What Do You Know About Bonds?

Author: Uchenna Ani-Okoye

A bank or establishment will give you bonds in exchange for you lending them cash; they issue bonds that promise to compensate yourself back in the time to come including interest.

Bonds are they gamble free?

A bond has low gamble elements but it is not gamble free. If you buy corporate bonds, this means that you are buying a claim to their assets. Just like conventional persons big corporations tend to take on debt, which must be paid back, they take on debt in a trust to grow. It is possible for them to take on too much debt which they are not able to pay the loan back. Just like a conventional person being not able to make their credit payments. If a company was to file for bankruptcy they would be unable to to payoff the bonds that you bought from them. This means that the investor, which is yourself can on paper lose the bonds that you invested in them, as luck would have it bonds are not normally lost this way.

If you invest in bonds, they can be sold to the market at any time. Similar to stock bonds they have an assigned price driven by the market. If you choose to sell it on the open market, you should keep in mind that people will enquire to know the rate of interest the bonds pay out and the rate the market values it at. For example, if you own a bond paying five percent interest and you want to sell it when the interest has expended up to 9% you're going to get a lower cost than what you paid. A person could at ease get a new bond, instead of your bond.

The different varieties of bonds

Municipal Bonds: - Municipal bonds are also known as 'minis'. They signify the bonds, which have been issued by municipal corporations. Municipal bonds allow the holder to claim tax exemption.

Corporate Bonds: - Big corporate companies float such bonds. These bonds carry rather a higher gamble element no matter how big the corporate company is.

Government Bonds: - If a regime authority wants to raise cash they broadly issues regime bonds. These are generally gamble free in nature and will provide the owner with tax exemptions.

Saving Bonds: - The regime will also issues savings bonds, a huge vantage of these bonds is that you can get tax exemptions by investing in these bonds, features of mutual bonds, always important to see the features of the specific bond you may want to invest in. factors to study are Maturity period, purchase cost and fiscal constraints also deciding factors, these should all be interpreted into account when investing in mutual bonds.

In conclusion

Bonds are excellent over looked investment acknowledging the low gamble bonds have it is amazing how many people have little to no information about them. Bonds require very simply understanding; you buy them and sell them if you want to. They key to investing in bonds is to set a time frame for how long you intend to keep the bonds. Bonds are ordinarily a long term investment. When investing in corporate bonds, always read up on their current bond rating. A bond evaluation is a letter grade assigned to each bond to tell investors how high-risk it is. Don't deal with "junk" bonds.

About the Author:

Uchenna Ani-Okoye is an internet marketing advisor and co founder of Free Affiliate Programs

For more information and resource links on bonds visit: Savings Bonds

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/what-do-you-know-about-bonds-573308.html

Few Tips for Debt Recovery to Relieve Your Worries

Author: max smith

The majority business faces problems with customers who are unwilling to pay. Recovery of debt poses a huge problem in such situations. Customers or debtors, who are fed up with your collection calls try to ignore it or in other sense, they are virtually disappeared in nominal cases.

In the scenario of global business debt collection services could be turn out to be a major concern. Interactive systems and practical debt recovery solutions will professionally handle and recover debts in real time. When you want to initiate with a collection agency these are the various measures debt recovery might not be concern. The measures being are:

1. • Billing quickly and efficiently

2. • Personal reminders to customers

3. • Ensuring feedback from customers

The adverse effects of debt recovery on the customer’s worthiness might help in debt recovery in real time. Despite many reminders or warning if the debtors do not pay back the company then it must resort to a debt recovery agency.

How does a debt recovery agency recover debts?

1st STEP -Through collection letters: The debt recovery process initiates with dispatch of collection letters to remind your customers. Generally, collection letters serve the purpose well.

2nd Step - Solicitors letter: Through a solicitors letter the debtor is given a 7 day legal warning. If not adhered to, it would result in legal action against the debtor to recover outstanding debts.

3rd Step- Legal Action: if the debtor does not adhere to any of the above means 1st and 2nd then, debt recovery agency will assist you in legal action against the debtor.

What are the benefits of Debt Recovery?

1. Your business plans saves your time and money, which you can use to enhance your business.

2. Get better cash flow and value of your business and your organization

3. Tracking the progress of debt recovery of your various customers and plan accordingly

National Assets Management and debt recovery services have proven to be a cost effective and efficient means to recover bad debts. Up-to-date details on individual cases, guide you on the various options available as a documentation format, provide information, and support when your claim is disputed in no time.

For a great resource to select best collection services needs go to: Debt Recovery Services

About the Author:

Max Smith writes regularly about finance & collection services related topics. I hope you enjoy this article.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/few-tips-for-debt-recovery-to-relieve-your-worries-570037.html

7 Simple and Easy Steps to Big Time Real Estate Investing Success

Author: Sean Flanagan

Too many real estate investors fail to achieve their dreams because they fail to properly launch their investing careers or because they reach a crossroads and don't know which way to turn. Confused about the next step to take, they spin their wheels, do nothing, and eventually opt to walk away from real estate completely and go back to a life of mediocrity. To prevent this from happening to you, follow this simple seven step roadmap to success.

Step One: Education – The right education is critical to your success. Before getting started you should begin learning about a variety of creative techniques. You don’t want to spend so much time preparing to invest that you never launch your investing career, but you don’t want to go off half-cocked and fire at everything that moves either. Learn enough to be able to write an intelligent offer and then make it happen. As your career advances, continue learning as you go along. There’s a ton of accumulated investing knowledge available, so take advantage of it. Keep in mind, too, that education doesn’t have to be a $2,000-$3,000 guru-sponsored super course. You can sometimes learn more from a $20 book, but never quit learning or you will quit growing.

