The Market Daily

McDonald’s Stock Dividend Analysis: Is The Stock a Must-Buy?

2019-02-04T01:59:00.002-08:00

Here we evaluate McDonald’s stock dividend as a viable investment opportunity. Do you think MCD stock is a must buy? Let’s dig in.

McDonald’s Stock Dividend Analysis: Is The Stock a Must-Buy?

Before we dive into our McDonald’s stock dividend analysis here are a few high-level themes of the stock and its valuation:

Income investors should prioritize volatility reduction as well as dividend yield and dividend growth;
3M is my top pick of the dividend aristocrats as it better fits the aforementioned criteria;
The second place among the selected goes to McDonald’s;
Due to the low correlation of returns with the other stocks, McDonald’s should be in every income portfolio;

I created a book titled Dividend Investing Your Way to Financial Freedom to help you increase your income and build wealth at the same time.

If you want a sample of the book, you can download it here.

I believe that investing in dividend stocks enables you to increase your income and build perpetual wealth. It’s one of the few asset classes that enables you to do this. Real estate has similar characteristics, but it doesn’t have the same level of liquidity.

Investment Thesis in McDonald’s Stock Dividend

Income investors building a portfolio for retirement are usually looking for stocks to buy-and-hold thus they focus on dividend yield and dividend growth, disregarding capital gains for the most part.

As a dividend growth investor myself, I believe these investors should also consider dividend stability and stock price volatility. The importance of stable dividends is intuitive. The rationale for the importance of volatility is that although capital gains can be somewhat disregarded by investors who only seek a passive income, it’s very likely that they experience psychologic pressure from big losers.

I decided to mimic the stock selection process considering all these criteria: Dividend Yield, Dividend Stability, Historical Dividend Growth (as a proxy for future growth) and Stock Price Volatility.

Giving special attention to the latter and including some qualitative insight I arrived at the conclusion 3M Company (MMM) is the best stock to own in a retirement portfolio.

Additionally, I found that McDonald’s (MCD) share price returns have the lowest correlation not only with that of 3M Company but also with that of all other top dividend payers. In a 50/50 portfolio, MCD is always the best second choice to minimize volatility regardless of the first stock added to the portfolio.

Selection Process of McDonald’s

The base for the selection was the 2019 list of Dividend Aristocrats. Since it includes stocks that have been paying and growing dividends for at least 25 years, I believe this list is a good proxy for dividend stability.

To be in the list, the stocks also need to be in the S&P 500, which is a valuable criterion in terms of size and liquidity.

Source: SureDividend.com

There are currently 57 stocks in that list so I started by selecting the top 30 with the largest dividend yields because this is the primary source of return for this type of investors. Beware of dividend yield because it isn’t always a good thing to have a higher yield. I’d rather rely on profit growth for my dividend investments.

In fact, we like to look for low dividend yielding stocks with a very high likelihood of increasing dividends in the future. No matter the economic conditions.

This was done using my FINVIZ premium screening. This is a must have for any investor. You can find so many new opportunities. There are a million ways to make money in the stock market.

All of the 30 stocks selected have a yield of 2.5% or more.

Top dividend yield Dividend Aristocrats, sorted by yield. Sourced from Finviz.com

In the next step, I collected the annual growth rate of the dividends paid in the last 10 years (2008 – 2018) and discovered the average rate of dividend increase across these 30 stocks is 9%. Then I dropped the ones below the average and only 11 remained.

So now we have the top half dividend payers with above-average (and average) dividend growth. It’s time to check stock price volatility. Volatile stocks aren’t necessarily a bad thing. They can provide more opportunity.

I used the standard deviation of returns for that and this is what I got:

Sourced from Yahoo! Finance Historical Data

3M Company popped out as the one with the lowest volatility among peers, closely followed by McDonald’s.

That’s mostly why MMM is my top pick among the Aristocrats, but also because I believe that over the long term a lot of industry dynamics change dramatically, so it makes sense to add stocks with diversified business models with a global presence and strong track record. That’s 3M!

Building an Income Portfolio

The thing about building a portfolio under these circumstances is that the expected return is the dividend yield, and since I’ve selected my yield range already, I can now focus on minimizing volatility. I’ll do that following a mean-variance approach, although I won’t be solving the algorithm to find the allocations (I’ll leave that to another article).

Assuming a long position on 3M, what would be the best stock (among the other 10) to add to this retirement portfolio? That’s the question I wanted to answer.

In the process, I realized some of the stocks like Cardinal Health (CAH), AbbVie (ABB) and MCD had a particularly low correlation with all the others.

Sourced from Yahoo! Finance Historical Data

After computing the combinations, the best stock to combine with MMM was MCD. What’s more, if I started with any of the other stocks, MCD would still be the best stock to add in order to minimize portfolio volatility.

Hence the conclusion that McDonald’s is the second best stock to add to a dividend portfolio.

Considerations of McDonald’s Stock Price

This is a very simplistic approach to both stock picking and portfolio management. It is mostly designed to illustrate income investors should consider more than the dividend yield.

