The 3 Prong Approach to Hanging In There

When the economy goes south and the media bombards us with grim news of escalating unemployment, company bankruptcies and home foreclosures, it sure sends a shiver down your spine.

However, If you go down history lane you will see that bad times and good times are just part and parcel of the cycle of life. It would be immature to expect global financial prosperity to increase positively ad infinitum.

As Jim Rohn, the great motivational speaker wisely put it, every 10 years is very much like the last ten years. Some years have more opportunities than challenges and some years will have more challenges than opportunities. You have guessed it right - these are the years when we are faced with more challenges. But all the same, opportunities do exist.

The good thing about all this is that bad times do not last forever and new opportunities arise amidst the doom and gloom. I will offer you 3 simple tactics to see you through the tough times. If you stay positive and search and ask and knock, you will survive and set yourself up for greater success when the tide turns.

Tip Number 1 - You need to learn new things. Albert Einstein, the science genius said we cannot improve our situation unless we first improve ourselves.

1a) You therefore need to learn new ways of making money to safe guard your current lifestyle or replace a failed source of income. Be creative and use the skills and knowledge you have or go to school and acquire new skills.

1b) You can also make use of the large availability of skills and knowledge of the people who have been laid of. Can you imagine how expensive and difficult it would be to tap into this labor market when the economy is at its peak? This is a golden chance to partner with others who are waiting for someone like you to shine a light in their gloomy tunnel.

1c) Reduce the amount of time you watch negative news and listen to friends and family complaints. If you commit your life to negative things you will feel discouraged and hopeless and hence attract the same things you fear in your life.

Tip number 2 - You must change your habits and attitudes towards money. According to David Bach, author of "Start Late, Finish Rich", 50% of Americans have less than $50,000 in savings. In fact almost a third (30%) have less than $1,000 in savings. This means the average family does not save for a rainy day. Well, it is raining heavily now and it is hurting badly because families do not have adequate savings to sustain them as they look for alternative sources of income.

2a) Create a budget, examine your bank accounts and credit card accounts with a surgeons scalpel and slash off unnecessary expenses and stop the bleeding. Remember to focus on the big expenses too. We all have a habit of focussing on the small stuff and we forget the items which have a large impact on our finances.

For example. If you cannot afford to rent a 3-bedroom apartment, i am sorry you worry so much about the Joneses but please down grade next month and save a couple hundred bucks. Downgrading your lifestyle is an economic strategy and should not mean you will never rise up again.

2b) You also need to stop spending what you do not have. Most people confuse credit cards with money and they assume available credit means money in the bank. If you recognize the difference you will save yourself high interest fees and unnecessary and unaffordable expenses.

Tip number 3 - Invest your money. Keep your money in accounts that generate income. Avoid keeping money in non-interest earning or low-interest earning accounts e.g. checking accounts and bank saving accounts.

3a) Look out for high interest earning money markets and certificates of deposits which are federally insured to protect you against bank failure.

3b) Longterm investments should mainly be in stocks that pay dividends. This ensures you will receive an income as you wait for the stock market to improve and for stock prices to rise.

Above three tips can be summarized as personal development that creates additional sources of income while investing funds in accounts that generate income in excess of the rate of inflation.

You can also read the following hub on money saving tips http://hubpages.com/hub/Ten-Common-Mistakes-About-Money

 

Investment Strategy 101 for the Newbie Investor

 Stock picking is in many ways similar to choosing a spouse. If you have a lot of money, your options are countless. If you have no money, then you may not have to bother and everyone will understand your position. For many people, their money situation lies somewhere in between the two extremes.

In this article I will assume you are a first time investor with very little investment knowledge but with a big desire to succeed and a lot of hope and confidence

Inorder to pick the most suitable stock, you only need to follow 3 simple steps.

Step 1 - LIST. Make a list of prospective stocks by listing 10 companies that you know to be successful and which you believe have a promising future.

How? Examine your lifestyle and look at the products and services that you pay for repeatedly. This means that you like the products and you believe in the companies that make them. For example if you regularly eat the big Mac, you shave with Gillette blades and drink Coca Cola, then put McDonalds, Gillette and Coca Cola on the list. You do not have to go with these obvious examples. Examine your expenses and you will see many more public companies that you spend your money on.

Why? Investing is about taking a step of faith. You are more likely to take my advice if you generate a list of companies that you are familiar with and those that have earned your trust

Step 2 - WEED. Examine the list and weed out the stocks that are not great candidates at this time.

How? Remove from your list all companies with stock prices less than $50. Google the companies in the revised list for expert reviews and remove a company if at least 2 investment experts indicate negative future performance or possibility of negative news regarding the company.

