Archive for September 2011
SERIES: Investments Your Stock Broker Never Told You About – 5
In this series, I’m sharing “other” ways to invest beyond standard 401(k), 403(b), 457, TSP, Traditional or Roth IRA, mutual fund, stock, or bond investments.
Part Five Eliminate Debt and Bills
This one might surprise a few of you, but this could possibly be the best investment you could ever make! Consider the amount of money from your household budget that is currently being applied to debt and monthly bills. It is literally hundreds or thousands of dollars every single month! What else could be done with that money? It could be invested OR you could reduce your work hours or even retire!
The rate of return is guaranteed when you eliminate bills. If you are paying 21.99% on a credit card, you can gain that interest simply by eliminating the debt! This is why I am such a big fan of eliminating debt – especially on items that drop in value like a rock or have no value at all.
Read the entire series (available after 9/30/2011)
SERIES: Investments Your Stock Broker Never Told You About – 4
In this series, I’m sharing “other” ways to invest beyond standard 401(k), 403(b), 457, TSP, Traditional or Roth IRA, mutual fund, stock, or bond investments.
Part Four Invest In Real Estate
Real estate is another great investment opportunity available. Land, residential and commercial rental properties, and flipping houses have helped many people become millionaires. Of course, it is VITAL in any venture like this to maintain healthy financial margin! “No money down” real estate deals have led to many more bankruptcies than they have yielded multi-millionaires. While it is important to consider some risk, purchasing real estate without any financial margin is a recipe for a financial disaster!
Some keys to think about when considering real estate investments are:
- Clearly understand what you will do with the property BEFORE buying it
- Have a Plan B and a Plan C
- Establish healthy financial margin – at least six months worth of expenses and operating costs
- While a deal may look good “on its own”, but sure to look at your collective holdings and evaluate your ability – time and financial – to handle the project appropriately
- If you are susceptible to taking extreme risks, establish accountability with someone who understands the business
- You will generally make money by purchasing the property for the right price
- Always be ready for a “surprise” – I see them happen all of the time to real estate investors
Questions To Ask
- Do I have the time and energy to pursue this type of investment?
- Is this something I am only doing for the financial gain or is this something that I love?
- Is my spouse on board?
- If I investment my money in real estate, where will I NOT be able to invest as a result?
Read the entire series (available after 9/30/2011)
SERIES: Investments Your Stock Broker Never Told You About – 3
In this series, I’m sharing “other” ways to invest beyond standard 401(k), 403(b), 457, TSP, Traditional or Roth IRA, mutual fund, stock, or bond investments.
Part Three Invest In A Business
Starting a small business can provide a financial return as well as the incredibly satisfying work of fulfilling a dream. A business can allow you to produce an income that is not entirely dependent upon you. The McDonald’s franchise owner does not have to do all of the work, but they are able to enjoy the profits that result from the efforts of dozens of employees. This can lead to substantial returns on investment that are far better than the average return of any mutual fund!
Consider the following scenario. Suppose one puts up $25,000 for a franchise that produces $50,000 of profit each year. That is a 200-percent return on investment – only it happens year-after-year-after-year … the Lord willing! Yes, the work would be demanding and time-consuming and energy-draining, but the return on investment is great and less dependent upon the world market.
If it isn’t your dream to run a small business, consider investing in a small business. There are great leaders with terrific ideas that just need some additional funding in order to launch to the stratosphere.
Questions To Ask Yourself:
- Do I have a business idea that I am fired up about and believe in?
- Has a proven business leader/entrepreneur looked at my business idea and told me it looks great?
- Am I willing to put my own money into this deal?
Read the entire series (available after 9/30/2011)
SERIES: Investments Your Stock Broker Never Told You About – 2
In this series, I’m sharing “other” ways to invest beyond standard 401(k), 403(b), 457, TSP, Traditional or Roth IRA, mutual fund, stock, or bond investments.
Part Two Invest In Yourself
The greatest investment one can make is him/herself. Investments into education and skills training can pay off far better by providing increased earnings potential. I was able to pursue my dream of helping others accomplish far more than they ever thought possible with their personal finances. One of the key first steps was to make the investment of time, energy, and money to write and publish I Was Broke. Now I’m Not. It literally cost me hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars to accomplish this dream, but the investment has paid off!
As a result of taking this “risk”, I have been able to literally teach over 100,000 people and hear thousands of stories of financial freedom being achieved across the globe. This business has enabled me to further expand my dream to the point that I have been able to acquire another company and serve even more people across the world.
Questions To Ask Yourself
- Do I have a dream that I’ve always wanted to pursue?
- What can I do today that would make a difference tomorrow?
- Do I see a need where I can do something that addresses it?
- Where can I personally add value to other people?
Read the entire series (available after 9/30/2011)
SERIES: Investments Your Stock Broker Never Told You About – 1
Welcome to the latest series at the wildly popular JosephSangl.com – “Investments Your Stock Broker Never Told You About”!
In this series, I will share some “other” ways to invest beyond standard 401(k), 403(b), 457, TSP, Traditional or Roth IRA, mutual fund, stock, or bond investments.
Part One Why I’m Writing This Series
Until four years ago, the vast majority of my investments were in company stocks, bonds, and mutual funds (which contained company stocks and bonds). I began investing the day after I graduated from Purdue University. My employer had a 401(k) available where they matched my investments 100-percent up to 8-percent of my pay. The match was in company stock, but the money that I personally invested via payroll deduction could be invested into a variety of mutual funds. These investments grew rapidly.
Then the recession of the late 90’s happened.
Then September 11th happened.
Then 2008 happened.
I personally experienced what many others experienced – my stock market investments all went down in value. The value of these investments fell even as many of the companies continued to perform extremely well.
“Financial experts” had always advised me to diversify my investments. The “diversification” options they offered were – surprise, surprise – other stock, bond, and mutual fund investments. I observed first-hand the axiom that “a rising tide will lift all ships and a lowering tide will lower all ships.” Therefore, in 2008 I resolved to diversify my investments so that only 50-percent of my portfolio would be in the stock market. In the process, I discovered incredible investment options that I would never have learned from a stock broker – probably because there were no broker commissions available.
As we embark on this series together, perhaps you would like to see my current investment portfolio HERE.
Read the entire series (available after 9/30/2011)