when used properly, credit cards are a very powerful wealth-building tool
How you may ask. Here are the tips;
1) A two-months interest free loan
When you buy a product using your credit card, you will only be
billed for it at the end of the month. You are then given another
month to make payment. So, if you pay off your total bill, you
would have effectively gotten a two-month interest free loan.
2) Bonus points and dollars
Each purchase you make on your credit card(s) will earn you bonus
points which you can use to redeem for free products and services
like extra flyer -miles and dining vouchers, saving you even more
money.
3) A monthly statement that tracks and consolidates all your expenses
At the end of every month, the credit card company will tabulate
for you the total expenses for the month, making it easy for you to
track your total expenditure. So it becomes a free money management
tool.
However, you MUST ALWAYS PAY THE OUTSTANDING BALANCE when you pay
the full balance every month. This way, the bank does not earn a
cent off you, but you get the three great wealth building services
mentioned above. This is what I do and that is why my bankers hate
me.
So why do banks go all out, giving freebies and spend millions of
dollars in advertising to hook you on using their card? They know
that there are many consumers out there who just pay the minimum
sum every month (about 3% of the total debt you owe), because it is
so tempting.
What's worse is that many credit card owners don't even pay their
minimum sum on time because of a cash crunch or because they plain
forgot.
The moment you pay only the minimum sum and allow your outstanding
balance to roll, you become the bank's best friend. This is when
they will make a killing off you! Why?
This is because banks charge a 2% per month interest on your
outstanding sum. This may seem small, but again, that's 24%
interest a year. Just how much interest does this add up to?
Let's do the sums...
Question: Imagine if you had an outstanding balance of $2,000 on your credit card statement, and you just pay the minimum sum of
$60, how long will it take for you to pay off the while balance?
(this is only assuming you do not charge a single dollar more).
The shocking answer: It will take you 4.5 years! You would have
paid a total of $3,300, that's $1,300 in interest. In other words,
you would pay an actual interest rate of 65% off your balance.
So when used properly credit cards can greatly assist you in
creating wealth or it can destroy you if abused.
To your investing success
Kunle
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Growing Your Money at Millionaire Returns
All self-made millionaires utilize the power of investing to get
their money to make them even more money.
They get their money to start working for them so they can
eventually stop working for money.
Unless you master this money skill of investing, you will never
achieve financial fre-edom and abundance.
However when it comes to investing, most people share the painful
experience of getting burnt in the stock market or in mutual funds
(unit trusts).
"If I had kept all my money in the bank, I wouldn't have lost half
it."
"After so many years of buying and selling, I find that after
all the effort I have merely broken even".
"I should have kept the money in the bank instead.' ' Every time I
buy a stock, it seems to go down."
Do you share this experience with most investors?
If so, you are one of many people who have developed a phobia of
investing and have formed the belief that 'investing is risky'. As
a result, you are resigned to keeping your money 'safe' in fixed
deposits earning a measly 2%-3%.
This belief is compounded by the fact that we are taught by finance
courses, banks and financial advisors that 'High risk leads to high
return'. In order to earn high returns, you must be a risk taker!
This is totally rubbish! All of us have been brainwashed by this
inaccurate generalization. In fact, the greatest investors in the
world are NOT risk takers.
They are in fact, very risk averse. Warren Buffett, the world's
greatest investor, who achieved 24.7% returns per year for the last
49 years is extremely risk averse.
His fundamental principle in investing is 'capital preservation.'
He would rather not make any money if there is a chance of losing
it.
His first rule in investing is 'Never Lose Money.' His second
rule is 'don't forget rule number one.' As a result, Warren will
only invest in a stock if it has very low downside and a very high
probability of success of at least 90%.
To be a winning investor, you must adopt this same principle! You
must be risk averse! You must always follow the principle of
"capital preservation."
Now, you may ask me, ' If high risk does not lead to high returns,
then what does?' The answer is 'financial intelligence.' High
financial intelligence leads to high returns!
When you have high financial intelligence, there is little risk,
because you know exactly what you are doing. When you don't have strong
financial intelligence to fully understand the business behind the
stock, then investing becomes very risky.
Risk is contextual. How risky an activity is depends on the level
of competence of the person doing that activity.
For example, if I told you to climb a mountain where there is a pot
of gold at the top, would it be risky? Would you have to take a
high risk to achieve the high return?
Yes! It is risky for you because you have never been trained in
mountain climbing and do not have the necessary safety equipment.
There is a high chance you will fall and die!
However, for a professional & experienced climber who has scaled
Mount Everest twice without oxygen, would it be risky? No! Why?
Because his high level of competence eliminates the risk. To him,
it would be low risk, high return.
Take another example, if I were to ask you to drive a formula one
race car at 260 km per hour round the racetrack in order to win a
grand prize, would it be risky?
Again, to you it would because you are not trained. It would be
suicide and I would recommend you not do it at all. However, to
Michael Schumaker, it would be low risk and high return, because he
has been trained to do it.
So is investing risky? Again it depends. If you are like the
majority of people who have not been trained and have low financial
intelligence, then it is highly risky!
It's like climbing that mountain with no training at all. Indeed,
to them it is high risk, high return. I would suggest that they
keep their money in the fixed deposit.
