more you'll have a realistic view of market returns and short-term volatility (for example, common stocks have returned an annual average of 10.7 percent since 1926). You will be less likely to get caught up in the highs and depressed by the lows.

Don't be obsessed with the stock pages. Probably the best thing you can do is not follow the daily ups and downs of the market. Check in periodically, talk with your financial advisor, and do an annual review. That should be enough. Think of what you'll save in ant-acid acid pills. Hey, you you could invest that savings in....

January - 30- 1998