Simple guide to invest

Mutual funds are extremely popular. There must be a reason, right? But, like any other form of investment, mutal fund investing requires some information and resources.

Easy access to investing information and the availability of online trading has made life easier for do-it-yourself investors. The Internet has brought the "trading" desk to millions of households and it is now possible to buy and sell shares, options, warrants, interest rate securities and managed funds from your own home. All you need is a computer and an internet connection. In addition, you can do your own research on a particular company or fund manager as well as finding out what some stock brokers are recommending to their clients. Much of this information is free or available at a reasonable cost and you can save yourself hundreds, or even thousands of dollars in fees and commissions every year via the internet. Rather than go through a full service stockbroker or investment advisor, why not give it a try?

When building your own stock or mutual fund portfolio, here are some pitfalls you need to avoid!

While you can find a plethora of good information on mutual funds and stocks, you can also find very poor information. Each website claims to have the latest hot picks or the "top ten" stock buys and often they contradict each other. Who do you believe and what about the scams?

You will undoubtedly come across websites and chat rooms that give investment advice or tips about investments, but many of these are not qualified to do so. The information may be wrong or misleading and some websites even repeat incorrect rumors.

There is overwhelming evidence that you will not become rich by listening to the advice of others. As an investor you need raw information, not recommendations. You would not buy a car just by looking at it...nor should you buy a company's stock or a certain mutual fund without doing significant research. There is no point trying to take control of your finances if you are going to rely solely on a "tip" from a newspaper or a broker or an internet chat room. It is true that someone may know more about a particular company or stock than you, but they could easily be wrong - so do your own homework!

You need to be certain that you have sound reasons for investing in a particular company or mutual fund. Do they have an instantly recognizable name? Do you understand what they do? Do the products or services of the company stand a good chance of being in high demand in a 10, 20 or 30 year time frame? Does it have a management team that moves with the times and is innovative, yet keeps a firm grip on the company's finances? Most of this information is available in a company's Annual Report, but make sure that you read it with a degree of skepticism...most reports are written to promote the company.

Keep in-mind that the historical and present prices of a stock or mutual fund may hold some clues to the future price. In practice, most analysts use fundamental analysis for short and long term buy/sell decisions and use technical analysis to confirm the decision.

Internet websites are a great place to collect information about companies. Naturally, a company owned website will attempt to portray the company in the most sympathetic light. Depending on how serious you want to be about investing, it is advisable to either visit or subscribe to investment research websites. Research websites are valuable tools for any investor and provide company reviews, give general investing information, market updates, stock pickers, stock ratings, watch-lists, portfolio managers, charts, share indexes, newsletters, alerts and model portfolios.

So, how can you structure a stock portfolio to maximize your wealth, ensure your peace of mind, give you total control of your investments, be easy to manage and give satisfaction?

Here is a recommended strategy that has worked well for many do-it-yourself investors:

1. Subscribe to a well respected investment research website dedicated to analyzing financial information for investors. They are independent from companies they list, do not receive commissions or brokerage and rely solely on investor subscriptions for income. They have to give their subscribers quality information to maintain subscriber confidence.

2. Look for the model portfolios they have developed and study the methodology they have used to create and maintain each portfolio.

3. Read the research reports supplied for each stock and study the graphs supplied for price movements and trading volumes. Get a good feel for both the long term and the short term trends of the stock.

4. Test each portfolio within a designated test period i.e., one month, one quarter, one year etc. Depending on the website, you can set up each of the model portfolios in a free portfolio manager provided on the website with unlimited stocks. Set a starting date for a test period where you "buy" stocks listed in the model portfolio at the closing price for that day. Make sure you include brokerage as it is part of the cost base for the stock. The website should either maintain up-to-date or 20 minute delayed stock prices, so a running balance can be maintained for the profit/loss for each stock over the designated period.

5. Compare each portfolio's published results with the results that you have achieved in the portfolio manager. They should agree with each other when the same stocks are compared over the same time period. Your testing should develop a level of confidence in the model portfolio.

6. Determine the best model portfolio for you to use. You can do this using the last the last three months of stock price history or perform a trial evaluation for the next three months of future prices. You can use one of the existing model portfolios or create your own from the stocks selected.

7. Subscribe to an online share broker website and begin trading.

8. Monitor stocks daily and review the performance of your actual portfolio against the model quarterly.

You should take care to evaluate the methodology used by the research website to develop the model portfolios. These portfolios are designed by research firms to provide sensible medium-term portfolios that make it easy for investors and financial planners to replicate. You need to understand the research methodology and develop a level of confidence in it rather than just blindly accepting the published results of each portfolio. You do not need to become an expert in methodologies.

Building a share portfolio that meets your investment objectives will substantially build your wealth over a period of time. You can also save money in commissions and fees, have peace of mind, total control over your investment and gain a real sense of satisfaction. A good recource for information to consider when you begin to have success at investing can be found over at http://www.assetprotectionnv.com.

Finally, be carefull with your mutual fund investments. No fund will make guarantees so good research and a steady hand are critical. Good luck comes to those that are prepared.
by: Yvonne Volante

Mutual funds are considered to be the best option by some investment managers. These funds can be managed by professionals and have the potential to provide the investors with high returns. Mutual fund companies invest an investor's money in various stocks, bonds and other short term or long term securities. Top mutual fund companies ensure that the investors are provided with he best possible services and options.

If a person chooses to invest in mutual funds then he/she has two options. He/she can either invest directly and purchase funds through several agents who sell mutual funds. The likes include banks, insurance companies, stock brokers and discount stock brokers. On the other hand an individual may buy mutual funds directly from a mutual funds company. One major advantage of dealing directly with mutual funds companies is that there are no transaction costs involved in the process. Unlike other mutual fund sellers, mutual fund companies do not have any hidden agenda. Also, an individual does not have to worry about the mutual funds being loaded (that is when owners have to pay transaction costs in the beginning, middle or at the end of the deal).

Mutual fund companies invest the money of investors in various stocks, bonds and equities. The combined holdings of a mutual fund are referred to as its portfolio. Each share in the company represents an individual investors share in the funds and the income generated. So when a person invests in a share of the company, he/she becomes a shareholder with the mutual fund company.

In case of profits all the mutual fund holders are provided with dividends by the company. However, if losses occur then the shares of the company decrease in value. Mutual fund companies generally divide the funds on the basis of the risk factor involved and the fees charged for each. They generally charge more if people want to invest in high risk funds. But a high fees does not necessarily indicate higher returns because these stocks fluctuate on daily basis. Based on their risk factor and the duration for which a fund should be held mutual funds are generally divided into the following types:

* Class A Stocks These are considered to be the best option if people have plans of holding the stocks for 2 or more years.

* Class B Stocks These are beneficial for long term holding of stocks. Generally small investors prefer these stocks. There is no front end fees and also the sales charge keep reducing.