However to Warren Buffett, investing is 'low risk, very high
return' because he has a high level of competence in investing. So
again, you can see that high risk does not lead to high return, it
is high level of competence that leads to high return.
To your Investing success
their money to make them even more money.
They get their money to start working for them so they can
eventually stop working for money.
Unless you master this money skill of investing, you will never
achieve financial fre-edom and abundance.
However when it comes to investing, most people share the painful
experience of getting burnt in the stock market or in mutual funds
(unit trusts).
"If I had kept all my money in the bank, I wouldn't have lost half
it."
"After so many years of buying and selling, I find that after
all the effort I have merely broken even".
"I should have kept the money in the bank instead.' ' Every time I
buy a stock, it seems to go down."
Do you share this experience with most investors?
If so, you are one of many people who have developed a phobia of
investing and have formed the belief that 'investing is risky'. As
a result, you are resigned to keeping your money 'safe' in fixed
deposits earning a measly 2%-3%.
This belief is compounded by the fact that we are taught by finance
courses, banks and financial advisors that 'High risk leads to high
return'. In order to earn high returns, you must be a risk taker!
This is totally rubbish! All of us have been brainwashed by this
inaccurate generalization. In fact, the greatest investors in the
world are NOT risk takers.
They are in fact, very risk averse. Warren Buffett, the world's
greatest investor, who achieved 24.7% returns per year for the last
49 years is extremely risk averse.
His fundamental principle in investing is 'capital preservation.'
He would rather not make any money if there is a chance of losing
it.
His first rule in investing is 'Never Lose Money.' His second
rule is 'don't forget rule number one.' As a result, Warren will
only invest in a stock if it has very low downside and a very high
probability of success of at least 90%.
To be a winning investor, you must adopt this same principle! You
must be risk averse! You must always follow the principle of
"capital preservation."
Now, you may ask me, ' If high risk does not lead to high returns,
then what does?' The answer is 'financial intelligence.' High
financial intelligence leads to high returns!
When you have high financial intelligence, there is little risk,
because you know exactly what you are doing. When you don't have strong
financial intelligence to fully understand the business behind the
stock, then investing becomes very risky.
Risk is contextual. How risky an activity is depends on the level
of competence of the person doing that activity.
For example, if I told you to climb a mountain where there is a pot
of gold at the top, would it be risky? Would you have to take a
high risk to achieve the high return?
Yes! It is risky for you because you have never been trained in
mountain climbing and do not have the necessary safety equipment.
There is a high chance you will fall and die!
However, for a professional & experienced climber who has scaled
Mount Everest twice without oxygen, would it be risky? No! Why?
Because his high level of competence eliminates the risk. To him,
it would be low risk, high return.
Take another example, if I were to ask you to drive a formula one
race car at 260 km per hour round the racetrack in order to win a
grand prize, would it be risky?
Again, to you it would because you are not trained. It would be
suicide and I would recommend you not do it at all. However, to
Michael Schumaker, it would be low risk and high return, because he
has been trained to do it.
So is investing risky? Again it depends. If you are like the
majority of people who have not been trained and have low financial
intelligence, then it is highly risky!
It's like climbing that mountain with no training at all. Indeed,
to them it is high risk, high return. I would suggest that they
keep their money in the fixed deposit.
However to Warren Buffett, investing is 'low risk, very high
return' because he has a high level of competence in investing. So
again, you can see that high risk does not lead to high return, it
is high level of competence that leads to high return.
To your Investing success
Monday, June 9, 2008
Want to be Rich?...Eliminate Consumer Debt.
The first step to take to increase your savings is to start
reducing your expenses. So what is the first expense you must
reduce and eventually eliminate? It is the interest expense you pay
on consumer debt.
While taking on a reasonable amount of consumer debt is necessary
for you to afford a car and a house, you must avoid taking on too
much for too long a period.
Why? Because a 5%-6% interest rate may seem small but over an
extended period of time, it compounds to a huge amount of money.
You will find yourself paying tens of thousands of dollars in
installment payments every month just to see that the principal sum
you owe go down by a couple of hundred dollars.
Lets take an example: let's say you bought a $250,000 apartment and took a
$200,000 mortgage at 6% stretched over 30 years.
Question: If you just paid the minimum installment payments every month, how much would you have paid in total interest?
Answer:Using a financial calculator, you can see that you will
pay $1,173 in monthly installments for 30 years. That's a total of
$422,280 in installment payments! You would have paid a total of
$222,280 in interest to the bank. That's like buying two apartments
and giving the bank one!
If You Took a $200,000 Loan Over 30 Years at 6% Interest, You Would
Pay a Total of $222,280 in Interest...Even More than the Loan Amount
Itself!
So besides paying the minimum required monthly installments (like
your bank wants you to), you must constantly PAY MORE to further
reduce and eventually eliminate your principal sum...or you will wind
up donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to your bank over the
long term!
When our spending is uncontrolled, our expenses always tend to rise
up to match our level of income. No matter how much we earn. If we
earn $2,000, we will find a way to spend over $2,000 and end up
broke.
When we start earning $10,000 a month, we believe that we deserve a
grander lifestyle, a flashier car, dine in exclusive up-market
restaurants. Very often, the $10,000 we earn a month will be spent
and we will end up having to start from scratch over again.