Step Two: Planning – What steps are you taking to reach your goals? Are you sitting around with a pad of paper and a pen planning how you’ll spend your real estate profits or are you taking a series of deliberate steps to all but guarantee your success? How many calls are you going to make today, this week, or this month? How many properties will you look at? How many offers will you write? Real estate is a numbers game, so you need to plan your numbers and then you need to follow up by analyzing your activity. If you don’t keep score you won’t know if you’re winning or losing. It all starts with a plan and ends in the winner’s circle or the employment office. Planning – or failing to plan – will determine where you’ll be in a year and how much money you’ll have.

Step Three: Team Building – Major league ball teams don’t wait until the season starts to begin looking for members of their team. Their team-building effort starts months ahead of opening day. As a real estate investor you need a team of professionals in your corner. Start today with a small title or escrow company and a mortgage company. Make sure they understand creative real estate and have experience. If you’re not working with a mentor familiar with creative investing, you need to find one. He or she can shave years off your learning curve by helping you to avoid some of the stupid and costly mistakes they made.

Step Four: Circle of Influence – Who are you listening to? Your brother whose idea of creative real estate investing is buying a time share in Arkansas? If your circle of influence – people who give you advice – don’t know and understand real estate investing, they’ll constantly be taking aim on your hopes and dreams because they don’t understand the concept or because they don’t want your success to shine a spotlight on their mediocrity. Tap into as many creative – and successful – real estate investors as you can at your local REIA meetings.

Step Five: The Right Sellers – Wasting time trying to browbeat somebody into accepting your creative offer is unproductive and demoralizing. Make sure that the sellers you’re dealing with are highly motivated to sell and good things will happen. Don’t be afraid to walk away from the wrong deal even if the price is right. Know your ideal situation and then capitalize on it when the opportunity presents itself.

Step Six: Hobby/Business? – Is real estate investing going to be your pathway to prosperity? While there are plenty of opportunities for you to have fun, never lose sight of the fact that you’re playing in a very competitive sandbox. You have something going for you, though. A lot of investors lack the education, training, and mindset to prosper. If you’re one of them, you should save your money and take up stamp collecting or join the rock club. If, however, you’re serious about success and give this business the effort it deserves, your future is a blank check – and you’re holding the pen.

Step Seven: Stick with It – Real estate investing success won’t necessarily come overnight. That’s not to say that you won’t become an overnight sensation, but be prepared for the possibility that it might take 3-5 years to achieve a level of success that inspires you to throw all of your time and energy into enriching yourself. Real estate investing is easy, but it’s not simple. It takes work, effort, and a willingness to keep plodding ahead even when your big payday is years away – instead of mere days.

By following this seven step action plan you can set your sights on reaching all of your personal and financial dreams. Real estate investing is one of the most lucrative careers in the world, but you’ll have to dedicate yourself to your success. How bad do you want it?

Now go get it!

About the Author:

Sean Flanagan went from dead broke, living off Ramen Noodles and selling used pallets from the roadside for $20 a day, to a self made real estate multimillionaire in under 2 years time. He now shares his secrets with thousands of students across the country.

He has a FREE audio course titled 7 Secrets to Making Big Bucks in a Slow Real Estate Market which you can get right now by quickly visiting www.YuckyHouseSystems.com. He also gives away a coaching program for new real estate investors where he offers a risk free trial to prove to new real estate investors how much money they can make with his program at www.YuckyHouseSystems.com.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/7-simple-and-easy-steps-to-big-time-real-estate-investing-success-569492.html

Secrets of the Great Investors

Author: Melanie Click

Great investors surely have investing secrets that they use to build wealth, but they are open secrets. Anyone can find out what the greats do and copy them to have success in wealth creation. And many of the so-called secrets are simply common sense principles.

For instance, investing in a company with consistent earnings is the sensible thing to do and one that has helped Warren Buffet earn his millions. Taking care to invest in old and well-established companies is another. Many investors run into trouble by jumping on the bandwagon of some new company that sparkles for a while then quickly dies out leaving a pile of rubble rather than money.

Another common sense principle that is applied to both real estate and shares by the great investors is to never pay too much for an investment. Generally the more you pay, the less you get back as many real estate investors have found out to their cost. Warren Buffet also believes in concentration rather than diversification. When he buys a company he typically buys around 80%, and keeps it.

Another secret investment principle Buffet favours that has helped him with his wealth creation is to buy companies with experienced managers and keep them on to do what they do best - run the company. Buffet rarely interferes with the running of the companies he buys. He simply compliments the managers on the job they are doing. Buffet’s talent is to see where good investments are and buy them, not run the company.

Checking out the management philosophy of a successful business is another secret. Knowing that the manager cares more about the company than the price it brings has worked for Buffet. He studies the character of the company managers before making a decision to buy the company.

Finding a company whose manager is frugal and cares about costs is an important secret of great investors. They know that one way to build wealth is to spend less and managers who run a consistently tight ship are the successful ones.

While some investors feel that a younger manager will enhance a company’s ability to move with the times and make more money, Buffet prefers to retain the successful manager well past the legal retiring age. He considers that experience is the key word when it comes to managers. Setting high standards and keeping them may seem unnecessary to many, but it has seen many great investors build wealth where others fail. We would do well to take on board some of these secrets for ourselves.

About the Author:

Macquarie Private Wealth offers strategic wealth management which is focused on achieving your financial goals.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/secrets-of-the-great-investors-569166.html

Why Do You Need a Trading Plan?

Author: PRD trader

A trading plan should have complete sets of rules that cover every aspect of any trader's trading.

• What instrument (stock, forex, options, future, CFD etc) you want to trade and why? I trade stock and forex not because I like stock or forex market I have definite reasons to trade those, you need to know why you are trading individual stock not index?

• Which market (NYSE, NASDAQ etc) you want to trade?

• What is best time for you to trade why? (Suppose for forex London open is the best time to trade)

• How you will select a stock or a currency pair that will give you the best result.(I have 12 specific rules to select a stock that helps me a lot to avoid over trading)

• The maximum percentage you will risk on each trade. This most important for new trader to learn risk management. I follow three golden rules to manage my risk.