* Class C Stocks These are considered best for short term investors. Front end fees is not required in these stocks either.

No matter how well a company's mutual funds perform, certain risk factors would always be there. Before investing in a mutual fund an individual needs to decide how much risk he/she is willing to take. Only then should one go ahead with it.
by: Sandra Stammberger

The perfect Mutual Fund you build should have the objective of owning no more than 12 to 15 companies; owning shares in 12 companies would allow the diversity needed to sleep well at night and would provide a cash dividend every week of the year. The 12 companies (with staggered dividend payout dates) in your perfect Mutual Fund should not only provide a cash dividend every week of the year, each company should also have a historical record of raising their dividend every year for at least the past 8 years (to eliminate risk).

The perfect Mutual Fund would have no fees attached, every cent put into the Fund would work toward your return on investment (ROI). There would not be any commission fees, load fees, management fees, operating or advertising fees, and there would be no illegal trading practices, hidden fees abuses or any type of hidden fee. The perfect Mutual Fund would benefit only you and your family and no one else.

The perfect Mutual Fund would require a savings plan to add to your holdings every quarter, until retirement. This would allow your perfect Mutual Fund to dollar-cost average (buying the same stock at different prices through the years) into your holdings every quarter (your dividends from the companies would be doing this already, commission free; and in the perfect Mutual Fund your quarterly investments into more shares of each company would also be commission free). With this in mind, every dividend received every quarter from a company in the Fund would be higher than the previous dividend from that same company (as long as the company, at least, maintains their dividend and in the perfect Mutual Fund every company has a history of raising their dividend every year).

In the perfect Mutual Fund, when prices of your stock holdings in the Fund decline, the cash dividend income from the perfect Mutual Fund would simply accelerate. The reason for this is simple - the lower the stock prices in the Fund, the higher the dividend yields. A company, for example, may pay a quarterly dividend of 50 cents a share. Whether that company’s share price is 70 dollars a share or 40 dollars a share, the company pays a quarterly 50 cents a share dividend. At a lower stock price the reinvested dividend and quarterly investment purchases more shares.

In the perfect Mutual Fund your money is not spread too thin. For example, putting $5,000.00 into, lets say, the S&P 500 Index Fund, you would end up owning around $10.00 worth of 500 different companies. Other than the obvious fact that your money is being spread too thin, any dividends from the companies in the Index Fund could possibly be eaten up by management’s operating expenses, advertising fees and whatever other Mutual Fund fees (they’re called ‘hidden fees’)are involved.

In the perfect Mutual Fund the valuation of a stock is based on how often a company raises its dividend and the company’s stock appreciation in the market place for the past eight years. It is this valuation that earns it its place in the perfect Mutual Fund. The perfect Mutual Fund ignores all the other elaborate techniques of security analysis to find value in a stock. I guess you could call it a Jerry Maguire, ‘show me the money’ security analysis.

(Also, in my opinion, too many people spend too much time looking at technical charts trying to predict what a stock or the stock market is going to do tomorrow. Just because thousands of people on Wall Street make a living doing ‘technical analysis’ doesn’t mean you have too jump off a building, too.)

In the perfect Mutual Fund it is the belief that the dividend is the one measure a company cannot fudge. The money has to be there to pay the shareholder. The earnings, P/E ratio (trailing or forward), price to sales etc. will all fall into place if the company still has enough earnings every year to continue raising its dividend. The perfect Mutual Fund assumes that if a company, for example, that has a history of raising its dividend for the past 35 consecutive years; it must be doing something right!

In the perfect Mutual Fund the dividends from the companies are also a safety factor that will put a bottom (support) on a stock. The dividend yield/return will keep the price of a stock from falling too far, in case of a severe drop in the stock market. And, of course, in the perfect Mutual Fund, the lower stock prices accelerate your income.
by: Charles M. O'Melia

Mutual Funds are considered to be one of the best investments one can get hands on. They're very flexible and cost-effective. An excellent investment for people with restricted knowledge, time or, money.

For beginners, who might have a perplexed expression on their faces at the mention of mutual funds; let me first acquaint them with what the mutual funds are all about.

A mutual fund is a financial instrument that enables a group of investors to pool their money together. There's a fund manager who takes care of the pooled money and invests them into specific securities (stocks or bonds). Investing in mutual funds basically means buying shares of the mutual fund and becoming a shareholder.

Having read this, you may have now decided to buy a mutual fund. But you've over 10,000 mutual funds to choose from. So how do you make sure that the one you've picked up is the right one?

For those who're new to this investment thing, let me apprise you with ‘load' and ‘no load' mutual funds. ‘Load' is basically a commission that has to be paid to the broker when you buy the fund while ‘no load' mutual funds are free from such commission hassles, as they're sold directly by the investment company.

It's best to consult an investment counselor before plunging into this venture. These finance mentors will charge a certain fee from you. They get no commission from the firms. Getting paid from their clients, these counselors make sure that you get the best out of any deal you make. Hence, you're sure of getting a reliable advice from your counselor. And obviously, they'd always advise you to go for ‘no load' mutual funds. Why?

Well, it goes like this. ‘Load' mutual funds are sold by brokers who get paid by the firms. Right? So, I don't see any reason why they'd be concerned whether you make or lose money. They're only interested in persuading you to buy funds often, so that they can relish their rewards from the firms. Moreover, ‘load' mutual funds consist of front-end charges, back-end charges, or deferred charges. Quite loaded!

Any savvy investor would certainly ensure that all of his/her investments are worthy. The investors get to choose the funds on their own, the way in which it happens with the ‘no load' mutual funds, as they are free from charges.

However, at the end of the day, the presence or absence of a broker has got nothing to do with the success of your investment. It's actually the advice you get from your counselor that really matters. A well-planned decision and a loyal advice on when to buy or sell are vital for securing a bright financial future. So, keep your mind wide open and invest! Good luck!
by: James Marriott

 
Mutual funds are a collection of stocks and/or bonds invested in different securities, which include fixed market securities and money market instrumentals. It facilitates investors to put their money under an efficient investment management. There are three types of mutual funds namely, income funds, growth funds, and balanced funds.

The basic principle underlying mutual funds is to pool in money with other people to convert it into funds. Mutual funds generally buy shares in stocks wherein an experienced fund manager performs the task of selecting, purchasing and selling off the stocks himself. Certificates are then issued to the shareholders as a testimony of proof of their partnership and participation in the emoluments of funds.

There are particularly three ways in which you can make money from a mutual fund. They are:

1. Benefits can be earned from the commission on stocks, and interests on bonds. All the income received all round the year is paid by the funds in the form of a distribution.

2. The fund will have an outstanding benefit provided the funds sell high priced securities. Most of the profits are given back to the investors in a distribution.