This pattern has been repeated by many intelligent people I know,
some of them being my close friends. When unmanaged, whatever
additional in-come we earn seems to disappear without a
trace...doesn't it?
Always remember: It is not how much you earn that will determine your wealth. More importantly, it is how much you are able to save and invest!
To your investing Success
reducing your expenses. So what is the first expense you must
reduce and eventually eliminate? It is the interest expense you pay
on consumer debt.
While taking on a reasonable amount of consumer debt is necessary
for you to afford a car and a house, you must avoid taking on too
much for too long a period.
Why? Because a 5%-6% interest rate may seem small but over an
extended period of time, it compounds to a huge amount of money.
You will find yourself paying tens of thousands of dollars in
installment payments every month just to see that the principal sum
you owe go down by a couple of hundred dollars.
Lets take an example: let's say you bought a $250,000 apartment and took a
$200,000 mortgage at 6% stretched over 30 years.
Question: If you just paid the minimum installment payments every month, how much would you have paid in total interest?
Answer:Using a financial calculator, you can see that you will
pay $1,173 in monthly installments for 30 years. That's a total of
$422,280 in installment payments! You would have paid a total of
$222,280 in interest to the bank. That's like buying two apartments
and giving the bank one!
If You Took a $200,000 Loan Over 30 Years at 6% Interest, You Would
Pay a Total of $222,280 in Interest...Even More than the Loan Amount
Itself!
So besides paying the minimum required monthly installments (like
your bank wants you to), you must constantly PAY MORE to further
reduce and eventually eliminate your principal sum...or you will wind
up donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to your bank over the
long term!
When our spending is uncontrolled, our expenses always tend to rise
up to match our level of income. No matter how much we earn. If we
earn $2,000, we will find a way to spend over $2,000 and end up
broke.
When we start earning $10,000 a month, we believe that we deserve a
grander lifestyle, a flashier car, dine in exclusive up-market
restaurants. Very often, the $10,000 we earn a month will be spent
and we will end up having to start from scratch over again.
This pattern has been repeated by many intelligent people I know,
some of them being my close friends. When unmanaged, whatever
additional in-come we earn seems to disappear without a
trace...doesn't it?
Always remember: It is not how much you earn that will determine your wealth. More importantly, it is how much you are able to save and invest!
To your investing Success
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Two Important Lessons in Investing
Lesson One: Invest From A Business Perspective
One of the most important lessons Buffet learnt was to invest from
a business perspective. Most people treat stocks like lottery
tickets. Buying and selling based on predictions of whether the
price will go up or down in the short term.
Because stock prices go up and down randomly and erratically based
on world events, there is no way anyone can consistently beat the
market by attempting to predict its movements. Many of these
punters know every little about the business operations behind the
stocks they own.
Warren learnt that buying a stock meant becoming a part-owner of an
ongoing business. He knew that the only way to consistently make
money was to identify very good businesses run by a strong
management team.
Good businesses would over time generate higher and higher profits.
Increasing profits will increase the value of a company and hence
its share price.
By honing his expertise in sniffing out companies that had the
potential to generate huge amounts of earnings growth over time, he
was confident that the stocks he held onto would increase
significantly in price over time.
Lesson Two: The Market is Irrational, Take Advantage of It
While most financial experts teach that the market is rational and
efficient (stock prices reflect the true value of a company),
Benjamin Graham taught Buffett that stock market prices were
determined by demand & supply, which in turn are irrationally
driven by fear and greed. As a result, a stock's price did not
always reflect the true value of a company.
In times of mass investor optimism & greed, buyers rush in and push
a stock's price way above its value. In times of fear and panic
(i.e. news of a recession) investors sell their shares, causing a
stock's price to fall way below its value.
The Market tends to overvalue a company's stock when there is good
news and under-value a company's stock when there is bad news.
Benjamin Graham developed a systematic way to determine a stock's
true value (known as its intrinsic value) and taught that by buying
a stock when it was undervalued, the investor could make a huge
profit when the market eventually overvalued the stock.
Philip Fisher added another dimension to investing by developing a
way to not only find undervalued companies, but to find companies
that had the potential to also significantly grow in their earnings
and hence increase their stock value even higher.
Any investor no matter which level he is at should learn about and
make use of the lessons covered here.
To your investing success
One of the most important lessons Buffet learnt was to invest from
a business perspective. Most people treat stocks like lottery
tickets. Buying and selling based on predictions of whether the
price will go up or down in the short term.
Because stock prices go up and down randomly and erratically based
on world events, there is no way anyone can consistently beat the
market by attempting to predict its movements. Many of these
punters know every little about the business operations behind the
stocks they own.
Warren learnt that buying a stock meant becoming a part-owner of an
ongoing business. He knew that the only way to consistently make
money was to identify very good businesses run by a strong
management team.
Good businesses would over time generate higher and higher profits.
Increasing profits will increase the value of a company and hence
its share price.
By honing his expertise in sniffing out companies that had the
potential to generate huge amounts of earnings growth over time, he
was confident that the stocks he held onto would increase
significantly in price over time.