• How many lots/share you will trade per trade (position size).I always follow two different rules to know my position size.

• Which time frames you will look at. Time frame is very important aspect to any trading. I follow 5 and 15 minutes chart for equity .Any good set up will appear in any time frame but the point is exit will be different in different time frame.

• A trading plan will give you clear-cut entry strategy, where should you enter and why .My trading plan has eight specific entry strategy.

I think exit is the key to a successful trading plan. A exit strategy will show you where to exit and why. I use three different exit strategies.

About the Author:

http://daytradingprd.blogspot.com/

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/why-do-you-need-a-trading-plan-567645.html

Investing Tip for Ordinary Investors

Author: ajay

Investing in the share market is widely perceived as a risky business. But does it mean that one should shy away from investing? Definitely not! Share market has always been an attractive domain to invest in and one can derive profits regardless how volatile (risky) the market is.

Bear in mind, always there is a trade-off between risk and reward and a magic to pocket gain by assuming no risk is yet to be discovered. Here the only question before an investor is the way to optimise the risk-return trade off. But, what if the market is highly volatile and you are an ordinary investor? By ordinary investor I mean one who looks for moderate profit by taking moderate risk; over ninety percent of the investors (investors, not speculators, those who look for swift- huge gain by taking high level of risks) belong to this category.

The general perception is that a highly volatile market is not appropriate for the ordinary investors since enabled to assume a moderate risk is hardly possible while the best one can try for is to optimise the reward by taking high risks. But it is a wrong perception and a moderate risk-return trade off is very much possible despite the market is highly volatile, provided you are wise enough to make a ‘right portfolio’.

A right portfolio for an ordinary investor in a highly volatile market should have the following characteristics.

v Minimized volatility.

v Formed of shares of the companies with high growth rates and profit margins and belong to the industries having good prospects.

Risk of investing in a share can be bifurcated as risks due to market factors and factors solely pertaining to the company and industry. You might have noticed and wondered why the price of your share drops when there is an oil price hike or a serial bomb explosion despite your company is no way connected to those. You might have bewildered by seeing that you lose as the market index drops despite your company run strongly without any tangible evidence for the share price to drop. These mean that price of every share is somewhat correlated to the market and always there is a risk out of the performance of your company and which is referred to as market risk. A major ground for market risk is the role played by market sentiments to determine the movement of prices of shares. An oil price hike or a serial bomb explosion will deteriorate the investors’ confidence and every one will be in a hurry to safeguard their capital and hence a bullish trend is created in the market and the market index drops. How it will affect the price of your share is depend on how strongly it is bonded to the market index. The strength of this bonding is measured by beta (b). Beta of a share is measured based on the historical up and down movements of share price in comparison with the market index. A beta of 1 means if the market index gains or drops by 1% your share price will also move accordingly by 1%. The beta of a portfolio is nothing but the weighted average beta of the individual shares. Shares or portfolios with a beta above and below 1 are referred to as aggressive and defensive shares or portfolios respectively.

In a highly volatile market, being an ordinary investor, you have a high probability to be better off by having a defensive portfolio, portfolio of beta below 1. The benefit is that you will be less likely to be affected by the market related factors and the performance of your portfolio to a great extent will be depending on the company and industry related factors.

Minimizing volatility should not lead you to forget to undertake a proper analysis on the companies to invest in. Selection of the companies with excellent prospects is equally important. Although there are a number of parameters pertinent in analysing a company, revenue growth and the profit margin are the key ones. Both have to be compared with the industry average and the companies figure above the industry average should be chosen. You should also remember to choose companies that belong to the industries having good prospects.

What discussed here is not the ultimate strategy to maximise return from share market, but the way to ensure an optimal risk- return trade off in a highly volatile market by wearing an ordinary investor’s shoes.

About the Author:

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/investing-tip-for-ordinary-investors-563947.html

10 Killer Tips for Property Investment

Author: Dave Simpson

If you really want the best deals in investment properties, you have to increase your odds by finding more deals. Who is more likely to get a cheap apartment building, an investor that looks through the MLS listings and calls it a day, or the one that uses ten resources? Here are the ten:

1. Talk. Let people know you are looking and sometimes the properties will come to you. There are a lot of owners out there who want to sell, but haven't yet listed their property.

2. Use the internet. Go to a search engine and enter the type of real estate you are looking for, along with the city you want to invest in. You never know what you might find.

3. Drive around looking for "For Sale By Owner" signs. Owners often don't want to pay to keep the ad in the paper every week, so you won't see all properties there.

4. Find abandoned properties. That's a pretty clear sign that the owner doesn't want to deal with the property. He might sell cheap.

5. Find old "For Rent" ads. Call if they are a few weeks old. Landlords are often ready to sell, especially if the haven't yet rented the units out.

6. Talk to bankers. You might get a foreclosed-on investment property cheaper if you buy it before they list it with a real estate agent.

7. Offer someone a finder's fee. There are people that always seem to hear about the good deals. Have such people coming to you.

8. Eviction notices. If your local papers publish eviction notices, or if you can get the information at the courthouse, it can be useful. A landlord who just went through the procees of evicting tenants is a likely seller.

9. Old FSBO ads. If you call on two-month-old "For sale By Owner" ads, and they haven't sold, they may be ready to deal. Owners often give up the effort, but still would love to sell. Help them out!

10. Put an ad in the paper. "Looking for investment properties to buy," might be sufficient to generate a few calls.

About the Author:

Thinking of investing in property, well you'll need some land if you want to build your own. Check out land for sale in all 52 states at this US Land Auctions Website

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/10-killer-tips-for-property-investment-561612.html

Do You Want To Know About Forex Trading Systems?