3. The value of the fund’s share automatically increases with an increase in the value of unsold high priced fund holdings. Accordingly, you can always sell shares of your mutual fund for profits.

Many people find investing in mutual funds an attractive option to that of dealing directly with the stock market because it is comparatively safe. In fact, these days, mutual funds have become the first preference of many investors. Mutual funds provide a balanced and better approach compared to conventional stock market alternatives. It has an added advantage of investing in several distinct sectors and firms, so, if one company suffers losses, the others may be rising. Investing in mutual funds, therefore, minimizes the loss-bearing risk of monetary assets.

In a nutshell, here are the salient points of the advantages of mutual funds:

1. Cost-effectiveness of investing in mutual funds: The main advantage of investing in mutual funds is the efficient management of your finances. Investors buy funds because they lack the competence and time to manage their own portfolio. It is a cost effective method, especially for a small investor because it is expensive to get a manager to manage individual investments.

2. Diversification: Compared to individual stocks or bonds, mutual funds diversify the risk of bearing loss. The basic intention being to invest in a diverse number of assets in order to overcome the negatives of loss making stocks or bonds by the profits reaped by others.

3. Economy of Scale: The transaction expenses are relatively low as a mutual fund is bought and sold in large amounts of credits.

4. Liquidity: Mutual funds provide the opportunity of converting shares into cash at any point of time.

5. Simplicity: It is easy to buy a mutual fund. Most companies have their own automatic purchase plans, and the minimum investment rates are very small.

Therefore, investing in mutual funds is certainly a secure investment as the chance of loss is spread out, and the opportunity for gains are numerous. At the same time, it is both cost-effective and an investment that gives great future returns.

The days of depending on government largesse in meeting old age financial requirements are growing dimmer by the day. Hence, investing in mutual funds can be a wise choice, especially for those who plan for an early retirement and hope to enjoy a secure senior citizenship.
by: Joseph Kenny

Real estate is often termed as the safest investment avenue. In fact, real estate investments done with proper evaluation of the property (and its true value), can lead to good profits. This is one reason why some people pursue real estate investment as their full time job. The talks of real estate are generally focussed towards residential real estate; commercial real estate seems to take a back seat. However, commercial real estate too is a good option for investing in real estate.

Commercial real estate includes a lot of different kinds of properties. Most people relate commercial real estate with only office complexes or factories/ industrial units. However, that is not all of commercial real estate. There is more to commercial real estate. Health care centers, retail structures and warehouse are all good examples of commercial real estate. Even residential properties like apartments (or any property that consists of more than four residential units) are considered commercial real estate. In fact, such commercial real estate is much in demand.

So, is commercial real estate really profitable? Well, if it were not profitable I would not have been writing about commercial real estate at all. So, commercial real estate is profitable for sure. The only thing with commercial real estate is that recognising the opportunity is a bit difficult as compared to residential real estate.

An excellent resource for learning real estate investing tactics is: Real Estate Investing Course

But commercial real estate profits can be real big (in fact, much bigger than you would expect from residential real estate of the same proportion). You could take up commercial real estate for either reselling after appreciation or for renting out to, say, retailers. The commercial real estate development is in fact treated as the first sign for growth of residential real estate. Once you know of the possibility of significant commercial growth in the region (either due to tax breaks or whatever), you should start evaluating the potential for appreciation in the prices of commercial real estate and then go for it quickly (as soon as you find a good deal).

And you must really work towards getting a good deal. If you find that commercial real estate, e.g. land, is available in big chunks which are too expensive for you to buy, you could look at forming a small investor group (with your friends) and buy it together (and split the profits later). In some cases e.g. when a retail boom is expected in a region, you might find it profitable to buy a property that you can convert into a warehouse for the purpose of renting to small businesses.

So commercial real estate presents a whole plethora of investing opportunities, you just need to grab it.
By: Andrew Koblick

Trading stocks online isn’t for the faint at heart, especially when one good market day can result in an unexpected crash the next. The vast number of stock trading platforms from some of the biggest names in finance offer stock solutions to experts right on down to a day trader or novice. Before you begin investing your life savings into an unpredictable market economy, keep these stock trading tips in mind.

• Pay attention to industry trends-If an up and coming website or company gets extensive media attention or business, consider purchasing stock from them.

• Don’t be afraid to invest for fear of loss…the quicker you buy stocks, the faster you can make a profit.

• Know your trade options: some services allow you to use your mobile phone for trades, as well as faxing or over-the-phone.

• If you cancel a trade, make sure it’s complete before making another trade. Simply because you receive a cancellation receipt, it may have already gone through. Know who to contact for trading.

• Don’t trade with a company you don’t know anything about. If possible, look into their investment history, so you know you’re trading reputable stock.

• Join an online stock trading service that provides up-to-date market forecasts and comprehensive market overview features. When trading, you need access to instant stats.

6Star Reviews cites online stock trading services TD Ameritrade and Zecco as great choices in personal investment that incorporate the latter. Zecco offers great rates and 10 free trades a month if stock brokers meet the minimum balance requirement.

Options trades are $4.50 a trade, which is a low rate that new traders will surely appreciate. Similarly, TD Ameritrade runs specials such as 30-day commission-free trades and a $100 bonus on current new account openings. Before signing up with a particular company, consider your level of trading expertise, as well as your financial resources, as some sites offer lower rates than others.
By: Kelly Liyakasa

Investing in low-income housing is beneficial, because it provides you more cash flow. This can be better explained with the help of an example. In a small town, the average cost of two-bedroom house is around $130,000 and you will get $800 a month as rent for it. The cost of a mobile home will not be more than $45000 and the probable amount of rent is $500 a month. Therefore, the increase in the amount of rent is not in proportion to the increase in the cost of the house. There is about a 200 percent increase in cost as compared to only a 60 percent increase in the rent. What it indicates is that investing in low-income housing like mobile homes, run-down apartments and old houses can be a wise decision.

Risk And Management Problems Are The Price For Higher Returns People often tend to ignore investing in low-income housing, because of the greater amount of risk and problems in managing such kind of houses. This is true. Whatever negative points they may have in their minds are not baseless. You may need to manage small repairs here and there on and off. Sometimes you may receive the rent late. However, you should not forget that this is the price you are paying to get higher returns. Had there been no possibility of getting higher returns, nobody would have recommended investing in low-income housing.

Tips on Buying Investing in low-income housing is ideal for generating a long-term cash flow. In fact, low-income housing is a very good asset capable of producing income for several reasons. The very first reason is that houses are plentiful. Hoses exist everywhere, whether it is a city, a town or the neighborhood. The easy availability makes houses easy to buy. Getting discounts on buying is also possible because so many sellers want to sell the property due to problems. If the house is well maintained, the average period of occupancy for a tenant is three to five years, while most of the other cash flow vehicles do not have this longer occupancy period.

