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While watching NBC’s coverage of the Kentucky Derby last Saturday, my wife and I watched a segment about one of the horse’s owners. He’s the guy who started VitaminWater and is now a billionaire. The billionaire, who is 42, came across as being an average guy … not brilliant by any means. This prompted the question, "How does a guy like that become a billionaire?"

My wife responded, "Because he took a chance."

We often talk about whether or not we are too conservative with our money, whether we should be taking more chances with it. Should we be investing in real estate? Should we start our own business? Should we be buying stocks in start-up companies?

Generally, I prefer the conservative model on investing. Do some people flip houses and make good money? Sure. But most of them take out big loans, and with that big debt comes big risk. Usually, you hear only when a house flip goes well … not when it drives someone into bankruptcy. For every person who took a big chance and hit it big – billionaire big – there are hundreds (probably thousands) who took a big chance and flamed out.

Personally, I’ve always thought that steady, smart, well-thought-out investing will win out in the end. I stick to solid stock mutual funds, and only after doing plenty of research on them.

I used to watch a video with my kids. One of the lessons was "slow and steady wins the race." I believe that’s true. While we still question whether or not we’re too conservative, we believe we are taking the right approach. And while we will never have a horse running in the Kentucky Derby, I’m OK with that. I don’t mind betting a few bucks on a longshot every once in a while. But when it comes to my financial life, I prefer to bet on the best horse – even if it is at short odds.