Ideally, stock selection would incorporate further business research and portfolio management would involve a proper implementation of the Modern Portfolio Theory. As an equity investor, you are lowest on the capital stack. Thus, you need to be aware that you are paid after taxes, debt investors, payroll. That is why equity investing has its risks.

At the same time, dividend investing has its rewards.

Why?

Dividend investing can provide a recovery of capital to investors through dividend payments while maintaining the same equity upside as growth stocks. In your eyes, what’s better dividends or growth?

The answer is both. You can capture both by investing in the right stocks.

Conclusion on McDonald’s Stock Dividend

I believe volatility should be considered by buy-and-hold income investors.

With that in mind and following a sequential analytical process, I concluded 3M Company is the best stock to own among dividend aristocrats, especially if you’re building a retirement portfolio or looking to earn some long-term passive income.

Additionally, I found that incorporating McDonald’s stock to any previous individual selection will reduce volatility, hence MCD is always the best second retirement stock.

What do you think of McDonald’s stock dividend? Please let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you.

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2 Days in Amsterdam: A Complete Itinerary to See Everything

2019-02-01T02:50:00.001-08:00

I’ve built up a pretty hefty sum of rewards points thanks to recent account openings. Also, I continue to reap some awesome benefits from prior cards.

2 Days in Amsterdam: A Complete Itinerary to See Everything

Thanks to my American Express Platinum card I’m heading back to Europe! I can’t wait to share some of my travel experiences with you.

I’m very excited to provide a guide to Amsterdam and a full itinerary. It’s one of those places that I’ve been wanting to write about for a long time. Amsterdam is one of my favorite cities in the world. In fact, I would totally live there if I were given the opportunity.

Thanks to travel hacking, I’ve found another way back to Europe!

The good thing is that it only cost me ~$170 to fly directly into Schipol airport from Minnesota. Not bad right?

Booking the trip was easy and well worth it.

I love to book my travel with Booking.com. They have a great interface that allows me to book the best-priced travel around the world. Find your next destination and go!

Booking.com

How I Travel Hacked to Europe (Amsterdam)

With the American Express Platinum Card, you get $200 in airline credits each calendar year. Yes, calendar year. So, I typically fly Delta.

I bought 4 $50 gift cards for Delta Airlines during the year. In addition, you get 60,000 bonus points when you sign up along with $15 per month in Uber credits. I opened this card because I was already over the Chase 5/24 rule.

AND you get lounge access across the world. I will definitely be letting you know how my lounge access goes while I’m waiting to board this flight to Amsterdam.

I used each one of those to buy a $370 flight direct into Amsterdam. I found this low of a flight via Scott’s Cheap Flights. From there, I plan on using my American Express Membership Rewards Points to book hotels or even use Airbnb for my stays around Europe depending on cost.

I’ve already been to Amsterdam a few times already, so I’m only spending 2 days there. Amsterdam is one of those cities that you can likely cover in 2 or 3 days.

However, it’s the culture, charm and the experience that leaves you coming back for more. It’s the latter that makes me want to live there for an eternity.

This is the first stop of my trip to Europe. From Amsterdam, I’m taking the high-speed rail to Paris and then onto West Germany along the Rhine River.

My 2 Days in Amsterdam Itinerary

I’m so excited to give you my 2 days in Amsterdam itinerary, so you can plan your trip to the amazing capital of the Netherlands.

In order to plan my 2-day itinerary in Amsterdam, I made a list of some of my favorite things to do in Amsterdam:

Anne Frank House
Rijksmuseum
Van Gogh
Dam Square
Heineken Tour
Canal Booze Cruise
Vondelpark (weather permitting, but still worth the sunset no matter what time of year)
Red Light District (duh)
Rooftop at The W
The Bulldog / Abraxas
Ride bikes around Amsterdam (no matter the weather conditions)
Foodhallen
All the amazing restaurants and hip drinking establishments (who doesn’t love Heineken?)

This is not necessarily in order of priority. However, use this list as a way to plan your 2 days in Amsterdam. Each person has separate priorities. For me, I love cultural experiences and museums. Other people might love food only.

For example, riding bikes in Amsterdam has this cultural mystique that I simply can’t explain. It’s amazing and refreshing. I love the sounds of bike bells and quietness rather than the loud-obnoxious car honking.

Day One in Amsterdam: Museum Day & Entertainment

On your first day in Amsterdam, I think you should prioritize the various museums including the Anne Frank house. I love how Amsterdam is set up. You can visit nearly all the museums in a few hours span.

Thanks to Museumplein, which is a big park where all the art galleries (including the Van Gogh Museum and Rijksmuseum are located). In terms of priority for the museums, I suggest that you arrive early and start in the following order:

Anne Frank House: Lines get very very very long. Buy your tickets as soon as possible. Like right now… Even if you are leaving in 3 months. It’s only 10 Euros. The Anne Frank House (or Anne Frank Huis) only takes about 15-30 minutes to visit.
Van Gogh Museum: Van Gogh can also get very busy. Plus, it’s a smaller venue. It can get jammed in there during the afternoon, so if you go early enough you won’t have to deal with the people.
Rijksmuseum: The Rijksmuseum is a lot bigger than the Van Gogh museum so you can actually get lost in there. Plus, there are a lot more things to see. You can arrive at the museum later in the day since it’s so big. You won’t feel as crammed as the Anne Frank House or Van Gogh Museum. I can’t wait to visit it again!