Tips on Selling Investing in low-income housing may fetch you 10 to 15 percent price premiums if you sell the property by agreeing for a sort of payment contract with the buyer. By investing in low-income housing you are not putting your money in slums. These are starter homes, but the location is not always so great.

25 Percent To 40 Percent ROI You should keep an eye on the auction sales such as tax, estate, and foreclosure sales for investing in low-income housing. There, it is possible to buy these houses for $3,000 to $25,000. You may receive $350 to $500 a month by renting out these houses. In terms of return on investment, it may be possible to get average returns between 25 percent and 40 percent.
By: Tina Young

If you are looking for a cheap home owners insurance, you often have to compromise with the price; the more expensive the better policy. Although this is the main rule, there are some exceptions. One of these exceptions is discount home owners insurance. How do you find it?

Have You filed claims the last couple of years?

If you haven't filed any claims for a couple of years or so, you might be able to save some money to the tune of 15% on your premiums. Also, if you use the same insurance company for a couple of years, that will also look good and you can save bucks.

Why Not Get Multiple Policies From The Same Provider

It might be a great solution to get it all together ? auto, home, health, travel and whatever other coverage you need to get under the same company, you can save lots. This can chop off a wopping 10-15% of your premium. All it takes is just a little bit of planning!

Are You Protected?

It's standard for many companies to offer you a discount if you have things like burglar alarms or smoke detectors installed. You might also have one that is connected to a third party monitoring company. That will save you even more bucks.

Know Where The Nearest Fire Station Is

There are a few things in terms of location that can alter your premiums. If you live far from a fire station or fire hydrant, you'll normally have to pay more. The opposite is the case If you live within the city limits; them you will pay less on your premiums, compared with living out in the sticks.

The Building Materials of Your House

What your house is made if will actually make a difference in how much you pay. For example, wood houses carry higher premiums than good, solid concrete structures.

Higher Payments On The Deductible

If You can afford it, you should pay as much as possible on your deductible, thus your premium will be lower. If you are able to pay something like $200 or $1000, you can bring that premium down as much as 20%!

Stop Smoking!

Non-smokers will save cash; even as much as like 15% in many cases. Check out if the company you use offers a deal for non-smokers.

Now, after I have provided you with a few pointers to help you save cash on your house you might be ready to buy your home owners insurance. Anyway, you should consult your agent. Most insurance agents also know of some tricks to get you out of paying piles of cash.
by: Marvin Toller

So Why Home Owner Insurance?

So you purchased a house. Congratulations! Buying a home is a big step in anyone’s life and a great investment. Now it’s time to protect your investment by purchasing home owner insurance.

Home insurance is an insurance policy that covers your house, the garage, other related structures, and also personal possessions inside the home against damages caused by everything from fire to natural disasters and even theft. Different home insurance policies offer different levels of coverage. An all-risk policy, for example, covers your home and your property against any and all disasters or theft. However, just like with any insurance policy, the higher the coverage, the higher your premiums.

Home Owner Insurance and Coverage

Many lending institutions mandate mortgage clients to have a basic level of home owner insurance to receive a home loan. This requirement guarantees them that in the case of a catastrophic event, their mortgage balance will still be paid out. But you don’t need to stop there. Depending on what specific items and areas of your home you want protected and in what type of event (i.e. earthquake, fire, theft) you want your home protected in, you can increase your home insurance coverage above and beyond the level required by the mortgage company.

The price of your home is fundamentally where you begin when deciding on the level of coverage for your home. So, you need to first establish the amount it would cost to repair and/or rebuild your home. Once that amount has been established, insure your home for that amount. Some home owner insurance policies also automatically adjust the level of coverage each year to take into consideration appreciation and the increased value of your home.

Home Owner Insurance and Personal Property

Remember, protecting your home is not the only reason to get home insurance. Different levels of coverage can also protect the items in your home. It you want to protect your home and everything in it, take inventory of your personal property, including furniture, high-end electronics and appliances, and anything of value. This will establish a value for all items in your home. Take this value and add it to the coverage level of your home insurance policy. If you can’t afford that amount of coverage, take a percentage of the overall value of your personal property and adjust the level of coverage based on what you can afford and what you’d want replaced. If you want to protect your personal property, you need home owner insurance.

Home Owner Insurance and Pets

Believe it or not, your pets play a part in why you need home owner insurance and in deciding the level of home insurance coverage you choose. That’s because your pets can cause damage to your home and injury to others. Different levels of home insurance coverage also cover injury in the home and protect you against lawsuits. If you have pets, remember that they can lead to damage and injury; so invest in home insurance and choose your level of home insurance coverage accordingly.

If you want to protect your home and your family, you need home insurance. It covers you when the unexpected occurs. Without it, you could end up losing everything.
by: Brad Stroh

A typical homeowners insurance policy has four key ingredients. They are:

1. Homeowner insurance coverage for your home itself
2. Homeowner insurance coverage for your family's personal items
3. Homeowner liability coverage
4. Coverage for the expenses of temporary living should you have to vacate your home because of fire, flood or other disaster covered by your homeowner policy.

The portion of the homeowner coverage for your home itself provides funds for the repair or reconstruction of your home if it has been damaged or destroyed by disaster such as hurricane, hail, lightning, fire or any other covered event. What is not covered with a standard homeowner policy is normal wear and tear on your home or damage caused by an earthquake or flood. (There are homeowner policies that cover these, but they are more costly and in some regions, such as flood prone areas they are not available at all.)

When you take our your homeowner policy you'll want to be sure and buy enough coverage for total reconstruction of your home

Most standard homeowner policies also protect structures on your property although detached from your home, such as in-law quarters, garage or gazebo. It's common practice to cover these unattached structures for ten percent of the covered value of your house.

Should any of your clothing, electronic equipment, furnishings, or other personal belongings be destroyed by insured disaster, or stolen, they are covered by your homeowner policy. Most carriers cover them at the rate of 50-70 percent of the total dollar figure of your home structure's coverage.

There is also a clause in your homeowner policy for coverage of off-premises items. Which means that if you take your personal belongings elsewhere and they become lost or damaged your homeowner policy will generally reimburse you at least ten percent of the amount of coverage that you have on them when they are on your home premises. Homeowner policies also provide up to $500 of protection against unauthorized credit card use as well.

For high priced items like jewelry and fur a standard homeowner policy will usually limit your coverage to $100-$2000. You can purchase coverage up to appraised value for an additional charge. In either case there is no deductible and coverage includes your accidental loss of the items.

Foliage around your home such as trees and shrubs also come under the protection of your homeowner policy. Usually the money figure is five percent of the home's insured value, but up to $500 for each bloom. They are protected against even riots, vandalism, explosion and airplane crashes. They are not insured against wind or disease damage.