Why? If a company has a price above $50, it means the public already has considerable confidence in the future success of the company. Negative news and performance generally will adversely affect the short term price of a stock. You should not invest in a stock that is likely to lose value as soon as you buy it.

Step 3 - PICK. . Choose the stock with the best of the following 3 aspects. Highest price, Best expert reviews and Most consistent price growth over the last 3 years. The following statement is the most important thing about this whole investment strategy. If you forget everything else, please remember this one statement.

When? Invest in the chosen stock when and only when you notice that a large investor has started to buy this stock. Sell this stock on the day you notice that a large investor is selling this stock.

How? You can track stock price and investor performance on websites that provide free charts on publicly traded stocks e.g. bigcharts.com and stockcharts.com . You can buy the stock you choose using websites such as Scottrade.com, etrade.com,

Why? Large investors such as mutual funds buy and sell stocks in large quantities worth millions of dollars. This means they cannot sell or buy the stock they want in one transaction. They normally take more than a week to buy or sell stocks. If you examine the volume and price chart of a particular stock, you can be able to tell when a large investor is buying or selling. Since price is determined by the economics law of supply and demand, when a large investor is buying the stock the demand is high and the price will increase. When a large investor is selling a stock, the supply is high and the price will fall.

If you find this information helpful, or if you have something to ask or add, please let me know by writing your comment.

You can also read my other article on Ten Things To Know Before You Invest at http://hubpages.com/hub/Ten-Things-To-Know-Before-You-Invest.

 

The most important things for a newbie marketer are the following;

1- FREE, FREE, FREE. Where do you get business ideas, tools and information for FREE. Most newbies do not have much money to risk. The good thing is that the internet is full of FREE stuff. If you have time on your hands then you can always search and find a low cost solution for almost any problem.

2- SYSTEM, SYSTEM, SYSTEM. There are millions of ways to make money on the internet. Some are simple, others are complex and many need alot of information and experience. The best question to ask yourself before you embark on any venture is whether you fully understand how the SYSTEM works all the way from product selection to receiving money in your bank account. If you don't understand the system you will get frustrated and lose interest in the business.

3- INFORMATION, INFORMATION, INFORMATION. Birds of a feather flock together. Join at least 2 internet marketing forums and blogs and participate consistently for at least 2 hours every week. Within 6 months you will have acquired enough information to fine tune your business and branch out to something more suitable to your ability and taste. The advantage of a forum is that participants have a common purpose and you will benefit from questions posed by other newbies and answered by experienced marketers. Join the free blogs and forums at first.

When you start making money then it is time to pay to become an apprentice to one of the I.M. gurus. The gurus will teach you the secrets of catapulting your business to the $100,000 a year range but be prepared to pay for most of the tools. The good thing is that by this time you will cease to be a newbie and you will be able to make better cost-benefit decisions for the business.

Read the article "How I made my first internet marketing sale" at http://hubpages.com/hub/How-I-Made-My-First-Internet-Marketing-Sale

This article offers a simple step by step guide on how you can make your first sale.

Every one loves to be admired and every one loves to be considered smart. Research shows that we tend to overrate our abilities. The same is true for your banker. So next time you consider applying for a business loan try this strategy that appeals to your bankers sense of importance.

Step 1 – Prepare a good business plan. Ensure you clearly show the expected financing required, revenues, related expenditure and expected net income on a summary page. Prepare two scenarios, worst case and reasonably good. Have the two plans professionally prepared and bound. Hide the worst case plan and only show it if someone twists your arm.

Step 2 – Go to a credit union and ask to see the senior loans manager. Asking for a senior officer makes people take you seriously. You also want to get to someone senior who has some leeway in making decisions.

Step 3 – Tell the loans manager that you have been thinking about something for a long while and before you make final decisions you have decided to SEEK HIS ADVICE. Place the plan in front of him and let him browse through before you explain what the plan is all about. We all hate desperate people, look confident and thoughtful. Do not mention the word loan or look eager to discuss the financing part. Give a neutral facial expression and let him be the first to mention loan or financing.

Step 4 – When the loans manager mentions possible financing terms, it is time to do the opposite of how Regular Joe would react. Grab the plan and tell him that you need a week to think about it. Thank him very much, promise to get back to him and leave the office.  

Step 5 – Go to your regular bank and explain to them that the credit union is ready to finance your plan but you are wondering if they could beat the credit union by offering a better deal. 

Step 6 – Go back to the credit union loans manager as promised on the seventh day and tell him you bumped into your regular banker and he offered you a reasonably good deal. He will ask to see the bank deal so make sure you have something on paper.  

Step 7 – Negotiate a good deal with the credit union manager. The issue this time round is not whether you will get a loan or not, but how the deal will be structured. 

Try this strategy and let us know your feedback.