From there, I highly suggest that you proceed from Museumplein towards Dam Square, Red Light District and Old Town. You will find a number of amazing restaurants and good scenery to enjoy a beer (or two) along one of the many canals.

The walk I suggest you take from Museumplein is through Leidesplein, but take the scenic route through the tail end of Vondelpark. When you get to Leidesplein, you can stop for an outdoor beer and bask in a number of different entertainment venue. Here is how you should do it:

Walk from Museumplein through Vondelpark to Leidesplein
Walk from Leidesplein to the Bloemenmarkt (flower market)
From there, walk up to the church of Saint Nicholas (you will see many of the amazing spots): The Church of Saint Nicholas is right by my favorite spot aka ‘the corner’, which is what I believe is the best canal view in all of Amsterdam.

This walk will ensure you see some amazing spots.

Take your time as you stroll through the city center. You should make it up to the Church of Saint Nicholas by sunset. It’s very pretty over there and you will be glad that you did. There are a lot of good restaurants in that area as well for a nice dinner that I’m sure you will enjoy.

Plus, you will want to visit the Red Light District at night time of course. Trust me it’s not as exciting during the day time.

How’s that for your first day in Amsterdam? During your first day you can say that you accomplished the following:

Anne Frank House
The entire Museumplein including Van Gogh Museum, Rijksmuseum
Then, you venture through Vondelpark
Leidseplein
Bloemenmarkt
The main canals
Red Light District

That’s a great way to cap off your first full day in Amsterdam, now what about your second day in Amsterdam?

Day Two in Amsterdam: Exploration and Amazing Food + Drinks

For day two in Amsterdam, we want to experience more the culture, food and people. We covered a lot of ground in our first day of the Amsterdam itinerary. This will combine just outright exploration and great food spots plus drinks.

Start out your day by getting a coffee and breakfast near your location. We’ll want to grab some bikes for our second day in Amsterdam. We’re going exploring!

Get some good breakfast, you are going to need it. Our bike tour starts now and lasts 6 kilometers.

Assuming you are staying near Centruum, you’ll start out there where you will rent your bikes. There are plenty of places to rent a bike in Amsterdam.

No matter the weather conditions this is a must-do while in Amsterdam. Here is a map of my recommended personal bike tour around Amsterdam. The red flag is where we will end.

Here is the lowdown on the personal bike tour:

Start in lower Centruum
Do a slow bike ride through the amazing canals and by the House Boat Museum to finally stop at Foodhallen for lunch. Foodhallen is an amazing compilation of food establishments. Try Bitterballen at De Ballen Bar. It’s amazing!
From Foodhallen, you will want to proceed through Jordaan one of the most majestic and friendly neighborhoods of Amsterdam. This is a very local area that has amazing cheese shops. Save room for your bike basket and load up on some cheese to bike home.
Through Jordaan, we will bike up to the top of Centruum near Centraal station. You will have to bike down the main corridor. This is a great way to see the hustle and bustle of Amsterdam’s busiest streets. Don’t worry it’s bike friendly.
Finally, you will end at the Royal Palace of Amsterdam and Dam Square. The Royal Palace is one of three palaces in the Netherlands which are at the disposal of the monarchy. It is situated on the west side of Dam Square, opposite the War Memorial and next to the Nieuwe Kerk.

Personal Bike Tour of Amsterdam Map

This day should combine enough good food and history to keep your hearts filled. Six kilometers of biking in Amsterdam is easy. There’s so many spots to link your bike up and explore. So, take your time and enjoy the scenery.

Whatever you do, you MUST rent a bike in Amsterdam. If there are any parting words, FIND A BIKE.

Conclusion on My 2 Days in Amsterdam Itinerary

Amsterdam is a city that is filled with things to do. In fact, you might see it all in a day or two. I can guarantee that you will be wanting to go back for more. It’s a city filled with mystique and great vibes.

The best part of the two-day itinerary in Amsterdam is that you can always switch around your days. I made these in pairs so that if you prefer you can do the second day first. These 48 hours in Amsterdam will leave you speechless about the city. If you are travel hacking your way to Amsterdam, don’t make these churning mistakes along the way.

I’d imagine that you would have a hard time saying that you didn’t accomplish enough or you didn’t see it all.

Contact me for any additional questions and stay tuned for an update on my experience in Amsterdam.

What do you think of my 2 days in Amsterdam itinerary? Let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you!

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The Secret to Dividend Investing is Profit Growth [Here’s Why]

2019-01-31T04:25:00.002-08:00

Profit and earnings growth is paramount to a dividend investing strategy. Here’s why profit growth is so important with investing.

The Secret to Dividend Investing is Profit Growth [Here’s Why]

Growing dividends are the main motivation for many investors. Accordingly, most criteria for stock selection are dividend-focused. However, in the long run, reliable and growing dividends are only possible if company profits are reliable and growing as well.

Dividend history good – all good?