Liability coverage protects you against litigation should anyone or anything become injured on your premises. You are also covered for damage done by your children or pets to the property of others as well. This coverage is in force even if you are not in your own home or on your own property. It covers any court defense as well as any court appointed financial award against you. The coverage limit is generally more than $100,000, although a $300,000 minimum is a standard recommendation.

Your homeowner policy also takes care of living expenses if you temporarily have to vacate your home because of damage and during repair and reconstruction of your home. Coverage includes hotel costs, meals in restaurants and other common expenses. Coverage limit of 20 percent of your home's insured value is common for this. If part of your home served as rental property your homeowner policy will also reimburse you the amount of the rent that you are losing because of the disaster.
by: Robert Michael

 If you want the best deal on cheap mortgage payment protection insurance then without a doubt the only way to go is by purchasing shopping around and getting the cover independently from a specialist provider. A specialist provider can not only help you to make substantial savings when it comes to the premiums charged for the policy, but will also be able to ensure you get the policy most suited for your needs and, if they are reputable, should provide free advice.

When looking for a policy, never be tempted to take what the high street lenders and banks offer you when you take out your mortgage without first doing a bit of research. The cover doesn’t have to be taken alongside your mortgage regardless of the pressure techniques the lender might use to persuade you it does. While it’s true some lenders will insist that you do take out cover to protect the loan, you can choose where to buy the cover from. High street lenders in the majority simply don’t have the experience needed when it comes to selling mortgage payment protection and, as recent finings from the Financial Services Authority have proved, sales techniques are very poor. This has led to wide spread mis-selling of policies and has left many unfortunate people not being able to make a claim on their policy when needed.

All policies will have exclusions and these are often hidden in the small print and these are what you should be aware of when it comes to taking out the policy. A mortgage payment protection policy is taken out to ensure that if you should come out of work through an accident, prolonged sickness or unforeseen unemployment then the cover will provide a tax-free monthly income which means you can still pay the mortgage. However there are certain illnesses which are excluded and medical conditions that you have at the time of taking out the policy will normally be excluded, this is why it’s important that you check the small print of a policy.

When it comes to getting the best deal on a mortgage payment protection insurance policy then you simply have to go independently to a specialist for it, this is probably the only way to get a quality product while making savings on your premium.
by: Simon Burgess

Parents still are in the running to help cover the cost of their children’s college education and can do so with PLUS Loans – Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students. With rates as low as 6.25 percent, parents can borrow up to the full cost of college with a federal PLUS Loan, according to NextStudent, the Phoenix-based premier education funding company.

NextStudent offers PLUS Loans at a rate as low as 6.25 percent when coupled with incentives such as a 2 percent interest rate reduction after the first 48 months of on-time payments and a .25 percent interest rate reduction when borrowers repay their loans through Auto Debit.

PLUS Loan Availability

Parent borrowers cannot be turned down for a PLUS Loan no matter their financial situation, as the PLUS Loans are not based on financial necessity. Up to 100 percent of the cost of college is available to borrowers, less any received financial aid. In addition, PLUS Loans are available throughout the year.

Parents can borrow all of a student’s education costs for the 2006-07 academic year all the way through May 31, 2007. The federal PLUS Loan also can reimburse those parents who already paid tuition and education expenses. Total education costs can include tuition, fees, housing, books and supplies, and transportation.

NextStudent offers a fast and easy preapproval process for all federal PLUS Loan borrowers. In addition, PLUS Loans are eligible for federal student loan consolidation, and the interest on PLUS Loans may be tax-deductible.

Benefits of PLUS Loans

Federal PLUS Loans through NextStudent feature other benefits and incentives, including:

• A 3 percent cash rebate on the remaining principal balance after the first 12 months of consecutive on-time payments.

• Easy Application Process with E-Signature. Online application can be qualified in minutes. In addition, NextStudent’s “second look” is available to borrowers who initially are denied because of unresolved credit issues.

• PLUS Credit Resolution Team: NextStudent’s team has an 87 percent rate of success at resolving borrowers’ credit issues, whereby resolutions result in funded PLUS Loans.

• NextStudent offers various PLUS Loan repayment options that include deferred repayment when a student is enrolled at least half-time at school. PLUS Loans are eligible for federal loan consolidation.

Eligibility

Parents must meet eligibility requirements in order to receive a federal PLUS Loan. To qualify parents must be a biological, adoptive or step-parent of a dependent undergraduate student; a citizen of the United States or eligible noncitizen; and must be able to meet minimum federal creditworthiness standards.

Students of parents applying for federal PLUS Loans also must be citizens of the United States or eligible noncitizens; less than 24 years old as of Dec. 31 of the academic year; and unmarried without dependents.

Typically the federal PLUS Loan repayment term is 10 years. Repayment begins within 60 days of final disbursement, and there are no prepayment penalties.

Federal PLUS Loans are a great way for parents to help their children receive up to the full cost of attending college. Interest rates on PLUS Loans are lower when compared to other consumer loans, and the loans feature excellent terms. In addition, NextStudent offers a host of benefits and incentives that make PLUS Loans the perfect way to pay for college.

NextStudent, http://www.nextstudent.com/, federal lender code 834051, is dedicated to helping students and their families find affordable ways to pay for college. NextStudent offers one-on-one education finance counseling and has a portfolio of highly competitive education finance products and services including a free online scholarship search engine, federally guaranteed parent and student loans, private student loans, both federal and private student loan consolidation programs, and college savings plans.
by: Jeff Mictabor

Investing in real estate can be a very lucrative investment if it is done properly. Whether you are investing in a brand new home or an old fixer upper, all houses will gain value if you spend the necessary time and money making sure that the property is maintained. Some people may feel that improving the home is not required since they are only going to sell it anyway, but that line of thought will cost you money in the end. Your investment will gain tremendous value if you are willing to repair and remodel whatever is needed before you sell the investment property.

Some real estate investments may only need a little spring cleaning and a few minor repairs, while other investments may need to be completely redone. Properties that need more work usually cost less to purchase because of the amount and the extent of the work needed. Even properties that need a lot of repairs and renovations can be terrific investments, because their value increases significantly more than the cost of the repairs and home improvements.

Most real estate investors do not realize the importance of making home improvements. Even simple things like painting the walls or weeding the lawn and putting down a good grass seed can raise the value of your investment. You can ask for and get a much higher price for real estate if everything is in great condition. Even houses that are in good repair should be thoroughly cleaned from the top to bottom, including gutters and eaves troughs. When you are considering a property to invest in, it is a good idea to do a very detailed inspection to evaluate all repairs that need to be addressed, whether they are minor or major.