Lesson Two: The Market is Irrational, Take Advantage of It
While most financial experts teach that the market is rational and
efficient (stock prices reflect the true value of a company),
Benjamin Graham taught Buffett that stock market prices were
determined by demand & supply, which in turn are irrationally
driven by fear and greed. As a result, a stock's price did not
always reflect the true value of a company.
In times of mass investor optimism & greed, buyers rush in and push
a stock's price way above its value. In times of fear and panic
(i.e. news of a recession) investors sell their shares, causing a
stock's price to fall way below its value.
The Market tends to overvalue a company's stock when there is good
news and under-value a company's stock when there is bad news.
Benjamin Graham developed a systematic way to determine a stock's
true value (known as its intrinsic value) and taught that by buying
a stock when it was undervalued, the investor could make a huge
profit when the market eventually overvalued the stock.
Philip Fisher added another dimension to investing by developing a
way to not only find undervalued companies, but to find companies
that had the potential to also significantly grow in their earnings
and hence increase their stock value even higher.
Any investor no matter which level he is at should learn about and
make use of the lessons covered here.
To your investing success
Thursday, March 20, 2008
The History & Psychology of Warren Buffett
From a very early age young Buffett was obsessed with making money
and had a very clear dream of becoming the world's greatest
investor.
Born during the depression when his father was close to bankruptcy,
Warren learnt about the value of money and the importance of being
financially secure at an early age.
Even before his teens, Warren knew that he wanted to be rich, very
very rich. As early as elementary school and later on in high
school, he would tell his classmates that he wanted to become a
millionaire before the age of 35 (when he turned 35, his net worth
exceeded US$6 million). Inspired by his dream, he started
researching on the secrets of wealth creation.
Through his readings, he found and memorized a book called 'A
Thousand Ways to Make $1,000'. At the age of six, he started buying
coke bottles at 25-cents per six-pack and selling them at 5-cents a
bottle, giving him a 16% gross profit, as he would tell himself.
At the age of 13, he got a job delivering newspapers and through
innovative marketing and distribution strategies, he served five
hundred customers a day (he hired the other neighborhood kids to do
the delivery for him).
At the age of 11, he took all his savings and started investing in
the stock market. His first investment was three shares in a
company called 'City Service'.
While most kids his age were reading comic books, Warren spent his
time reading company annual reports. By the age of 14, he invested
in pinball machines, which he installed in restaurants all over his
town. He was earning $175 a week, as much as the average 25-year
old was earning in 1944.
Warren later mastered the art of investing by modeling two of the
world's greatest investors during his time, Benjamin Graham (the
father of Value Investing) and Philip Fisher (the father of Growth
Investing). By combining the ideas of both geniuses and further
refining them, Buffett has become the most powerful investor in the
world!
This short history and the written insights of the psychology of
buffet should serve as an inspiration and cornerstone to anyone who
is determined to be rich and wealthy.
To your Success
and had a very clear dream of becoming the world's greatest
investor.
Born during the depression when his father was close to bankruptcy,
Warren learnt about the value of money and the importance of being
financially secure at an early age.
Even before his teens, Warren knew that he wanted to be rich, very
very rich. As early as elementary school and later on in high
school, he would tell his classmates that he wanted to become a
millionaire before the age of 35 (when he turned 35, his net worth
exceeded US$6 million). Inspired by his dream, he started
researching on the secrets of wealth creation.
Through his readings, he found and memorized a book called 'A
Thousand Ways to Make $1,000'. At the age of six, he started buying
coke bottles at 25-cents per six-pack and selling them at 5-cents a
bottle, giving him a 16% gross profit, as he would tell himself.
At the age of 13, he got a job delivering newspapers and through
innovative marketing and distribution strategies, he served five
hundred customers a day (he hired the other neighborhood kids to do
the delivery for him).
At the age of 11, he took all his savings and started investing in
the stock market. His first investment was three shares in a
company called 'City Service'.
While most kids his age were reading comic books, Warren spent his
time reading company annual reports. By the age of 14, he invested
in pinball machines, which he installed in restaurants all over his
town. He was earning $175 a week, as much as the average 25-year
old was earning in 1944.
Warren later mastered the art of investing by modeling two of the
world's greatest investors during his time, Benjamin Graham (the
father of Value Investing) and Philip Fisher (the father of Growth
Investing). By combining the ideas of both geniuses and further
refining them, Buffett has become the most powerful investor in the
world!
This short history and the written insights of the psychology of
buffet should serve as an inspiration and cornerstone to anyone who
is determined to be rich and wealthy.
To your Success
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
The power of Compounding:Would You Bet 10-Cents On A Game of Golf?
Let me give you an example to illustrate the power of compounding. Let’s say we played a game of golf and we made a friendly bet of 10-cent on the first hole, with the bet doubling on each hole. Would you take on this bet? Now, if you were familiar with the game of golf, you would know that there are only 18 holes, so how much can the bet be on the 18th hole?
Well let’s see how the bet increases on the first 9 holes:
Hole 1 10 cents
Hole 2 20 cents
Hole 3 40 cents
Hole 4 80 cents
Hole 5 $1.60
Hole 6 $3.20
Hole 7 $6.40
Hole 8 $12.80
Hole 9 $25.60
At the 9th hole, the bet is $25.60. We are already half way there, so how much could it be on the 18thhole? $100? $300? $500? Let’s go on…
Hole 10 $51.20
Hole 11 $102.40
Hole 12 $204.80
Hole 13 $409.60
Hole 14 $819.20
Hole 15 $1,638
Hole 16 $3,276
Hole 17 $6,553
Hole 18 $13,107
As you can see on the 18th hole, the bet becomes a whopping $13,107! When given enough time, the power of compounding can turn very small amounts of money into huge sums.