Nevertheless, long-term profit-growth is usually only of secondary importance when choosing dividend stocks. Popular terms like Dividend Aristocrats have no equivalent on the profit-growth side. At least I haven’t heard of profit aristocrats yet. I suppose there are two main reasons for this.

When I check Personal Capital, I’m able to see my various investments and cash flow for free. Use this tool to evaluate your income and investment diversification.

If you want to invest your money effectively, you’ll need to know how an options trading strategy fits within your investing goals. Millionaire Mob wrote a dividend investing book to help people get started investing.

The book is titled Dividend Investing Your Way to Financial Freedom and features a number of resources to help you invest for financial freedom, including:

Improve your portfolio returns
Understand the pros and cons of a dividend investing approach
Develop and craft your own dividend investing strategy
Build wealth through a long-term compound interest plan

If you want a sample of the book, you can download it here.

Why Everyone Should Consider a Dividend Growth Investing Strategy

First, dividends generate predictable cash-flow. The popularity of dividend calendars reflects the importance of this fact. The only alternative to creating cash-flow from your investment would be to sell some of your stocks, transforming a passive income investor into a small-size-trader, which is barely unacceptable for the majority.

Hence, without dividends, stocks would be of no interest to many investors. It, therefore, seems obvious to base the selection of stocks essentially on dividend-related criteria.

Second, the focus on dividends is based on the idea that dividends are predictable, contrary to a company’s profit and capital gains. Dividend aristocrats seem to have proven this, having successfully defied economic crises and price slumps by increasing dividends reliably over decades.

This explains the focus of many investors on the dividend history, while profit-growth as selection criteria is only included indirectly using snapshot-like metrics such as the payout ratio.

How Long-Term Profit Growth Pairs with Dividends

However, it is undeniable that long-term dividend increase must be financed by long-term profit increase. Consequently, companies with long-term profit increase, exist.

If we were able to identify these companies directly based on profit related metrics, we would no longer be dependent on dividend based metrics like the dividend history as an indicator of long-term profit-growth.

We could then even find promising dividend stocks that may not have a long dividend history because they just started paying dividends a few years ago or, in case of doubt, would rather keep the dividend constant than increase it by a symbolic cent.

Our expected yield would also increase since the overall yield on the stock market is composed of dividends plus capital gains for the dividend investor. The same goes for any other investor as well. At the end of the day, growing company profits in the long run always lead to capital gains. That is why I don’t always look at annual dividend yield when investing.

Then, the question arises of how long-term profit development is quantified.

Quantifying Long-term Profit Growth

There are several ways to quantify and analyze long-term profit growth in investing, not just a dividend growth investment strategy. You can evaluate profit growth through the compound annual growth rate of a company, profit stability and by analyzing both profit and growth together.

I love pairing together the quality of growing profits plus dividends in a dividend reinvestment plan. This helps ensure that I continue to take advantage of the compound interest snowball.

I build a dividend calculator to help you sensitize what it will take to live completely off dividends. It literally takes 5 minutes to input your plan.

The Compound Annual Growth Rate

It seems obvious to quantify long-term profit-growth on the basis of an average increase over several years. This is done by calculating the compound annual growth rate (CAGR). The problem is that the CAGR only takes into account the data points at the beginning and at the end of the period. Whether the quantified metric, e.g. profits, collapsed in the middle of the period or remained constant is irrelevant for the calculation result.

For companies with unreliable profit-growth, the growth rate becomes a matter of luck, changing dramatically from year to year.

Chevron 5-Year Growth in Profit

Chevron: The 5-year growth rates of profits are unreliable

Subsequently, the CAGR is inadequate for the search of companies with reliably profit-growths. A different metric is needed.

Profit Stability

Stable profit-growth means that profits have increased by a similar, predictable level each year. This can be quantified by calculating the correlation between time and profit evolution.

The result is a value between -1 to +1. A +1 stands for a perfect match between time and profits. At +1, the profits look if drawn on a ruler; at -1, they would have fallen accordingly. A zero, on the other hand, would indicate that there is no relationship between time and profits. In this case, profits seem to rise and fall arbitrarily.

I really don’t want to be in the business of forecasting dividends. I can really start with forecasting profit growth and then make dividend assumptions from there.

This is what a company with stable profits looks like:

Church & Dwight Profit Stability

Long-term profit-growth of Church & Dwight (CHD) with profit stability of + 0.98

This is a company with lacking profit-growth stability:

AT&T Profit Stability

Long-term profit-growth of AT&T (T) with profit stability of + 0.22

The example of AT&T shows that the title of dividend aristocrat does not necessarily imply stable profit-growth. And it is no coincidence that AT&T’s dividend increase of just over 2% per year is very low.

Moreover, it is hardly surprising that investment in Church & Dwight over the past 20 years has been much more lucrative than an investment in AT&T.

Combining profit-growth and profit-stability

The CAGR alone is unreliable because it ignores everything between the start and the end. This shortcoming is eliminated by the consideration of profit-stability. In the quest for companies with long-term profit-growth, investors should focus on companies with stable profit-growth, e.g. by filtering for companies with an earnings correlation greater than 0.8. The CAGR makes only sense for companies meeting such criteria.