It is important that you keep all receipts for any labor and materials you purchase to repair and improve your real estate investment. When you get ready to sell your investment you will have a record of all the money you have invested in home improvement for the real estate. This will allow you to show an increased value of the home due to the home improvement. It will also enable you to sell your real estate investment faster for a larger price. In a buyer's market, the repairs and maintenance of your property may be one of the biggest sellers. No one wants to buy a home to live in and then have to take the time and money to do a lot of maintenance or repairs.

Home improvement is very important to real estate, whether you are just trying to flip a house to make a profit or you have rental property with tenants. By improving the property you will greatly improve the profit you will make from your real estate investment. A lot of real estate investors do not think about home improvement, and it costs them in the form of lower sales prices and lower monthly rents.
by: Joel Teo

 

There has always been a degree of “racy glamour” to the world of property investment. Too often the image has always been portrayed as an industry being handled and managed by “be-suited city types” wheeling and dealing any huge multimillion dollar fortunes/

It doesn't really matter what your perception of property development he is, the fact is that if you can time it correctly, manage it properly it's a very useful tool in any investment portfolio.

Investing in residential property has become well and truly established in recent years. Volatile share and bond markets have simply underlined the inherent strengths in bricks and mortar for long-term investments.

Few can have failed to notice the growth in residential property investment over the past decade. There have been many contributing factors behind this, not least the advent of buy-to-let finance offered by banks, the increased volatility in equities markets that has seen supposed blue chip names fall from grace and of course the significant returns from residential property over the pasta for 30 years.

The great majority of people are now looking to own an investment property as part of a balanced and well diversified portfolio. Private bankers and IFA’s have tended to bypass the residential sector, leaving their clients to deal with this themselves.

If you were to ask most people what their concept of property investment was I wouldn’t be surprised to see the response's comeback in much the sort of vein as “well, buy a flat or a house, do it up and then sell it on, make a profit and reinvest”. This as an approach might be simplistic but it's not too far from the truth and if followed to a limited degree in theory should lead to success.

However their comes a time as in any business or industry that you move out of the shallows into slightly deeper waters on this point you really do need to know what you're doing or you need to get in the services of experts.

This is the point in the entire process way you start to consider issues like gearing and borrowing funds to help increase the asset base of your portfolio thereby actually giving you a greater return on your initial capital. It is this sort of concept that differentiates a part time player from the professional who read he does understand what they're doing.

Only when you start to look a property like this do you really stand a chance of making regular sizable returns on your hard earned money and giving your self a fighting chance to actually make a profit so that you can reinvest and earn more. If you are going to be remotely involved in property beyond buying renovating and selling then you need to consider issues like ongoing property management and tenancy agreements. Not only do you need to consider these issues you need to understand them properly as well.
 by: Scott James

Many people stand outside of the investing world looking in. They make up excuses for not investing, point to examples, and then turn and walk away. These same people complain loudly because they do not have enough money, their job is boring, and they are not happy.

The American culture grew lazy. For a few decades, they were taught to get an education, and sit back in a comfy job for 40 years, after which the company would pay for their retirement. This scheme collapsed because it was unrealistic. Never in history did any societal model come close to this scheme. In fact, the rest of the world continued to manage their own destiny through the American experiment.

Now, it is time for people to wake up and reclaim what is rightfully theirs. This country was built on investors, and to succeed, people need to start investing again. There is a story told in university business and marketing courses that makes the ‘investor’s mindset’ very clear.

In ancient times, a King instructed that a boulder be placed in the middle of a busy roadway. He hid and watched to see who would remove the rock.

A group of wealthy merchants and courtiers simply walked around, complaining loudly that the King failed to keep the roads clear. But, none did anything about moving the stone even though they had the resources to do the job.

A peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. He laid down his burden and tried to move the stone. After pushing and straining, he succeeded. He then picked up his vegetables and noticed a purse on the road where the boulder had been.

The purse contained several gold coins and a note with the King’s seal indicating that the gold belonged tor the person who removed the boulder.

The peasant learned what many of us never understand! Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

He also learned the fundamental secret behind investing. You make money by improving the world around you. Yes, you can start a home based business that fulfils your needs, but if it doesn’t help society, you won’t make any money.

There is also another lesson to be learned from this story. The peasant failed, and failed, and failed, but he learned from each attempt. Finally, he succeeded. And, rewards were immediate.

Too many people in today’s world think that only special people should invest. There is no university course , social status, or wealth status, that breeds natural born investors. The peasant in the story was no different than all the other peasants, noblemen, and merchants. The only thing he did different was try.

No one would balk at spending five years in university learning a trade, and investing $50 000 into their education. But, ask a work at home business person to study their market for more than a few months, learning the art of success, and learning why others fail – and they walk away. In fact, many work at home business people refuse to invest any money into their business – they just won’t try. It is all in the mindset of the person. Do you really want to succeed?

There is a saying in the work at home community, “The only way to fail is to quit.”
by: Mark Walters

“How to get rich”: there are few more written upon topics in the history of history than how to get rich. Is Real Estate Investing the Number One Way to leverage yourself and build wealth easily? If you’re an entrepreneur who is constantly striving to get to that next level in your life, your business, and your finances, you’ll likely agree with me when I say that we entrepreneurial personality types have an insatiable appetite for consuming material on how to get rich, and how to leverage yourself to build wealth easily. As a real estate entrepreneur who writes often on investing, I’m not going to focus on how to get rich in real estate investing with this article. In fact, I’m exploring if there could be something even better for building wealth easily. An even more powerful way to leverage yourself!? Let’s see!

Build Wealth Easily?

But despite our best efforts and intentions and goals, that doesn’t mean each of us is able to figure out the why, where, who, when, and most frequently the what of how to get rich. Not all of us can drive every vehicle capable of shuttling them to success equally or as quickly as they might another vehicle. That’s why I wrote this article. Real estate investing is my passion. Real estate investing can build and keep wealth like nothing else. But I won’t claim it’s the best vehicle to build wealth easily. In fact, I’m not sure it is!

This article will help some of you see the types of actions and scenarios likely to take someone reading about how to get rich and propel them into a future full of success and sharing with others how to get rich— just by taking each of these vehicles for a mental test drive.

I believe one of the fundamentals of how to get rich is becoming a master of leverage, learning to leverage yourself by learning and applying systems of duplication and delegation and automation. By using creativity and the creation of value to multiply your results with the systems, efforts and resources of other people and organizations, you can be sure that every minute and every dollar you spend in pursuit of your goals learning how to get rich will come back at you in droves.

In real estate investing, I’m familiar with a lot of these methods to leverage yourself, as you can see from visiting the website -- but what about these other plans for how to get rich?

That brings me to the top 13 ways in my opinion to get rich in today’s world— without having to be someone special, have special knowledge or look like a million bucks— as I see them, with an emphasis on how much LEVERAGE you have.