A more important lesson I want to illustrate is that initially, the money grows very slowly. Even at the halfway mark, it is only $25.60. However, the moment it reaches a critical point, the growth becomes exponential! In fact, between Hole 15 and Hole 18, within just 3 holes, it grows from $1,638 to $13,107, a $11,469 difference!
What does this mean to you? You see when you start your investment program of say $200 a month, initially the growth is extremely slow. However, once it hits a certain period of time, the growth explodes exponentially! The trouble with most people is that when they see the slow growth during the first few years, they lose patience and abandon their investment plan.
How $300 saved every month will grow under different rates of return within 30 years.
• Without the power of compound interest, $300 saved every month would accumulate to merely $108,000.
• At a 5% annual compounded rate of return, $300 a month would grow into $245,609 (2.3 times the principal sum)
• At a 8% annual compounded rate of return, $300 a month would grow into $425,283 (4 times the principal sum)
• At a15% annual compounded rate of return, $300 a month would grow into $1.69 million (15.6 times the principal sum)
• At a 25% annual compounded rate of return, $300 a month would grow into a whopping $13.14 million (121.6 times the principal sum)
Have the patience to wait, for the power of compounding will work and reward you with millions.
Well let’s see how the bet increases on the first 9 holes:
Hole 1 10 cents
Hole 2 20 cents
Hole 3 40 cents
Hole 4 80 cents
Hole 5 $1.60
Hole 6 $3.20
Hole 7 $6.40
Hole 8 $12.80
Hole 9 $25.60
At the 9th hole, the bet is $25.60. We are already half way there, so how much could it be on the 18thhole? $100? $300? $500? Let’s go on…
Hole 10 $51.20
Hole 11 $102.40
Hole 12 $204.80
Hole 13 $409.60
Hole 14 $819.20
Hole 15 $1,638
Hole 16 $3,276
Hole 17 $6,553
Hole 18 $13,107
As you can see on the 18th hole, the bet becomes a whopping $13,107! When given enough time, the power of compounding can turn very small amounts of money into huge sums.
A more important lesson I want to illustrate is that initially, the money grows very slowly. Even at the halfway mark, it is only $25.60. However, the moment it reaches a critical point, the growth becomes exponential! In fact, between Hole 15 and Hole 18, within just 3 holes, it grows from $1,638 to $13,107, a $11,469 difference!
What does this mean to you? You see when you start your investment program of say $200 a month, initially the growth is extremely slow. However, once it hits a certain period of time, the growth explodes exponentially! The trouble with most people is that when they see the slow growth during the first few years, they lose patience and abandon their investment plan.
How $300 saved every month will grow under different rates of return within 30 years.
• Without the power of compound interest, $300 saved every month would accumulate to merely $108,000.
• At a 5% annual compounded rate of return, $300 a month would grow into $245,609 (2.3 times the principal sum)
• At a 8% annual compounded rate of return, $300 a month would grow into $425,283 (4 times the principal sum)
• At a15% annual compounded rate of return, $300 a month would grow into $1.69 million (15.6 times the principal sum)
• At a 25% annual compounded rate of return, $300 a month would grow into a whopping $13.14 million (121.6 times the principal sum)
Have the patience to wait, for the power of compounding will work and reward you with millions.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
The myths of Money
Today we shall deviate a little from our talks on investment and investment strategies and really look at why most if not everyone wants to go into investing......MONEY. We shall be looking at the myths of money and how it affects us.
The truth is that many of these beliefs and attitudes that some people hold have about money are nothing but inaccurate generalizations and excuses that keep them from living a truly a happy and wealthy life.
In order to truly align your mind to wealth creation, you must debunk these negative myths and really look at the facts.
Myth: Having a lot of money will change you (into a bad person).
Fact: Money is a personality magnifier.
It brings out the true person within you. If you are a selfish and nasty person by nature, having money will make you even more nasty and selfish.
However, if you are a kind, generous and loving person deep down inside, money will magnify your goodness.
Myth: Money isn't everything.
Fact: This is the top excuse given by poor people who are in
denial. The truth is that everything is money.
Without money, you cannot maximize other important values such as family, career, health, spirituality and relationships.
Myth: Money will make you less spiritual
Fact: If you are by nature a spiritual person, having money will
allow you to touch more lives and help you do more of god's work.
In fact, the wealthiest people in the world are extremely spiritual. Not having to worry about money anymore allows many of the rich to focus on the more important things in life.
Many truly wealthy people believe they don't own their money. They are just custodians of God's wealth.
Myth: Rich people are materialistic. They worship money.
Fact: It is the people who lack money who worship it.
Who works all day, year after year in a job which they hate, just for the money?
Who are those who constantly sacrifice their health and family to make more money?
In fact, the rich rarely work because of money. They work because
of passion and a sense of personal mission. Bill Gates, Warren
Buffett, George Lucas, Michael Jordan & Steve Jobs certainly don't
work for money...they don't need to.