Author: Ranju Kumar

Forex in an on-line company that acts in the foreign currency exchange market; they are an intermediate company so they are able to bring investment opportunities to you that do not require a large dollar investment. Most accounts can be opened for $100.00 and you can watch your invest grow, you can also use this account to request your profits.

The Forex Market, also known as the Foreign Exchange Market, is the largest market in the world, its where one currency is exchanged for another. The volume right now set at 1.9 trillion dollars a day, and it is a growing market due to the global economy. It is fast becoming the new investment market because large amounts of capital can be made with the help of investors and expert analysis.

Investment plans are tailored to fit those with a lower risk and less capital to those who want to invest large amounts to see their capital grow. Some of the plans include a Basic Plan which allows you to invest as little as $100 and up $3,999.00. You can re-invest your interest in 6 months; this plan requires a 6 month term. If you want to invest more the Medium Plan allows you $4,000.00 to $20,000.00. This plan also requires a 6 month term. If you want to invest more then the profits climb higher and your investment grows.

Forex's policy is security first and then profitability. They will offer you an estimated maximum profit of 10% on your monthly capital. It also depends on the investment level that you want to be at, it can climb to 21%. When your money is secure it will grow in profitability. The goals at Forex are, safety, they want to keep your money safe. Profitability, everybody want to maximize their profits on investments, Forex will help you do just that. Long term, Forex wants to create a stable business with you, it is also based on trust. The more profit you make will help to strengthen your relationship with Forex.

Forex also has investment opportunities for those with larger amounts of capital to invest. Many first time investors choose to invest small amounts to get their feet wet in the investment market, that is okay. Forex will work with you no matter how small your capital investment is. If you see the profits you want with Forex then you can move to a different investment level.

Each time you maximize your profit you will see that Forex is there to give you advice and to help you succeed in the foreign exchange market. If you invest with a minimum capital investment of $50,000 then you will offered the possibility of becoming an account holder in one of the brokers, this product is risk-free to you. Forex assumes all risks for the loss of capital in the market.

If you ever invested in the market then you know that a fluctuation is inevitable. Money markets have risk, but they also have great returns. Forex has the knowledge and the experience to help you invest and maximize your profits. It doesn't matter if you invest $100.00 dollars or $50,000. Forex is here to walk you through the steps to set up an account and start making money right now on the foreign exchange market.

About the Author:

Ranju Kumar associate to FinanzasForex.com/alexbraun, is an internet marketer and a Forex Marketer. He would like to give some tips and investment plans though the website Finanzas Forex. Finanzas Forex is an on-line financial intermediation company, which integrates a team of professionals and experts in investments in the Foreign Currency Exchange Market .

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/do-you-want-to-know-about-forex-trading-systems-555714.html

Methods of Online Futures Trading

Author: Sai Vallejos

Nowadays, online futures trading is available and more advance which result to more benefits. The copied price deal on the futures market is always updated and because of this, person involve in trading receives clearness and speed of the market. Online futures trading is access in computer anytime and anywhere around the world and it support people to trade on the future market. Through internet, you can see the most recent information from different parts of the world with the comfort of the place where you belong and that is how online futures trading can offer you.

Futures Trading is a process used to eliminate threat from happening, when the market swings and online futures trading have the same meaning but more convenient. Futures contract is the agreement involving the buyer and seller about their asset at exact time and set-price. It also balance asset tactic to lessen failure caused by price stability. In general, futures trading passed the future exchange and future contract is consistent for the price, delivery and amount on every date and month. Futures Exchange provide definite normal characteristic contract to make a possible responsibility with no disposal of fixed assets in futures Trading.

The Major way of dealing, in futures contract is situate ahead of development by having the same and opposed transaction The Futures price in the market set by futures contract traders and has an expiration date where you can know immediately to online futures trading. Normally, expiration day is during the final Thursday of the month. There are three cycles offered by Futures Contractors, which are one month, two months and three months. The expiration of three months in a new contract established for trading and it is set during Friday that go after the Last Thursday.

Proper price discovery lean a hand to the development of futures trading that gives benefits for different people engaged where you can see fast on the online future trading. In addition, Futures Contract is much valuable for the procedure because it gives suggestion price that may succeed that can help to give a practical price.

Trading permit traders to examine the majority current exchange and traders can also arrange into the engine exchange trading and acquire the verification of the agreement which online futures trading can helps a lot for immediate results.

To guarantee the operation of the futures trading completed to the exchange, definite inbuilt method example of this is rolling settlement. Rolling settlement meaning that all the traders with uncompleted at the last part of the day are already established. The buyer and seller needs to pay for both safeties of two parties. Weekly agreement method is another method being used, meaning the traders dealings done in a week can take long time to think.

Many people learned and suggest that online futures trading can let anyone who finds it profitable to pursue but professionalism and education about it is necessary. You should know how to control emotions, have discipline, motivation, commitment towards online futures trading and non-online futures trading. Another good about online futures trading is you do not need to be physically present to purchase, sale, distribute and stock because you have the power of precise quantity of commodity without seeing them.

If you are searching for a good investment, online futures trading is a good one. It can give a positive result for an income rather than investing impartially. There are many benefits you can receive from online futures trading like the convenience where you can see on your computer screen about your position, account money and amount of margin needs for your projected trade. You can be sure about the control, accuracy and speed of online futures trading. Thousand of people are getting rich because of online futures trading where they invest small amount of money that can turn to be unexpected profit.

About the Author:

Online Trading Guide is the best place to go for tips and resources for online trading. Please visit our website at http://onlinetradeguide.blogspot.com/

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/methods-of-online-futures-trading-554121.html

How to Develop a Good Investment Strategy

Author: Rob Forbes

Every person reading this article will be living, working and investing in different circumstances, with mind boggling possibilities for variation.

For example:

• One person may have a full time job, but invests part time;


• Another may run a small business, with investment on the side;


• Yet another may invest full time, as a business.