How to Get Rich Top 13 Answers

13. Steal the money

Whatever your religious beliefs, or whether you are consciously aware that there is a God or not, stealing money from others is not a great strategy on how to get rich. Humans are hard-wired with a conscience that in most cases knows right from wrong. Few people can live a full and happy life knowing that their fortune was built on robbery, theft, deception, trickery, or lying. It may appear the “easy route” but in the end karma always wins.

12. Winning the lottery

We do not value that which we did not work to earn. Sure it’s nice to fantasize about what we would do with a hundred million dollars, or fifty, or twenty, or ten. Some people say they play the lottery as an “investment vehicle”. The only more ridiculous statistics than the odds stacked against you winning are the statistics of what happens in the financial futures of the average lottery winner: 4 in 5 are BROKE or in debt within 10 years. How? When you have a paycheck to paycheck mentality (as much of the world does) lottery winnings are just a much bigger paycheck. For most people, as one’s income increases so too do the expenses—but faster. Lottery winners who did not have some financial success already are doomed to lose it all.

11. Being born rich

Napoleon Hill once said, in paraphrase, “there is nothing more dangerous than unearned riches”. What did he mean by that? It’s a simple factor of human nature that the more we are given the less we appreciate. Or know the value of. Or how to get it on our own. There’s a reason predators bring meat to their young early on but later set them loose to learn how to feed themselves. The worst possible position to be in, should you lose all your wealth, is that of never having had to learn how to get rich in the first place. The only reason this is better than winning the lottery is because if you are determined to make it happen, you’ve already been exposed to wealth— so you’re not mentally limited as to how much you think you can earn. That’s a huge limitation for many people looking to build wealth easily, not having “seen” wealth.

10. The professional/corporate grind

Being a regular 9 to 5 employee with a guaranteed salary, benefits, 401k and stock options, and job security is not a negative— unless you want more than trading your time for dollars, that is! Admittedly, for some people, there’s something to be said for the safety of a secure, well-paying job that makes us feel normal. You can get rich just by living below your means and investing the difference— even teachers who made no more than $30,000 a year have died leaving multi-million dollar estates. This is great if you are patient, disciplined and can wait 30 years— but it’s not MY idea of how to get rich. Nor is ANY job or career exactly so “safe” anymore in today’s world of downsizing, layoffs, outsourcing, off-shoring, corporate mismanagement, and eroding benefits. Worse, you’re not using leverage here— no matter how hard you work, you can leverage yourself to a great degree as an employee! You’re a cog in someone else’s machine as an employee.

9. Unlimited income direct sales

Sales is one of the highest-paying professions in the world. It can also be the lowest-paying profession in the world. Being a commissioned salesperson with no earnings cap on commissions can bring in a lot of money if you’re good. IF you’re good and you bust your hump. And if your product is solid. And if the economy is strong. And if your company stays in business. And on and on. Too much is not in your hands! The main issue though is that the skills that will avail you of a successful career in professional sales can be used much more efficiently when you leverage yourself by using other vehicles to channel your talents.

8. Franchise Owner

2 + 2 = 4 no matter whether you can do math or not. Franchises are set up to be businesses run based on a system already proven profitable. Whether they are as “turnkey” as their promoters claim is debatable, but there is certainly money in the franchise game to be made. It’s no wonder economists have labeled the franchise boom of the 20th century as the McDonaldization of business when the average McDonald’s restaurant franchise grosses $1.9 Million per year for its franchisee owner. Still, the financial barrier to entry can be as high as a normal business and in many cases even higher.

Leverage Yourself

7. Network Marketing

This one could closer to the top of the list if the opportunities available were worthy to be at the top—most aren’t. If you find the right opportunity, however, and work it with a vengeance on a consistent basis you can gain leverage yourself substantially by using other people’s time. Unfortunately, most people never find the right company at the right time and make the right choice to take action. Then, when they fail, as 9 in 10 do within a year, they give up never having gotten past the dream of buying into someone’s plan to teach them how to get rich—and into the reality. However, for the person in sales who can sell and recruit, network marketing is a better answer in many cases than just conventional selling— for the simple fact that you’re building your own business and residual income streams that will continue whether you continue to work or not.

6. Information Product Sales

Internet marketers of today are capitalizing in ever-increasing numbers on human nature tendencies direct marketers have known for many, many long years. There are some “problems” we have as people that there is NO LIMIT to the amount of money we will throw at the problem trying to find the perfect “solution”. The best markets to sell information products to are: (1) Business Owners Seeking Solutions (2) Better Appearance Seekers (3) Business Opportunity Seekers (3) Diet & Fitness Seekers (4) Dating Advice Seekers and 5) Avid Leisure Hobbyists. The best part about information product sales is the low overhead cost to produce the products you deliver, and the high profit margins you can earn.

5. Business Owner

Business ownership has many more benefits than can be touched on in a short paragraph but suffice it to say that if you’re not in business for yourself you should be. There is little more fulfilling than being your own boss, and working to build something that might outlast you. The cash flow, the tax benefits, the respect in the community, the outlet for creativity— all of these things make owning a small business (or growing a large one) a large part of the average human dream. As a business owner, you can incorporate many of these other vehicles in your plan for building wealth easily.

4. Celebrity

Clearly, celebrity sells. There are many mega-millionaires on this planet with no other talent than somehow managing to capture the interest of an audience worldwide (or even regionally) longer than their allotted “15 minutes of fame”. Publicity equals better than advertising and advertising done skillfully equals revenue. Celebrities are money machines who can make money in most of the rest of these categories but there are three reasons this is not nearer the top of the list. Despite the number of “what did they do’s?” out there , there are many more celebrities who are famous for a reason— they worked very hard to become the best (or best promoted) at what they do— be it sports, entertainment, speaking, etc. Secondly, there is a very high barrier to entry to this kind of life, one most people just do not have the look, skills, contacts, nerve, or charisma to break into. Lastly, there’s a huge cost to celebrity that would take it out of the top choices of a “best ways on how to get rich” list: your privacy is nonexistent in today’s world of celebrity.

3. Intellectual Property

With income streams from licensing to franchising to royalties to patents, copyrights, and trademarks— creating intellectual property is a serious method of building wealth easily. Musicians, authors, inventors, creative artists, franchisors, entrepreneurs, and high-level marketers are all making tons of money, residually, for many years from work they completed just once. This is a very high leverage activity! Books, music, ebooks, graphic and multimedia designs, software, copywriting, inventions, franchisable sales systems, the list goes on and on. Is this a vehicle you can put into action tomorrow? Not usually! But as you make your way in the world of wealth do not forget to use intellectual property to leverage yourself!

How to Get Rich: Real Estate Investing the Best?