The combination of profit-growth and profit-stability can be applied not only to earnings but also to other fundamentals such as operating cash-flows, revenues, and even dividends as well. In fact, dividend stability describes the reliability of dividends more accurately and universally than the number of years since dividends have been increased.

More accurately, the number of years is based on a simple Yes or No, while the stability of the dividend takes into account the actual dividend increase. Universally, because of the dividend aristocrats, or the number of years of a dividend increase in general, are a US construct. Outside the US, for example in Germany, dividends are more closely linked to current earnings.

For example, during the financial crisis, SAP did not shy away from merely keeping the dividend constant and has therefore only increased it for 8 years.

Nevertheless, with a dividend correlation of +0.98, SAP has a more stable dividend history than many dividend aristocrats, because their dividend increases were more uneven than those of SAP – even though their dividends were kept constant twice as a result of the Financial Crisis in order not to exceed the 35% payout ratio valid at this date.

SAP Dividend Stability

Dividend history of SAP with a dividend stability of + 0.98

Pair your findings in growth with what the company looks like in its current financial statements.

Combining profit- and dividend-growth

Rather than primarily evaluating the quality of a dividend stock using the dividend history, I prefer a two-pronged approach that takes into account the performance of profits and dividends as well.

As an ESG investor, I do not consider companies with either unstable profit-growth or dividend payments and that do not meet my thresholds for sustainability. To me, these two requirements are universal.

Each investor can decide for himself whether he also wants to apply classic metrics such as years of a dividend increase or pay-out-ratio. Depending on your investment strategy, you may also want to determine a minimum dividend yield, consider the current valuation of the stock or look at liabilities in the balance sheet. As equity investors, you are the lowest on the capital stack. You get remaining profits after everyone else.

A search for promising dividend stocks could look as follows:

Dividend Stock Screening Criteria

The filters on earnings and cash flow stability of at least 0.8 are combined with an increase of earnings and operating cash flows of at least 5% over the last 5 years. Only companies with stable profit-growth remain. In addition, dividend-based criteria are defined. You can follow my exact criteria for finding undervalued dividend stocks.

In this example, their conditions closely match those related to profits. Furthermore, the example filters for stocks with a current dividend yield of more than 2%. Other criteria such as the number of years of dividend increase, debt or valuation are not considered.

Conclusion: Dividends Start with Profit Growth

Dividends are not compensation for pain and suffering. They should neither compensate for an unsatisfactory profit-growth nor compensate for capital losses but should grow in line with growing company profits and capital gains. Volatile stocks actually create great opportunities. You just need to understand profit growth. You’ll be finding diamonds in the rough in no time.

To achieve this, the long-term profit-growth of a company should be considered when selecting stocks. This can be done by combining profit-growth and stability. Consider some of these best dividend investing books to expand your knowledge.

Do you feel comfortable in analyzing profit growth? Please let me know in the comment below. I’d love to hear from you!

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28+ Ways to Get Free Amazon Gift Cards

2019-01-30T02:48:00.001-08:00

Getting an Amazon gift card nowadays is basically like receiving cash. Here are 28+ amazing ways to get free Amazon gift cards.

28+ Ways to Get Free Amazon Gift Cards

Today, there are a dozen ways to make money online. You can earn up to$100 or more worth of free Amazon gift cards. Just like the many apps that pay you real money, there are apps out there that will give you free gift cards. Gift cards nowadays are basically like cash (especially with Amazon). You can get any good that you want via Amazon.

In this article, we will offer you some valuable tips to help you get free Amazon gift cards.

Why Amazon Gift Cards?

Amazon has transformed our way of shopping and is expanding at an incredible rate. It is the future of retail. Having been started several years ago as a bookstore, Amazon has become the one-stop shop for consumers.

With Amazon, you can shop online from the comfort of your home. It offers us an excellent level of convenience where you can browse the items you want online, place an order and it gets delivered to you within a few days.

After the acquisition of Whole Foods, that opened a door (no pun intended) into how we will consume our groceries. Here is an awesome shopping hack at Whole Foods I learned from a combination of the below items.

On Amazon, you can get almost anything and nearly for the lowest markets prices. With free Amazon gift cards, you can order your favorite product for free. Who doesn’t love that? I can get my groceries to some cool gadgets for my home.

Isn’t that interesting? You may now be wondering how you can receive these free Amazon gift cards. Well. There are numerous apps to get free gift cards.

One of the best ways to earn a free Amazon gift card is by participating in surveys where you get awarded points that you can redeem for free Amazon gift cards.

Another exciting way to earn free Amazon gift cards is by downloading the free gift card apps. Then, you can earn points by completing easy tasks including offering reviews on various apps, watching your favorite videos, playing games and scanning receipts and more.

Apps like Drop and Ibotta have helped me earn hundreds of dollars in Amazon gift cards. The best part is that there’s more than just those two cashback apps.

Without much further ado, let’s give you the list of some of our most favorite free gift card apps and ways to get free Amazon gift cards.

List of Ways to Get Free Amazon Gift Cards

There are way too many ways to earn gift cards from Amazon these days. These are definitely the best, most legitimate ways to earn gift cards for free.