However, very few of us get to start full time investing right away - we just don't have the capital. So, what to do? You need to develop your own long term Investment Plan - one that will allow you make changes in your circumstances and lifestyle. Every plan must be different, and your plan needs to be flexible. Here are some principles that you can use to develop your own plan:

• Don't quit your day job until you have built up sufficient capital to weather the inevitable draw downs that every investor has to go through. Don't live in the stupidly false hope that it won't happen to you - it will! Take this as a given, and plan for it!

• Start with a relatively low risk, but steady investment strategy (like selling options). Save the windmills (like buying options) for when you have the time to really focus on your investments. Once you have built up your capital with a relatively safe (and boring) strategy, start branching out into more fun stuff!

• Diversify your investments, at several levels. Invest in different types of investment vehicles like stocks, bonds, CDs, mutual funds and dividend earners. Use different investment strategies, in ways that match your lifestyle, time allocation and risk tolerance. Consider long term position trading, momentum trading, swing trading, selling options (like credit spreads and naked puts), buying options (buying puts and calls or Deep-in-the-money options). Allocate your portfolio to different TYPES of investments and different STRATEGIES of investment.

• Add an extra leg to your income generating efforts. If you have a full time job, then start a small business on the side - one that can run itself once you have set it up. Unless you really need this money, use the income from this business as seed money for your investment portfolio.

• Don't get obsessed with investing. Invest for a purpose, not just to get rich. Use the money to GET A LIFE - preferably with your family. The classics are too full of stories and histories of people who end up hugely rich, but divorced, abandoned by their children, rejected by their friends... and so on. Investing can swallow a person up, and unless you keep a large perspective, you can drown.

• GET OUT OF DEBT! Why pay interest to someone else, when you could be investing that money. I am talking about all kinds of debt....credit card, mortgage...everything! Add up all the interest that you have paid this year, then work out how rich you would be if you had taken that money (instead of making someone else fat) and invested it in plan that gave you a good return. The result will shock you!

• Be generous!!! History shows that generous people are always much better off and much happier than the other kind.

Remember: those who fail to plan plan to fail. The cliche is old, but truth remains!

To learn more about developing your own investment plan, have a look at this page.

About the Author:

Rob Forbes is a World Citizen with a wide variety of interests and expertise. A wildlife ecologist by profession, he currently lives in Asia, where he is the director of a small humanitarian aid organisation that specialises in education projects, leadership training, family development, small business development and investment. He owns a website on investment called Swing Trading Options

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/how-to-develop-a-good-investment-strategy-550932.html

How to Hedge Your Portfolio Against Risk

Author: Kelly Parks

All the "so-called" experts on television preach about diversifying your portfolio. To tell you the truth, I think this idea is misunderstood by not only these experts but also the general public.

If you diversify a portfolio of five stocks into different industries you are hedged against risk but you are also hedged against growth. This is a two way street and when investing I always invest to win not to break even. Let's take an example:

Say we own stocks on the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) that belong to the following industries:

Telecommunications
Oil
Finance
Health care
Tobacco

What kind of scenario allows for all these stocks to go up in multiples? I can't think of one! If 3 go up and 2 go down, we have basically broken even.

I know what a lot of people are thinking, "I'm 60 years old, why would I want to risk my money?" If you want to make a 5% gain then buy some bank notes, but truth be told small stock portfolios "that are not being monitored" are risky no matter how they are diversified. So what do we need to do to become hedged against risk and create growth at the same time? WHAT WE NEED IS ASSET ALLOCATION!

Asset allocation is the diversification between different asset classes all together. Let's buy some real estate, stocks, bonds, businesses, REIT's!
Most hard assets fall one or two at a time at most; if we are spread among these we are in better shape. Some people think there is so much doom and gloom in America.
What most people find it hard to do is invest outside of America! Buy some real estate via joint venture in Brazil, buy some EUR/USD on the FOREX market, REIT's in Canada, etc. Asset allocation truly allows you to be diversified. There will always be a bull market or a sale on investments somewhere in something, just always keep an eye out. Don't let yourself be caught too off guard by fluctuating markets and keep your money moving between assets types.

If you are strictly a "real estate investor" or "stock investor" this method might not be for you, but at least you can expand your vision to invest in other geographical exchanges and areas. Always invest with an exit strategy and always keep on the ball.

-"Therefore when you induce others to construct a formation while you yourself are formless, then you are concentrated while the opponent is divided."
The Art of War
Sun Tzu

About the Author:

Kelly Parks started investing at a very young age and since has been writing articles on investing on www.wealthforinvestors.com

Kelly hopes to bring financially freedom to all that truly want to.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/how-to-hedge-your-portfolio-against-risk-549424.html

How to Become a Personal Investigator

Author: mary005

Personal investigation is a career that has become very popular in recent years with the popular number of TV shows devoted to this occupation. In those TV, the handsome and beauty are so cool to be a personal investigator. In the reality, the opportunities are limitless with personal investigators in personal investigation agency as well as private companies. The main available positions are in the private sector as a private investigator or in the fraud departments of big personal investigation agency. Due to the variety of the personal investigation, each position has its own set of unique prerequisites. If you are seasoned personal investigator, you may have all the skills after bulk of cases.

There are many types of personal investigators. As the old saying goes, think before you leap. You should decide the type of personal investigator you would like to pursue. Your decision will determine what requirements you will need and the train course you will attend. Personal investigator is a highly specialized occupation.

Personal investigations don't require advanced educational back ground but you need to have previous employment experience in industries which is relative with the personal investigation industry. Industries such as collections, insurance, military or law enforcement are proper. So gaining a relative previous employment experience plays a vital role in your career adventure. You need try something different for the business you dedicate to.

