Archive for December 2011

SERIES: Top 5 Ways To Improve ROI – Part 5

Welcome to the latest series on this wildly popular website – JosephSangl.com – “Top 5 Ways To Improve ROI”

ROI: Return On Investment

Everyone wants to receive a positive return on their investment.  We are delaying the use of our money so that we can have more money in the future – at least that is the goal.  However, many people are seeing negative ROI over the past several years.  This is why I am writing this series – to help each of you make your money earn more.  These are the top five rules I use to maximize my money, and it has worked out well for me.

Part 5  Invest In What You Know

I don’t invest in random items that I have “heard” are good investments because it will be extremely difficult or even impossible for me to know if things are going well or how certain news might impact that investment.  I like technology.  This means that I naturally follow what is happening in the technology market.  I’m a consumer of their products.  When I see a good solution or product, I know it because I am directly impacted by it.  That means I am a more informed investor when it comes to technology companies.  I love manufacturing, and I continue to watch and monitor what is going on in the world of manufacturing.  It also means I am an investor in it.

My dream of “helping people accomplish far more than they ever thought possible with their personal finances” has been the largest single investment I have ever made – because I BELIEVE IN IT and because I KNOW IT.

Are you investing in what you know?

Read the entire series (available after 12/19/2011)

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SERIES: Top 5 Ways To Improve ROI – Part 4

Welcome to the latest series on this wildly popular website – JosephSangl.com – “Top 5 Ways To Improve ROI”

ROI: Return On Investment

Everyone wants to receive a positive return on their investment.  We are delaying the use of our money so that we can have more money in the future – at least that is the goal.  However, many people are seeing negative ROI over the past several years.  This is why I am writing this series – to help each of you make your money earn more.  These are the top five rules I use to maximize my money, and it has worked out well for me.

Part 4  Conduct Trades On-Line

Brokerage commissions and fees can consume substantial portions of an investment’s return – especially when one accounts for the fact that the fees continue even when the market value drops.  My father recently began trading on-line and was floored by how easy it was to use the trading websites.  It used to cost him $75 for his broker to conduct a trade.  Now, it costs less than $10 and happens immediately.

I personally use Sharebuilder for my on-line trading platform, but all of the on-line trading platforms like Scottrade, E*Trade, and TDAmeritrade are great as well.  There are numerous ways to learn more about how to invest in stocks and bonds, and it is important to gain that knowledge.  However, once you are ready to roll with the actual transaction, the on-line route is much more economical and does not require a phone call and a reliance on a broker to execute the trade.

Read the entire series (available after 12/19/2011)

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SERIES: Top 5 Ways To Improve ROI – Part 3

Welcome to the latest series on this wildly popular website – JosephSangl.com – “Top 5 Ways To Improve ROI”

ROI: Return On Investment

Everyone wants to receive a positive return on their investment.  We are delaying the use of our money so that we can have more money in the future – at least that is the goal.  However, many people are seeing negative ROI over the past several years.  This is why I am writing this series – to help each of you make your money earn more.  These are the top five rules I use to maximize my money, and it has worked out well for me.

Part 3  Maintain substantial margin in cash

If I do not maintain liquidity, it becomes very difficult for me to maintain rules One and Two.  Without financial margin, I am more likely to be “jumpy” and leap out of investments when they trend downward.

Having substantial cash on hand also allows me to take advantage of tremendous opportunities – many of them may be “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunities that will require cash money right away.  If all of my money is tied up in investments (or all of my money is gone), then I am not able to take advantage of these great investments.

For me, it is helpful to keep 10 to 15-percent of my money in cash or cash equivalents.  I hold a lot of my savings in on-line FDIC-insured savings accounts that pay interest equivalent to a two year CD, but do not have the liquidity issues that CDs have.  I really like Capital One 360 – it’s my favorite!

What % of YOUR investment money do you like to keep in cash or cash equivalents?

 

Read the entire series (available after 12/19/2011)

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SERIES: Top 5 Ways To Improve ROI – Part 2

Welcome to the latest series on this wildly popular website – JosephSangl.com – “Top 5 Ways To Improve ROI”

ROI: Return On Investment

Everyone wants to receive a positive return on their investment.  We are delaying the use of our money so that we can have more money in the future – at least that is the goal.  However, many people are seeing negative ROI over the past several years.  This is why I am writing this series – to help each of you make your money earn more.  These are the top five rules I use to maximize my money, and it has worked out well for me.

Part 2  Diversify Your Investments (Don’t just think about the stock market)

Don’t think just about the stock market.  I have personally invested about 50-percent of my money into publicly-traded stocks and mutual funds, but my best returns on investment over the past ten years have occurred through private investments.  When managed correctly, rental real estate is an excellent investment that provides an immediate return through rental payments and a long term return through property value appreciation.  With the mortgage lending market in disarray, those who have money to invest can find tremendous values in the marketplace.  Other alternative investments include starting a business, investing in another’s business, land, commercial real estate, and private bond offerings.

You can see my actual investment portfolio HERE.  This investment portfolio is NOT PERFECT – there is no such thing, BUT it has certainly helped me grow my money and maximize every dollar I have.

Read the entire series (available after 12/19/2011)

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SERIES: Top 5 Ways To Improve ROI – Part 1

Welcome to the latest series on this wildly popular website – JosephSangl.com – “Top 5 Ways To Improve ROI”

ROI: Return On Investment

Everyone wants to receive a positive return on their investment.  We are delaying the use of our money so that we can have more money in the future – at least that is the goal.  However, many people are seeing negative ROI over the past several years.  This is why I am writing this series – to help each of you make your money earn more.  These are the top five rules I use to maximize my money, and it has worked out well for me.

Part 1  Don’t invest for the short-term.

I am just not smart enough to make sense of every single nuance of the entire world.  I do not know how a grasshopper invasion in Antarctica impacts oil production in Siberia, yet we have all seen that sometimes seemingly unrelated items have a major impact on financial performance.  For this reason, I spend a great deal of time thinking about which investments to choose before I acquire them, and then I hold them for the long term.  Day-trading (or anything like it) has a feeling very comparable to gambling in Vegas, and it usually winds up with the same result.

What are YOUR experiences with investing?  Have you ever “day-traded”?  Tell me your wins AND your losses!

Read the entire series (available after 12/19/2011)

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