Myth: To have more money, I will be depriving others of it.
Fact: When you become rich, you actually create more wealth for
other people. Wealth multiplies into more wealth.
Bill Gates is the richest man in the world because he has created the most value in people's lives through the creation of Microsoft and Windows.
Because of his invention, so many more millionaires have been created as a result. Think about it, if Microsoft Windows, Word and Excel did not exist, would you have been able to create as much wealth as you have today?
Myth: Money is the 'root of all evil'.
Fact: The lack of money is the root of all evil.
The number one cause of murder, cheating, stealing, lying is poverty (the lack of
money).
Get your beliefs and attitudes right and you will start to attract more of it into your life!
To Your Success
The truth is that many of these beliefs and attitudes that some people hold have about money are nothing but inaccurate generalizations and excuses that keep them from living a truly a happy and wealthy life.
In order to truly align your mind to wealth creation, you must debunk these negative myths and really look at the facts.
Myth: Having a lot of money will change you (into a bad person).
Fact: Money is a personality magnifier.
It brings out the true person within you. If you are a selfish and nasty person by nature, having money will make you even more nasty and selfish.
However, if you are a kind, generous and loving person deep down inside, money will magnify your goodness.
Myth: Money isn't everything.
Fact: This is the top excuse given by poor people who are in
denial. The truth is that everything is money.
Without money, you cannot maximize other important values such as family, career, health, spirituality and relationships.
Myth: Money will make you less spiritual
Fact: If you are by nature a spiritual person, having money will
allow you to touch more lives and help you do more of god's work.
In fact, the wealthiest people in the world are extremely spiritual. Not having to worry about money anymore allows many of the rich to focus on the more important things in life.
Many truly wealthy people believe they don't own their money. They are just custodians of God's wealth.
Myth: Rich people are materialistic. They worship money.
Fact: It is the people who lack money who worship it.
Who works all day, year after year in a job which they hate, just for the money?
Who are those who constantly sacrifice their health and family to make more money?
In fact, the rich rarely work because of money. They work because
of passion and a sense of personal mission. Bill Gates, Warren
Buffett, George Lucas, Michael Jordan & Steve Jobs certainly don't
work for money...they don't need to.
Myth: To have more money, I will be depriving others of it.
Fact: When you become rich, you actually create more wealth for
other people. Wealth multiplies into more wealth.
Bill Gates is the richest man in the world because he has created the most value in people's lives through the creation of Microsoft and Windows.
Because of his invention, so many more millionaires have been created as a result. Think about it, if Microsoft Windows, Word and Excel did not exist, would you have been able to create as much wealth as you have today?
Myth: Money is the 'root of all evil'.
Fact: The lack of money is the root of all evil.
The number one cause of murder, cheating, stealing, lying is poverty (the lack of
money).
Get your beliefs and attitudes right and you will start to attract more of it into your life!
To Your Success
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Four Powerful Investing Strategies
There are many very different philosophies and strategies that experts use to select stocks to achieve above average returns.
Growth Strategy 1: Buying Markets & Sectors
The first growth strategy will be on how to achieve the same returns as the whole US stock market or Singapore Stock market by buying the market indexes such as the
S&P 500 index, Dow Jones Index, Nasdaq composite Index and the Straits Times Index.
This is the most basic strategy that all novice investors should start off with. Executing this strategy successfully involves the lowest level of financial competence but can make you consistent annual compounded returns of 10%-12.08%.
Growth Strategy 2: Value Investing
Value investing is the strategy employed by Warren Buffett, the world's greatest investor and second richest man.
In value investing, you will buy high performing companies at a fraction of what they are worth.In other words, you buy great companies when they are undervalued and to sell them for a huge profit once the market realizes its true value. This strategy will consistently make profits of 15%-25% annually!
Growth Strategy 3: Momentum Investing
Momentum investing involves finding the hottest stocks that are ready to make great gains. Momentum stocks tend to already be priced above their fair value. However, because of the entire market's optimism about the stock's potential, these stocks tend to increase significantly in price within a very short period of time before they are overbought and come tumbling down (this is when you sell and make huge profits).
Growth Strategy 4: Options Trading
This strategy will show you how to make 100%-500% return on your money within 1-3 months.This final strategy requires you to have the highest level of financial competence and skill. This strategy is known as trading (as opposed to investing)
and it involves the use of buying (or selling) stock options.
Trading is different from investing in a few ways. Investing usually involves making money by buying a stock and predicting that it will increase in value over a few months to a few years. However, in trading you are able to make profits whether the stock price moves up or down and you usually enter and exit a trade within a very short period of time.
To your Success
Growth Strategy 1: Buying Markets & Sectors
The first growth strategy will be on how to achieve the same returns as the whole US stock market or Singapore Stock market by buying the market indexes such as the
S&P 500 index, Dow Jones Index, Nasdaq composite Index and the Straits Times Index.
This is the most basic strategy that all novice investors should start off with. Executing this strategy successfully involves the lowest level of financial competence but can make you consistent annual compounded returns of 10%-12.08%.
Growth Strategy 2: Value Investing
Value investing is the strategy employed by Warren Buffett, the world's greatest investor and second richest man.
