Investing in the stock market can be daunting, especially when your financial future is on the line. Even seemingly harmless mistakes could potentially cost you tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars over time, so it's wise to have a strategy in place.

While nobody has all the answers, avoiding some of the most common stock market pitfalls can help maximize your long-term earnings. If I could have a do-over, here are three of the most important lessons I wish I'd learned much earlier in life.

Throughout most of my 20s, I was not at all concerned about saving for retirement. I also assumed that because I couldn't afford to save much, it was better to put it off until I had more to invest. But if I had begun investing even a few years earlier than I did, I would need to save far less per month now to reach my goals.

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Source Fool.com