Here are the 27 ways to get free Amazon gift cards:

Ipsos I-Say

Joining Ipsos I-say is one of the significant and straightforward ways that one can use to receive a free Amazon gift card. Ipsos I-Say is an app that gets you paid when you participate in surveys or by testing some products. The app also pays you a loyalty bonus at the end of each year for every survey you take.

The bonus makes it possible for you to make up to 600 additional points which you can exchange for an Amazon Card worth $5. There is also free Ipsos that gets you a free entry every time you receive points. These entries can be redeemed for free vacation or contests that cash.

Nielsen National Consumer Panel

Nielsen is a global- renowned statistic company that undertakes various surveys including radio listening and TV watching habits, purchase habits and more. Through their NCP (National Consumer Panel) platform they pay you to shop.

You earn point by scanning barcodes of your every purchase, stating the price you pay for the products, and taking part in simple opinion surveys. Then, you can redeem the points for Amazon gift cards. They also pay you a loyalty bonus when you scan your purchases without missing every week.

Harris Poll

Being one of the oldest research companies in the world, Harris Poll conducts various opinion surveys on consumer habits as well as current events. The surveys earn you redeemable points that you can use to get free Amazon cards. Each survey also earns you one entry into a biweekly cash prize draws as well as cash sweepstakes which are done quarterly or annually.

PrizeRebel

With PrizeRebel you can start earning cash within 10 seconds. It allows you to earn points for just watching adverts, online surveys and when you participate in product trials.

Yes, you figured it right; you earn a point for doing what you love. PrizeRebel gives you a $2 gift card for the surveys as the minimum possible prize.

Global Test Market

Global Test Market is an ideal site for people who live outside the United States. Since 2014, the site has paid over $32 million worth of prizes. It makes it possible for anyone to earn Amazon gift cards even when not in the US.

The surveys include topics about current events and opinions on simple stuff like the movies you watch. They also can invite you to test products that earn you points. The points you earn can be exchanged for free gift Amazon gift cards.

Toluna

Toluna is partially a social media site and also a survey site that has over 10 million members. It offers various surveys and also can invite you to test numerous products.

Toluna is one of the sites that offer many product tests invites more than a majority of other survey sites. The points you earn from the surveys and testing products can be redeemed for gift cards including free Amazon gift cards or cash.

iPoll

iPoll survey site pays as much as $5 for each survey with a $5 bonus for the initial sign-up. The site has even more goodies for you. That’s right; there is a chance for you to get $10 when you undertake your first survey.

Every survey also earns you an entry to a quarterly cash draw of $10,000, and you can participate even outside the United States. Free Amazon gift cards are just one of the ways you can redeem your prizes.

Survey Spot

Survey Spot is one of those survey sites that allow you to redeem your points for free gift cards. Apart from Amazon gift cards which are preferred by many, Survey spot also enable you to exchange your points for iTunes, PayPal, and Airline flyer miles. A quarterly draw of $10,000 is something you can also join as you never know; it might be your lucky day.

YouGov

YouGov has a $20 or 2,000 points bonus for just joining. They also pay 250 points for each survey redeemable when you reach a balance of 5,000 points.

What a great way to earn free Amazon gift cards? You earn points by participating in opinion polls of topics about movies, people, brands, as well as current events.

Test Spin

Test Spin survey site gives you a chance to participate in surveys and also test websites. You can earn up to $600 in the form of free Amazon gift cards every year. It earns you up to $10 for each survey and $30 for every focus group.

Knowledge Panel

Through the Knowledge Panel survey site, you can receive $1 for every survey you undertake. The surveys take as little as 10-15 minute, and you earn an extra $10 after you complete the first survey.

The site offers dial-up access and a computer for those willing to take up the surveys but don’t have internet access at home. You can redeem these points to get free Amazon gift cards.

Amazon Trade-In

Amazon Trade-In is a service offered by Amazon, and it allows you to exchange the items you no longer need such as Kindle E-readers, books, tablets, wireless devise gaming platforms and more.

It allows you to sell even those items you didn’t buy from Amazon. A good example of a trade-in option is selling an old Amazon Kindle and upgrade for a new one. Amazon will give you a Free Amazon gift card with an extra $20 bonus.

Amazon Coupons

When it comes to Amazon Coupon discounts, most of them are instant, but on some other occasions, when you purchase some select items, they give Amazon gift codes.

The best categories of products in which you can get gift cards to include Health, Grocery, and Beauty categories. When you join Amazon Prime, you optimize your options of earning the extra points that will get you Amazon gift cards.

Use your Website to promote Amazon Products

For those who own a website or a blog, you can make money by using Amazon affiliate links. Every time someone buys an item through your link, you earn cash. You can join this by using Amazon Associates to create an account and get paid every month through Amazon gift cards or by cash. Your new affiliate links will earn you cash value and/or Amazon gift cards.

Amazon Mturk/ Mechanical Turk

Amazon Mturk is free to join, and it makes it possible for you to make easy money online undertaking pretty simple online tasks. The tasks usually last a few minutes, and they include data entry, surveys, web research and more.