In value investing, you will buy high performing companies at a fraction of what they are worth.In other words, you buy great companies when they are undervalued and to sell them for a huge profit once the market realizes its true value. This strategy will consistently make profits of 15%-25% annually!
Growth Strategy 3: Momentum Investing
Momentum investing involves finding the hottest stocks that are ready to make great gains. Momentum stocks tend to already be priced above their fair value. However, because of the entire market's optimism about the stock's potential, these stocks tend to increase significantly in price within a very short period of time before they are overbought and come tumbling down (this is when you sell and make huge profits).
Growth Strategy 4: Options Trading
This strategy will show you how to make 100%-500% return on your money within 1-3 months.This final strategy requires you to have the highest level of financial competence and skill. This strategy is known as trading (as opposed to investing)
and it involves the use of buying (or selling) stock options.
Trading is different from investing in a few ways. Investing usually involves making money by buying a stock and predicting that it will increase in value over a few months to a few years. However, in trading you are able to make profits whether the stock price moves up or down and you usually enter and exit a trade within a very short period of time.
To your Success
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Become A Millionaire Saving Just 10% Of Your Income!
Imagine if you were to earn an average of $36,000 a year ($3,000 a
month) for your entire working life of thirty years. This is
assuming you start working at age 25 after graduating from
university and retire at age 55.
The total income you would receive would be $1.08 million ($36,000
x 30 years). So the good news is that you would already be earning
a million dollars in your lifetime, without any help from me.
The bad news is that if you are like most people, you would
probably spend most of the money you earn and a whole lot more. You
would end up at the end of thirty years with nothing much left.
What If you were to just invest 10% of that income a month (i.e.
$300) into the US stock market Index and allowed it to compound
annually at 12.08%, how much would it grow to?
Using a financial calculator, you will find that $300 a month
invested at 12.08% compounded annually will grow to $939,106! Isn't
that amazing!
Just by investing 10% of your income, you get back almost all of
that $1 million which you earned in the first place. This is
possible because of the amazing power that compound interest
(returns) can have on small amounts of capital over a long period
of time!
And the best part is that it takes very little investment knowledge
to do this. All you have to do is to invest consistently in the
Index.
I know that some of you are probably thinking that you don't have
thirty years to wait to make your first million. You probably want
to achieve financial fre-edom within the next 10-15 years or less!
The great news is that with some hard work and the savvy stock
picking skills, you will confidently be able to achieve a minimum
of 15%-25% compounded annual returns on your investment.
To your success
month) for your entire working life of thirty years. This is
assuming you start working at age 25 after graduating from
university and retire at age 55.
The total income you would receive would be $1.08 million ($36,000
x 30 years). So the good news is that you would already be earning
a million dollars in your lifetime, without any help from me.
The bad news is that if you are like most people, you would
probably spend most of the money you earn and a whole lot more. You
would end up at the end of thirty years with nothing much left.
What If you were to just invest 10% of that income a month (i.e.
$300) into the US stock market Index and allowed it to compound
annually at 12.08%, how much would it grow to?
Using a financial calculator, you will find that $300 a month
invested at 12.08% compounded annually will grow to $939,106! Isn't
that amazing!
Just by investing 10% of your income, you get back almost all of
that $1 million which you earned in the first place. This is
possible because of the amazing power that compound interest
(returns) can have on small amounts of capital over a long period
of time!
And the best part is that it takes very little investment knowledge
to do this. All you have to do is to invest consistently in the
Index.
I know that some of you are probably thinking that you don't have
thirty years to wait to make your first million. You probably want
to achieve financial fre-edom within the next 10-15 years or less!
The great news is that with some hard work and the savvy stock
picking skills, you will confidently be able to achieve a minimum
of 15%-25% compounded annual returns on your investment.
To your success
Monday, February 25, 2008
Why you can't afford not to invest
When you mention the word 'investing' to most people, especially when it comes to the stock markets, reactions of caution and fear often arise. I have heard my friends or relatives say...
'I lost half my savings when the stock market crashed' 'Every time I buy a stock, it seems to go down.'
'I should have kept my money in the bank instead.'
'Investing is risky, you can lose your capital'
' Buying stocks is like gambling'
This aversion to investing is compounded by the fact that we were taught by finance courses, banks and financial advisers that 'high risk leads to high return'. In order to earn high returns, you must be a risk taker! And since most people don't like the idea of taking big risks, they never ever aspire to achieve high returns with their money. As a result of past painful experiences and well-intentioned advice from ignorant friends, many people have developed a phobia for investing.
They believe that 'investing is too risky' and 'it's safer to keep my money in the bank.' And so they resign themselves to earning measly returns of 2%-3% from their fixed deposit accounts. Consequently, they have lost out on one of the most powerful wealth building tools available, and the opportunity to retire young and wealthy. What's worse is that by not investing, these people actually experience the devaluation of their hard earned savings from the effects of inflation. Thinking they have saved enough money to retire comfortably after twenty years of hard work, they realize too late that everything around them has doubled or even tripled in price! Think about that $9 movie ticket that used to cost $3 in the 1980s. Inflation would almost guarantee that you will be paying more than $27 to watch a movie twenty-five years from now. Similarly, maintaining your home and a car would cost three times more than it costs today. Is your money growing as fast as prices are rising? By not learning how to invest, it is almost certain that you will end up struggling financially in your twilight years. That is what I call truly risky! Not investing really leads to 'high risk and no return'.