2. The Real Estate Business

It’s widely accepted that 90% of all the world’s millionaires either made or keep their wealth in real estate. Water is wet. The sky is blue. Over time, real estate goes up. These are simple facts. Contrary to the “get rich quick” infomercials you’ve seen, though, figuring out how to get rich in real estate investing isn’t easy. But it is simple, once you understand the processes involved and actively and consistently pursue the business. Real estate investing is one of the highest forms of leverage we have as entrepreneurs, with savvy investors utilizing not only other people’s money, but also other people’s time and even other people’s credit. The real estate business is full of wealth-building opportunities: foreclosures, rentals, lease options, commercial properties, short sales, tax liens, being an agent or loan officer, investing in notes and mortgages…the list goes on and on! Of these, investing in notes and mortgages is pretty high on the easy scale, getting the benefits of real estate without some of the management headaches.

I obviously believe in real estate investing, but I’m not so sure there isn’t an even better, easier, higher leverage vehicle out there for creative entrepreneurs like you and me!

1. Joint Ventures (A.K.A. Strategic Alliances)

Joint Ventures is the best way to build wealth easily. Scratching your head? Well, soon you’ll see that doing successful joint ventures to make massive cash with minimum efforts and minimum risk is just common sense. Too bad common sense ain’t common! If you can master putting together joint ventures, you can be assured that if you build wealth and lose it all— you can quickly earn it back. When you master joint ventures, everything you need to get started again building wealth easily is now in your thought processes. It’s become as simple as common sense. This is because with successful joint ventures you don’t need products or services or invesntory. You don’t need an office, factory, employees, customers, or anything else traditional businesses need. You just need ideas. Of course, if you have any of these things, it only makes it easier because you bring something even more to the table than your brilliant ideas. The basic formula of how to get rich with joint ventures is answering these questions: “Who do I know?”, “What do they have?”, and “What do they need?” Then you play deal maker. That’s it! Zero risk, high profit potential. The ultimate in way to leverage yourself to build wealth easily.
by: Danny Welsh

If you’re fresh out of college and starting a new career, investing for your retirement may be the farthest thing from your mind. But don’t be so shortsighted! Given the somewhat tenuous state of the Social Security system, you’re may have to rely on yourself to provide for your retirement. And if you’d like to retire sometime before you’re 80 years old, you need to start investing as soon as possible.

There are a number of reasons to start investing early. First, you may be lucky enough to receive matching contributions from your employer. The way it usually works is you commit to put a certain percentage of your salary into a retirement account and your employer rewards you by putting in a certain percentage as well. Now there are very few times in life when you’ll get free money like this, so if your employer offers this perk, jump on the bandwagon immediately!

Second, the longer your money stays in your account, the more you stand to gain. You expect your investment to grow, maybe by as much as 8-10 if you’ve invested in CDs or bonds. But what’s cool is that as your money is growing, you’re earning interest on both the original amount of your investment and the amount of interest it’s earned. This is called “compounding interest.” If you can leave the money in your account for 20-30 years or so until your retirement, you’ll likely find that the amount you’ve earned on your interest is greater than the amount you originally contributed!

So let’s look at a scenario from The Motley Fool Investment Guide for Teens:

Marge saves up her money and invests $1,000 each year from the time she’s 15 until she reaches age 30, making her total investment $15,000 over 15 years. Homer doesn’t start investing until the time he’s 35, when he panics over whether or not he’ll be able to retire. He puts aside $5,000 each year until he retires at age 65, making his total investment $150,000 over 30 years. Assuming each has earned an 11% return on their investment, Marge will have $1,473,172 in her account when she reaches 65, compared with the $1,104,566 in Homer’s account when he hits the same age.

Pretty crazy, huh? Marge stops investing at age 30 and puts in $135,000 less than Homer and still beats him by $300,000 when they’re ready to retire. That’s the power of time and compounding interest in investing.

When you’re younger, you’re also able to take more risks with your money and chase the stocks that might make you rich. You can take a chance on the next big Microsoft, even if it winds up being a poor investment. If you’re 25 and wipe out your portfolio on a bad stock, you’ll still be able to make it up in the long run. But if you’re 55, you can’t be as aggressive with your investments – you’ll need to keep your money safe for retirement.

Clearly, investing early is a great way to secure your financial future. Ask your employer’s benefits coordinator if your company offers any matching benefits and enroll immediately if they do. If not, you can open up a private IRA account and start saving on your own. It can be a stretch – money can be tight when you’re just starting out and setting aside money for retirement can seem unnecessary. But look to the future and think about the type of retirement you’d like to have. After all, which would you prefer? Spending your golden years still working or slipping away to a tropical paradise knowing that you’re financial needs are taken care of?
by: Sarah Russell

Investing can be defined in many different ways. It can be termed as the proactive use of your money to make more money or, to say it another way, it is your money working for you. Another way of looking at it is when you use your savings to buy something and think you will earn a decent amount of income and/or go up in value over time.

The concept behind investing is that you put your money to use in such a way that it is likely to turn into more money. So investing is not only an opportunity to make more money, but away to protect the money that you currently have.

Short-term investing or day trading cannot be classed as investing because it's virtually impossible to see the very near-term future of a stock, however if you enlighten yourself and then take a long-term perspective, there is an excellent chance that you will earn a great return on your investment. In retrospect, investing will require a more conscious decision.

When you put your money to invest that and it accrues value at a slower rate than the rate of inflation it will worth less and less as time passes. So in other words, you have to be creative and take some risk if you want to make more from your initial investment.

Stock Investing is more than just the receiving the right to receive future cash distributions from any business. When you initially buy a stock, you are buying a piece of a company or business and you become a part owner. For example, a lot of the people that joined Microsoft in the early days became part owners as well as employees of the company and ended up as millionaires because the value of Microsoft shares shot up.

There are different characteristics that set investing in stocks apart from savings. Trading in stocks differs from investing when you consider that trading relies more on the fluctuations of the stock value itself. Furthermore, stock investing risks are not distributed equally across all time-periods in which it is possible to own stocks.

Real Estate investing is another form of investing that can generate wealth. However, most people are lead to believe that real estate investing is only for the wealthy folks. What seems to amaze me it the amount of people who get started in real estate investing, only to fail when the going gets tough. Buying and flipping real estate over time has proven to be a great way to get started in real estate investing. Another way of taking advantage to real estate investing is to use the no money down concept and keep your ethics intact. A lot of people continue to ask if it is possible to get a piece of real estate without any of your own money. There are different ways to invest in real estate with none of your own money. It all depends on the value of the real estate in question when you purchase it. If you can get it at a reasonable discount to actual value, there are specialist lenders that will borrow you all the money up front in exchange for a good return on the money they borrowed you.

Finally, succeeding in investing will require you to anticipate the anticipations of others. The real key to investing is to minimize the outward risk and to maximize the financial reward. Investing could be termed as the science and art of trading off risk against reward.

Ade Lamidi