After the field experience, you should get the proper certification to prove yourself. It's true that some careers in personal investigation don't need previous industry working experience, but you'd better get a proper certification. Personal investigator may not need a post-graduated degree but may require some relative certification. Generally speaking, this is usually more time-consuming. As the online organizations increases, most people get their certification online.

If you are a college student, you'd better attend accredited train programs. Some big personal investigation agencies require at least a college degree. Improve your core competition ability before you leap into this industry. It may take years to accomplish all the courses for the personal investigation certification.

If you are not a college student, you should check with the specific agency for their requirements and then go to the local public library. Most personal investigation agencies require you to pass a civil service examination. You should go to the local library. You can find self-help and study guides there. You could also find out public information there which may do some help with your personal investigation.

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Tips for Being a Personal Investigator

Author: Mary003

If you want to delve deep into one's past and competently search records, you should learn to be a personal investigator. Personal investigator is the person with the ability which is able to quickly establish credentials, and then find out the truth you want. You will be able to discretely examine a person's past, lifestyle, education, criminal history, assets, income, medical history. After researching the material you have got, you could conclude some useful information for your judgment.

The question is how to become a personal investigator?

Generally, there are two options for you if you want to become a personal investigation. One is to become an employee of a personal investigation agency. The other selection is being the master of your own. In other word, you are self-employed.

If you want to join a personal investigation agency, you are required a personal investigation certify and seasoned experience in this field. Only in this way, you will get a sound position. If you are lucky enough, you could find a position in a big agency, and then you will get a high salary and make an advancement progress in career.

If you choose to be a self-employed personal investigator, you probably have another job on the side. People can do personal investigation as a part-time because this vocation is not a time consuming job. All what you need is the analytical thought. If you have the idea about the solution, things need to be done are very easy.

All in all, you should attend personal investigation training program first. The train will provide the skills you need such as background investigation and research, skip tracing and locating missing persons. You could also learn some skills via the course surveillance and counter-surveillance.

During the personal investigation, if you want to gather and document facts, you should do it with your surveillance skill. Surveillance is a process of making observations but the target doesn't discover. It's so powerful that surveillance is widely used. It is used in a variety of investigations such as insurance fraud skip tracing, and marital affair investigation. It's very important for you to be a good surveillant because most of the work is done underground. To the same, it's also very vital to be an excellent counter-surveillant.

After these courses, you could make your chance to be an excellent personal investigator. As we live in a legal country, you should remember that, everything could be done under the US Constitution.

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Steps to be a Real Estate Flipper

Author: Mary001

There are so many ways to earn your life. But if you want to make money in real estate flipping in 2008 then its going to take a different approach then when the market was running steadily along. In my DVD REI BASICS 101 basically take the approach of doing rehabs to pay down your debt and to build your cash reserves and then focus on buying rentals and using flips to pay them off.

According the circumstance we stand, I would not recommend flipping to anyone due to all the hassles involved now. Finding a buyer is difficult and when you do find a buyer your only option left to sell on 100% financing is FHA which in combination with lenders being so tight right now its tough to get a home sold. So if you want to invest in real estate how would I recommend you get started now?

I believe as a brand new investor you need to focus on buying 1-2 properties this year and holding them as rentals or rent to owns to eventually resell when the market changes again. Here is the step by step break down on how I would do it as a brand new investor.

1) Consult to your banker and make sure what's going on. Get prequalified for an 80% loan.

2) Raising your source of funds for the 20% down. I recommend an equity line or a private lender.

3) Talk to your potential dealer and Find your deal

4) Buy your deal and place your tenant in it

5) After 6 months go to another local commercial banker and refinance for what you owe and place a line of credit on your equity. Do not pull out all of your equity. You may want to pull some out for profit but do not pull it all out.

6) In a few years when the market changes sell the homes and take home a substantial profit due to the low prices that are out there right now.

This is how I recommend a new investor who has a stable income and a credit score over 620 to get started. Once the market picks up again then you can revert to my plan in my DVD but for right now be conservative, buy what you can comfortably handle, and understand that any profit you make will come off of credit lines and refinances in these houses.

Now, what if you have no credit and no cash and you want to get started in real estate investing? First, I recommend picking up my No Cash No Credit DVD. This will go into detail about how to wholesale and assign contracts. Here is your guide.

1) Network and get to know every investor in town. Find out what they buy and ask if they would pay you to find a good deal

2) Find out which attorney in town understands investors and how they work.

3) Find a deal and put an escape clause in it.

4) Sell the deal to one of your investors.

5) Build cash and fix your credit with the profits until you can eventually buy a home.

This article above is how I recommend a new investor get started in 2008. The game has changed but there is always a way to make money if your willing to believe that you can make money, and you supply the action necessary to make it happen.

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Investors Community & Their Contributions

Author: David Jose

No one ever thought that launching of investors community would be successful. But it has happened now as well as it is continuously developing into big giants. Let us take a glimpse of the economy of the past when investments hardly played any role. The traditional global economy was very poor in comparison to our present global economy. Booming of investments presently leading to the rise of the various investors communities. Such investors communities are getting bigger and bigger like a huge monster whose growth is limitless.

If you check out your surrounding infrastructure then you would definitely witness the fabulous contributions of an investors community. As there is a long queue of people in joining various investors communities, each and every individual is getting richer. In the past people used to keep money at their homes. Even they used to get afraid of keeping money in the banks. Now the whole scenario is getting changed. People are becoming aware of various means which can make their money to grow infinitely. Yes it is true. Thanks to the rising of the current investors communities which have been playing a great role in making the dreams of people into reality.

Till now whoever is not taking part in the growing investors communities should not do much delay. The world wide web has provided us so many addresses of various investors communities that we can make use. If someone is new in this field of investments then there is nothing to worry about. Just register oneself into a good investors community and after a few days one would definitely find the difference. There are powerful tools of investors communities such as chat, forum, blogs, news etc. which are extremely helpful to carry out successful communications among the members of such communities.