To your success
'I lost half my savings when the stock market crashed' 'Every time I buy a stock, it seems to go down.'
'I should have kept my money in the bank instead.'
'Investing is risky, you can lose your capital'
' Buying stocks is like gambling'
This aversion to investing is compounded by the fact that we were taught by finance courses, banks and financial advisers that 'high risk leads to high return'. In order to earn high returns, you must be a risk taker! And since most people don't like the idea of taking big risks, they never ever aspire to achieve high returns with their money. As a result of past painful experiences and well-intentioned advice from ignorant friends, many people have developed a phobia for investing.
They believe that 'investing is too risky' and 'it's safer to keep my money in the bank.' And so they resign themselves to earning measly returns of 2%-3% from their fixed deposit accounts. Consequently, they have lost out on one of the most powerful wealth building tools available, and the opportunity to retire young and wealthy. What's worse is that by not investing, these people actually experience the devaluation of their hard earned savings from the effects of inflation. Thinking they have saved enough money to retire comfortably after twenty years of hard work, they realize too late that everything around them has doubled or even tripled in price! Think about that $9 movie ticket that used to cost $3 in the 1980s. Inflation would almost guarantee that you will be paying more than $27 to watch a movie twenty-five years from now. Similarly, maintaining your home and a car would cost three times more than it costs today. Is your money growing as fast as prices are rising? By not learning how to invest, it is almost certain that you will end up struggling financially in your twilight years. That is what I call truly risky! Not investing really leads to 'high risk and no return'.
To your success
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Is Investing really risky?
Is it really true that investing is risky? The answer is... itdepends.
The risk in an activity very much depends on the level ofcompetence of the person doing that activity. For example, is it risky to drive a car? Well, if you have never gone for any driving lessons and have no idea how to read road signs, engage the gears or to use yourside-view mirrors, then there is a high chance that you could getyourself badly hurt or even killed.
However, if you have a thorough understanding of how to drive well,then driving is a low risk activity.Similarly, investing is risky when you don't know what you aredoing. The scary thing is that the majority of people who investtheir hard earned money in the stock market do not know what theyare doing. Many people who buy shares of companies have little or no knowledgeof how to invest. They are like that driver who has no clue abouthow to work the gears or the rules of the road. This is because you do not need to take a license or be qualified to be an investor.Just about anybody can do it!Most amateur investors do not even have a basic understanding ofthe economic cycle and how interest rates and oil prices affect theglobal economy & the stock market. They have no clue as to where and how to read financial reportsthat will impact the stock markets. Most have very little financial& accounting knowledge and do not know how to value the worth ofthe company's shares they are buying. In fact, I am often shocked when I hear of people who invest in acompany without even understanding what business the company isinvolved in, let alone understand the company's business strategy. In the highway of investing, over 70% of investors (mostly thegeneral public) are driving around without the basic skills ofmotoring! This is why many of them crash and burn their hard earned money.
For the majority of people out there with little financial competence, investing is truly high risk and maybe high return(depends a lot on blind luck). To me these people are not investorsbut gamblers. For such people, I would strongly advise them to learn how to driveor to leave their money in the bank or under their pillow!When you have a thorough understanding of the stock market & therules of investing, then investing is no longer risky! When youknow exactly what you are doing, you can achieve extremely highreturns, with very low risk!
To Your investing
success
The risk in an activity very much depends on the level ofcompetence of the person doing that activity. For example, is it risky to drive a car? Well, if you have never gone for any driving lessons and have no idea how to read road signs, engage the gears or to use yourside-view mirrors, then there is a high chance that you could getyourself badly hurt or even killed.
However, if you have a thorough understanding of how to drive well,then driving is a low risk activity.Similarly, investing is risky when you don't know what you aredoing. The scary thing is that the majority of people who investtheir hard earned money in the stock market do not know what theyare doing. Many people who buy shares of companies have little or no knowledgeof how to invest. They are like that driver who has no clue abouthow to work the gears or the rules of the road. This is because you do not need to take a license or be qualified to be an investor.Just about anybody can do it!Most amateur investors do not even have a basic understanding ofthe economic cycle and how interest rates and oil prices affect theglobal economy & the stock market. They have no clue as to where and how to read financial reportsthat will impact the stock markets. Most have very little financial& accounting knowledge and do not know how to value the worth ofthe company's shares they are buying. In fact, I am often shocked when I hear of people who invest in acompany without even understanding what business the company isinvolved in, let alone understand the company's business strategy. In the highway of investing, over 70% of investors (mostly thegeneral public) are driving around without the basic skills ofmotoring! This is why many of them crash and burn their hard earned money.
For the majority of people out there with little financial competence, investing is truly high risk and maybe high return(depends a lot on blind luck). To me these people are not investorsbut gamblers. For such people, I would strongly advise them to learn how to driveor to leave their money in the bank or under their pillow!When you have a thorough understanding of the stock market & therules of investing, then investing is no longer risky! When youknow exactly what you are doing, you can achieve extremely highreturns, with very low risk!
To Your investing
success
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