Exercising regularly and eating a balanced diet are good habits to establish if you want to ensure a long, healthy life. Likewise, establishing good financial habits will help ensure you achieve long-term investment success. The following thirteen tips will get you started. Click here for more information on online investing

1. Set goals, create a plan, and write it down. While you might have a plan in mind, you're more likely to follow it—and achieve your goals—if it's written down. Prioritize your goals, focusing first on those things that matter the most and, no matter how painful, backburner the rest. This concentrated effort increases the likelihood for success.
   
2. Pay yourself first. Consider setting up an automatic investment plan with a fixed amount deducted at set intervals. This allows you to buy more shares when the price is low and fewer shares when the price is high, thus reducing the overall cost. Called dollar cost averaging, it's a great strategy for long-term investing.
   
3. Max it out and ramp it up. Take full advantage of your 401(k) plan at work. And while you're at it, would you really feel the squeeze if you increased your contribution by 1 or 2 percent? New, favorable contribution limits let you stash more cash into your qualified plan than ever before. Getting a raise or a bonus? Resist the temptation to take that trip to Tahiti. Direct it to your retirement savings instead. Down the road you'll be glad you did.
   
4. Diversify and allocate. Many financial experts agree that combining different asset classes—stocks, bonds, and cash—is an excellent way to spread risk and opportunity among investments. Equally important is how you allocate the assets. For example, an aggressive asset allocation may have 80 percent equities, while a conservative strategy may have just 20 percent.
   
5. Stay on top of your paperwork. Review your statements each time you receive them to ensure accuracy. Take advantage of online viewing options to reduce paperwork. Keep financial documents organized for future reference in a handy folder or binder. And once you receive your annual statements, shred and toss the rest.
   
6. Read your annual Social Security benefits statement. We all get one, some of us even file it away, but few of us actually study it. Knowing what you can expect (or not expect) from Social Security will help you estimate your retirement savings goals on real numbers.
   
7. Changing jobs? Roll over your IRA. Despite hefty penalties, many job switchers still cash out their IRA. If you must borrow, pay it back in the time allowed.
   
8. Check your credit report annually. Three agencies—TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian—keep tabs on various accounts opened in your name, including credit cards, mortgages and other bills and banking information, even those accounts you haven't used in years. This information is compiled to calculate an overall credit score that lenders use to determine your creditworthiness. For a small fee you can learn your score using one of several online credit services. TransUnion, Equifax and Experian may not have the same information, so you'll need to check each to get your complete credit picture.
   
9. Stay informed. Reading financial periodicals such as the Wall Street Journal will help you stay on top of what's happening in the markets. Most daily local newspapers also include a financial section with prices and updates.
   
10. Review and update your plan. Be prepared to change. At a minimum, you should review your plan and portfolio annually, earlier if you've had a major life event, to ensure your diversification and asset allocation strategy is still aligned with your goals. In addition, changes in the market may have also caused your portfolio to become unbalanced. Your investment advisor can help you rebalance your portfolio as needed.
    
11. Prepare your final wishes. Be sure to keep your beneficiaries and will up-to-date to reflect your most recent circumstances, especially important if there's a new child in the family. If you have young children, make sure you have life insurance to protect your family in case of death or inability to work.
    
12. Don't be afraid to call your investment professional. No question is too simple or issue too minor to address. They're there to help.
    
13. Stay focused on your goals. While it's easy to get distracted with the ups and downs of the market, in order to achieve long-term goals, you need long-term investing. Train yourself to block out the "noise" and stay the course. This is the only way to stay focused on—and achieve—your goals. Click here for more information on online investing