The site can be a great way of earning yourself Amazon gift cards since they pay using Amazon gift cards or cash. In most cases, the surveys are based on college studies. Mturk is a freelance website that you can also use to increase your income.

Reload Your Amazon Gift Card Balance

When you replenish your Amazon balance, you also earn yourself a cash bonus. Isn’t it cool? To do this, you can purchase a gift card or better still, redeem gift card earned from elsewhere.

Swagbucks

Swagbucks is a sure best-known online site that can help you earn some extra cash. The activities that help you make money in this site include surveys, shopping, playing games, testing products, and Web searches.

Apart from these, watching videos can also earn you money. It makes Swagbucks the desired site for many since it allows you to earn points and money for doing your daily activities. A balance of just $3 can get you a free Amazon gift card.

AppTrailers

Another great free Amazon gift card app would be AppTrailers. With AppTrailers, you receive reward points for app and videos.

When you upload own video clips, you get to earn extra points. Amazon gift cards are just but one way to get pain on AppTrailers.

Bananatic

For just testing apps or games, Bananatic enables you to get free gift cards for performing simple activities. The points you receive from Bananatic can be redeemed for Amazon gift cards.

Apart from testing games, the app allows you to shop online as well as download apps. The higher your activities on the app, the more points you earn.

Gift Wallet

For those of us using Android and iOS devices, Gift Wallet can be resourceful when it comes to testing apps. You can do more than to just test apps since it allows you to earn points for watching videos as well as for undertaking various online tasks. From as low as $3 you can get a free gift card.

MyPoints

The Mypoints site is another free gift card app which is very similar to Swagbucks regarding the activities that earn you do to earn points and how it operates.

The significant difference between them occurs only on how you redeem your points as MyPoints may have lower redemption options for particular gifts. Someone may join both apps and choose the one with best offers each day.

Opinion Outpost

Another survey site that you should consider is Opinion OutPost. It is a survey site that offers you surveys that you can undertake in 10 minutes or less and the points are redeemable when the balance reaches $5.

You might also decide to enter their $10,000 quarterly draw. All these points can be redeemed for cash or free Amazon gift cards. It’s a lot different than Survey Junkie.

Ibotta

Ibotta is a simple mobile app through which you get cash back when you shop. All you need to do is to create an account with Ibotta, shop in one of the 230 Target, Walmart, and CVS among other stores and then upload the receipt on Ibotta as the proof of purchase.

These activities will earn you cash back which, when you shop at eligible stores, you can redeem your reward either as cash or as Amazon Gift Cards.

Use my link to get $10 free for signing up! Ibotta is on my list as one of the best cashback apps to use.

Earning Station

Through this platform, almost any activity online can get you paid. You get paid for activities you would otherwise have done for free. Streak bonus is the platform’s main draw, and with it, you can get a minimum $0.25 for every ten continuous days of activity.

You can also earn as much as $3.50 bonus if you are a regular visitor to the site.

TokenFire Rewards

TokenFire is an Android-only app that lets you play, earn the point and get rewarded. If you are a casual gamer, then this would be an ideal free gift card app for you. For every activity you undertake such as installing or watching ads, you get tokens.

You also get 15 tokens per day for just launching the application. With 5500 tokens, you get a $25 Amazon gift card. When you invite family and friends, you earn more point thus reaching that figure easily.

Product Report Card

It is another great survey site where you get an invitation just 24 hours after you create an account with them. You redeem the points earned after you reach a threshold of $25. You can redeem them as cash or as gift cards.

Quick Thoughts – Express your opinions and earn!

If you are looking for a way to get a free Amazon gift card instantly, then Quick Thoughts is your ideal app. It lets you earn a point on the go, through your Android or iOS phone by taking part in easy and quick survey questions.

For each survey, you earn $3 which you can redeem for Amazon coupons and other free stuff when you hit a $10 balance. If you get screened out, you get an extra $0.10.

Drop App

The Drop app is one of my personal favorites because you earn free gift cards for zero extra work at all. You simply link your credit cards and go. There are plenty of other gift card options in addition to Amazon.

Every time you shop at a location like Starbucks, Chipotle, Whole Foods, Amazon, etc. you earn points. These points are redeemable for free gift cards. What’s not to love?

Conclusion on How to Get Free Amazon Gift Cards

I hope this article will be of assistance to you when you want to find ways to get free Amazon gift cards from wherever you may be. Gift cards might not be the best idea for when you need money instantly. However, passive income might not be entirely for you. There are plenty of cons to passive income.

If you want to start increasing your income, you can follow these ways to earn gift cards and then start flipping product in addition to this such as the following:

The other alternative is to find online jobs for income. Here are 23+ online jobs you can do from anywhere.

Do you have any ideas for free Amazon gift cards? Let us know in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you!

Related Resources:

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Free Amazon Gift Cards

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Top 5 Dividend Income Tracking Software You Must Use

2019-01-29T02:33:00.001-08:00

If you are a big dividend growth investing fan like me, you must track your income on your dividend portfolio. Dividend income tracking software can save you time and money. Here is an overview of the top dividend income trackers you’ll need to follow your portfolio.

