January 29, 2012

Just a quick thought of mine...

Investing in this economy can be an intricate process given all of the confusing signals evident within the current global economy.  In an economy such as this, people try to pay off bad debts and increase savings as a means to "wait it out" before putting their capital back to work in the market again.  But this strategy seems to put the average citizen in a bad predicament because they actually lose money this way.

Why put your money in a savings account when the government is doing everything in its power to force you to not save but instead invest?  By lowering interest rates near zero, QE1, QE2, and secretly implementing QE3 - our Federal Reserve (which is privately owned by other banks) is devaluing the dollar's value.

So, therefore, we have an incentive to invest our money instead of saving it.

Well, if we're going to invest...and we should....it may be smart to put our money into commodities and other tangible assets.  With virtually every central bank around the globe creating money out of thin air - eventually there's going to be too much money chasing not enough assets.  This creates supply and demand imbalances - which creates opportunities for us who will be ready to take advantage of these opportunities.  It might be beneficial to diversify our money into physical silver, gold, agriculture, REITs, and ETFs that invest in a basket of commodities - because these investments will help give us a profitable portfolio in the long-term.  Just by investing in REITs alone (which are Real Estate Investment Trusts), I earn close to 15-20% return on my money via dividends.  This is a lot better than putting all of my money into a savings or money market account that earns a miniscule 1% or 2%.

These are some of the investments I like and invest in little by little.  Eventually, this strategy will help us to preserve our capital and avoid the capital eroding policies created by the government.

BE FREE 

January 28, 2012

Sometimes it's more than just money...

In today's economy, people are doing the best they can to stay afloat and make ends meet.  Every family (poor, middle-class, and rich) is suffering from the loss of wealth, loss of employment, underemployment, taxes or some other form of financial burden.  Not to mention political sophistry, corporate distrust, and a growing gap between the rich and poor brought on by the Federal Reserve.

Things are difficult right now.  And it's causing emotional, mental, and physical stress within our families and other relationships.

But amid everything that's going wrong or right in our lives - there remains an incentive to be optimistic about the future:

  1. Being optimistic will allow one to discover opportunities for wealth creation within their situation
  2. Optimists have a higher probability of changing their situation from bad to good 
  3. Optimists are generally healthier than pessimists
  4. It's better to "tough it out" in this economy with friends and family, than it is to go it alone
I'm no relationship guru - I tend to stick more with financial analytics.  However, health is directly tied to wealth and to be successful and enjoy your wealth (or soon to be wealth), then you must be healthy...(i.e. optimistic).  

Sometimes, it's more than just money.

BE FREE

January 19, 2012

In the cube

Working in the cube has its perks...but ask yourself :
1. Am I reaching my potential?
2. Is this the same stinking cube I want to see for the next decade of my life?
3. Will I make more than enough money here?

If your answer to these questions is no - then we have to reassess where we are in life and change course.  Don't let the cube hold you back from what you want to achieve in life.  

Will future generations look back on your life and say, "Grandad (or Grandma ) stayed in a mediocre job working in the cube and didnt take many chances.  He/She followed the "safe" path and didn't make enough money for retirement.

Follow your passions. Don't follow the herd because "everyone else" seems to be!

BE FREE



Interesting article!