Hence, we have seen how an investors community are making incredible contributions towards the growth of the global economy.

About the Author:

This article written by David Jose is on Investors Community. David Jose has been a avert writer on various online trading communities. His work has been published in several places across the web. At present David Jose is contributing towards making MTP a well known and popular online trading community.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/investors-community-their-contributions-546704.html

Investing For Your Retirement Top Tips

Author: Alexander West

The trick is to start investing for your retirement as early as possible. The longer you leave it, the less chance there is of building up enough funds to allow you to comfortably retire. Comfortably retire, is a relative term as everyone's situation is different. The following items represent some of the opportunities available to you [in no order of importance] for generating an income in the run up to and during your retirement.

1.Retirement Annuities; an annuity is a payment made by an insurance company to an individual for the rest of your life in return for you giving them a capital payment. So for example, let's say that you invest in a personal pension plan with an insurance company for 30 years. When it comes to you retirement date, the amount of money that has built up in that pension plan, let's say $100,000 is then traded in for an annuity. You can either buy this annuity from the insurance company that you have built up your pension plan with or you can search the annuity market for the best annuity rates. A financial adviser can help you do this. But once you have bought your annuity then that's it, there's no going back. So choose wisely and do your research.

2.Fixed Deposits in Banks; This is another very popular method of investing for retirement. Every bank pays out a healthy interest rate on the invested principal, due to which after some years the invested amount multiplies. If kept for a significant number of years, the little amount invested in fixed deposits could multiply and be a good source for spending the life comfortably after retirement. One of the better aspects of banks [even in today's credit crunch environment] is that they are a safe house for your money. You will pay for this safety by being offered a lower interest rate.

3.Term Insurance Policies; Term insurance policies are set for a fixed period of years, which can be either a short or a long period of time. The investment is done in the form of premiums after regular intervals of time. The premiums are collected by the insurance company and the interests are accrued on them. When the stipulated term is over, the insurance company pays out this amount to the person. Many people buy term insurance policies to tide them over after their retirement.

4.Real Estate Investing; Most people have paid off the mortgage by the time they reach retirement age. If they timed buying their property right, which most people will have because of the huge time frames involved circa 25 or 30 years, it is almost certain that their property will have built up significant equity. This can be a good option for investment. Many people sell their homes after retirement and buy smaller homes in a more peaceful area. The money they save is good enough to look after their needs in their post-retirement years. This is a clever idea if you have not had the opportunity to save for your retirement through a company or personal pension plan.

About the Author:

Alexander West holds the Financial Planning Certificate. One of his passions is learning and teaching people about finances. Join others creating more wealth in their lives at Click Here

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Investors Step in to Fill the Lending Void

Author: Jules Carney

If you are one of the many ethnic groups that have been disenfranchised as a result of the current credit crunch in the housing market, you can take heart - investors may be stepping in to fill the gap. In the Northern Virginia Market, once one of the hottest Real Estate markets in the country, prices in some areas have corrected by as much as 50% off their highs from just a couple of years ago. However, many minorities have been locked out of the opportunity to take advantage of the market correction because of the drastic changes in the underwriting criteria of many lending institutions, reserving “lending rights” to only the cream of the crop. However, these changes inadvertently keep housing inventories high by holding off key buying segments.

A definite change is occurring in the markets. Some investors are stepping in by purchasing properties and offering buyers owner financing – filling the void for those buyers “who are falling through the crack” of the tightened lending environment. Companies like ThePadSeller.com, headquartered in Herndon Virginia, have realized that the opportunity to provide a housing to these segments is both good for the community, and good for business. “It makes sense, as a business that prides itself in its creative approach to buying and selling real estate, that we should lead the way in helping families get into properties when others can’t or won’t,” says Jules Carney, Managing Partner of ThePadSeller.com. “We have the ability to help deserving families, and make a difference in our communities, and yes make a profit.” “We offer programs that get buyers into properties for as little as $500.”

Investors often have the ability to finance properties through Lease Options, Lease to Purchase, Land Contracts and other methods. Often owners qualify for more traditional financing in as little as 12 to 18 months because they show they have been able to make regular payments. “I encourage anyone interested in buying, that does not think they will qualify, to talk to an investor about buying through these owner financing options,” Mr. Carney continued –“ the time is right, and the market is right.”

While Congress helps bail out Fannie and Freddie, their bill, and others local initiatives often do little to place these lower-priced homes into the hands of ready buyers, Investors may hold the key to correcting this market.

About the Author:

http://www.ThePadSeller.com

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/investors-step-in-to-fill-the-lending-void-545296.html

Is There Still A Property Market To Invest In

Author: Catherine Harvey

Investment property is a bit of an unsure market at the moment, given the threatened worldwide recession. The rich/poor divide is becoming ever wider with those that can afford investment property and those whose accommodation is subject to what others can afford. However, this situation, like every other recession the world has suffered, will eventually pass and if you can hang on to an investment property through the rough times, you are guaranteed of a decent income or, at the very least, a retirement home, later in life.

What is concerning most owners of investment property at the moment is the fact that if they make most of their income from a property that is rented out as a holiday home overseas, this income could dwindle. Rising fuel costs have brought about a hike in the costs of flights and more and more people are looking to holiday at home instead.

Surprisingly, it is the low budget airlines that have been seeing the harshest losses so far and this week saw the collapse of Zoom, one such airline company. Many holiday homes are established close to airports in order to provide quick, easy holiday places for people to get away to but with the loss of the cheaper airlines that cannot withstand a credit crunch, these holidays are no longer as affordable or as easy and this means that an investment property abroad may not be such a wise investment after all.

Normally, it is the passengers with the least money that will take advantage of cheap air travel and it is exactly these people that are favouring holidaying in their own country as opposed to travelling abroad at all. So, with less passengers and the rising cost of fuel, is it any wonder that budget airlines are fast disappearing. This will end up widening the rich/poor divide even further by ensuring that it is only the rich that can afford to travel overseas.

Investing in property is still a possibility if you have some spare cash. Admittedly, spare cash is a limited commodity these days but some good news is definitely needed these days and to that end, those who have had the foresight to carry out careful forward financial planning are in the best position to snap up repossessed property or homes advertised for a knock down price.

These homes will either serve as a future investment, for letting out to the ever increasing rental market or as a cheap main home or holiday home. At some point in the future the property market will pick up and these homes will then increase in value once again. The tricky part is seeing the hard times through without losing everything.

Mortgages are becoming increasing difficult to secure and a drop of seventy one per cent of mortgage approvals has been reported in the press compared to figures from last year. This can be quite frustrating given that there is a plethora of cheap properties currently available and it is thought that there will be many empty homes going to waste.

To combat some of the housing problems, the Government are taking steps to help people. Yes, you read that right - to help people. The plan is to buy up homes that are being repossessed in order to allow the family to stay in the home and rent it back from the council. This will be cheaper than their mortgage payments and also free up the council from the growing problem of housing homeless families.

If you factor into this the choice that council tenants have of buying their property once they have been in it for a length of time, this should, in effect, bring the market back round again at some time in the future so all is not lost.

About the Author:

Property expert Catherine Harvey looks at how the current economic climate is affecting investment property purchases and the housing market in general.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/is-there-still-a-property-market-to-invest-in-544153.html

What to Do in a Cashflow Crunch

Author: Chad Sunyich

Over the past several years, many American families have been forced to answer the question of what to do in a cash flow crunch, when you just don’t have enough money to cover the bills and keep food on the table. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, an average of 250,000 new families enter into foreclosure every three months, with most of these families receiving little to no training on the correct steps to be followed when experiencing a cash crunch or even considering bankruptcy.

The first thing to remember when you notice a shortage in funds, get laid off at work or experience a health crisis, and you just don’t have enough money to cover everything…is DON’T PANIC! Our founding fathers made sure that debt cannot lead to incarceration, so relax and know that you cannot go to jail for failure to pay your bills. Staying calm is one of the biggest challenges faced when experiencing a financial hardship, so count to ten, take a few deep breaths and know that everything will be just fine.

Losing your job or experiencing a major crisis usually requires a much different approach than running a little short for the month or needing some extra cash for an unseen expense. When you experience a life changing event and you know that you may not have the cash flow to cover all of your expenses for quite some time, the very first step is to identify which bills must be paid and which can wait until you solve the current hardship situation.

Deciding which bill to pay comes down to two things, do you have equity in the debt and is the debt secured by a physical asset. Real estate is usually one of the first assets to be considered as it is both secured and has most likely built up at least some equity. If you have you have an emergency savings fund, enough income to cover the mortgage payment or at least $20,000 or more in equity, then saving your home is likely the best first step. Next, make a list of all the debts that are either secured or have built up equity, which usually consists of autos, boats, furniture or other recreation vehicles.

Unsecured debts such as credit cards, signature loans and other lines of credit are the last debts to be considered when experiencing a financial hardship. Unsecured creditors will hire attorneys, send threatening letters call your work and family, and do just about anything to get your attention. The truth is, they have no tangible asset attached to the debt and can do nothing but file with a judgment and wait.

Again, pay the debts that have equity or are secured by an asset. The rest of your unsecured debts can wait until you decide on your best course of action.

About the Author:

The author Chad Sunyich says here about The Three Factors of Investing giving wonderful calculations with example showing expenses, liabilities, debt">http://www.idealfsi.com/">debt elimination, etc. for an average American family. To know more on Credit Score, Consumer">http://www.idealfsi.com/">Consumer debt, credit card debt, financial freedom, credit report, Retirement, Retirement speeches, visit www.idealfsi.com.

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Buying The Best Stocks Online

Author: Samuel Zipursky

So we can all agree that the Internet has literally changed the world, from the way we do business, how we communicate, meet people, how we shop, and the list can go on and on. Along with everything else that has become a bit easier because of online technology, buying and selling stocks is also included in this list.

Investing in stocks online is as simple as counting to three. It really comes down to a few easy steps. You find yourself an online stock broker on the internet, sign up with and put a bit of cash into your account, pick a couple of winners, click the purchase button, and there you have it - you're done.

It's not only easy to buy stocks online now but it's also easy to teach yourself all about the stock market, research companies that you're thinking of investing in, and also find stock brokerage firms that will be a good fit for you.

Another great thing about all of this automated and online technology is the price of stock investing services has dropped drastically. Because brokerage companies don't need to take as much time to do everything now and can often let their websites automate much of the research and investing processes, the price for stock investing services has also become very reasonable online in the last few years - which means more money for you to actually buy stocks with.

So this all sounds too good to be true and it can be, but there of course are many things you must think about before leaping into the stock investment game. First off, before you decide to purchase any shares in companies you're going to need to do some preliminary research in order to find out if the company you're interested in actually has some money making potential for you to make money from.

Well luckily for us the investors there are ways of doing research to help pick the winning stocks and try to avoid losers. Some of the research terms you'll hear floating around are technical analysis and also fundamental analysis. With these analyses you or your broker will be looking at the company's past revenue, earnings, costs, assets, and other financial factors. Remember analysis is good to perform but it's not always 100% accurate.

Lastly when looking for that winning stock make sure you also research things such as the company website, history, press releases, and also the current economic, social, and political conditions that may surround the company in questions future performance.

Just remember picking good stocks is an art with a bit of chance thrown into the mix. The best thing you can do is choose a great broker to work with and then come up with a researching system that works for you and helps you achieve stock market success.

About the Author:

Sam provides further advice on how to buy stocks on the Internet through his website providing information on which stocks to watch.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/buying-the-best-stocks-online-543510.html