Top 5 Dividend Income Tracking Software You Must Use

Dividend income tracking software has become a mainstay for every dividend growth investor. Why? Well, seeing your dividend income roll in every day will motivate you to continually invest and put capital to work.

This will help you take advantage of compound interest. Every dividend income reinvestment (even on a small scale) will compound many years into the future.

If you want to invest your money effectively, you’ll need to know how an options trading strategy fits within your investing goals.

Millionaire Mob wrote a dividend investing book to help people get started investing.

The book is titled Dividend Investing Your Way to Financial Freedom and features a number of resources to help you invest for financial freedom, including:

Improve your portfolio returns
Understand the pros and cons of a dividend investing approach
Develop and craft your own dividend investing strategy
Build wealth through a long-term compound interest plan

If you want a sample of the book, you can download it here.

You can’t become a successful dividend investor if you aren’t working smarter. Let’s get into some amazing dividend investing tools to position you for success.

List of Best Dividend Income Trackers

Saving time and making smarter decisions is what we are all about. If you want to invest easy, you need to follow these trackers and set yourself up for time-saving success.

Let’s get into the best dividend income tracking software that you need to use for continued success.

1. Personal Capital

Personal Capital is the ultimate solution for any passive income and dividend income investor. The cash flow tracking on the platform is industry leading. I use this to track my net worth and all various passive income sources.

From a dividend perspective, I’ve linked all my retirement accounts (401k, Roth IRA, HSA) and my after-tax passive dividend income portfolio. I’ve been building this through Robinhood (get a free share of stock just by signing up!). If you want to try something different, these other brokerages are giving out free stock.

Personal Capital has the functionality to link up with Robinhood now. Personal Capital is one of those free dividend tracking programs that every dividend investor needs to have. All you have to do with Personal Capital is link your brokerage accounts and start monitoring. It’s as easy as that.

Here’s how I the Personal Capital software use it to track my dividend income.

First, I link up my Personal Capital account with Robinhood or whatever brokerage you use. It will gather and track as much data as possible.

Here you can see a snapshot of how my Robinhood investments look in Personal Capital.

Robinhood Investment Portfolio in Personal Capital

From there, go click on the income selection. Then, type in investment income in the search bar. Income always includes deposits in Personal Capital. We want only dividend income.

Robinhood Dividend Income Tracking – Personal Capital

Keep in mind that you can change how you want to track in the income. You can do it on an annual, year-to-date, 30 days, 90 days, etc. Here is how much dividend income I’ve generated in the last 90 days.

Robinhood Dividend Income Personal Capital

So, I’ve generated $265.65 in dividend income in 90 days on Robinhood. Not bad for doing completely nothing. There’s nothing much better than receiving income on your investment portfolio. I can’t wait to reinvest all this income back into my dividend income portfolio!

2. Dividend.com

I think the name says it all. Dividend.com is everything dividends and dividend growth investing. You simply can’t go wrong with their platform.

Investors can use the Ex-Dividend Date Search tool to find the right stocks that are going ex-dividend during a specific timeframe. Ex-dividend dates are crucial in dividend investing because you must own a stock before its ex-dividend date to be able to receive the dividend payment.

3. Robinhood

Robinhood is actually pretty awesome for dividend tracking. I wrote about how dividends work on Robinhood because I believe a lot of people didn’t understand it. However, it’s actually pretty simple and straight forward to follow. Unlike other brokerages, dividends tend to be a black box for following them. In Robinhood, the history section will show upcoming and prior dividends.

You can stay on track with all your dividend payments as they come it. Sign up for Robinhood using my link and get a free share of stock.

4. Microsoft Excel

Good ole’ reliable. Microsoft Excel is proven, flexible and relies solely on data coming directly from the user. You can use this to simply input the amounts you find from your brokerage accounts. You can also use the current annual dividend yield to forecast out your dividends.

Don’t chase yield as a dividend growth investor. Stick with your guns of investing in stocks that have a high likelihood of keeping and increasing their dividend in the future.

I created a similar Excel sheet that helps you plan your forecasted dividend income. All you have to do is create a separate sheet and input your portfolio. You should let that flow through the forecast tab. This can be a great way to plan for a life of living off dividends.

Try downloading it using the button below. It only takes 5 minutes to punch in the assumptions.

Or, you can build a dividend tracker in Excel from scratch…

5. Finbox

Finbox (get $5 free with my link). Yes. Finbox is everything I’ve ever wanted as an investor. I remember back in investment banking I’d be armed with amazing tools like CapitalIQ, Pitchbook, etc. Those are very expensive. Finbox is free. You have to love that.

Okay, they might not be a full-blown free dividend income tracker. However, they arm you with the best tools for success including screeners, models, add-ons and so much more. With this software, you don’t need much else.

Keep quiet about them. It just seems too good to be true…

Conclusion on Dividend Income Tracking Software

A dividend income tracker can help you build a stable and effective portfolio. The software or model can help you save time on tracking the investments you already have and avoid any surprises in dividend cuts or outright removal of dividends.

Plus, I think there is a motivating factor by having a dividend income tracker. You can watch your income pile in and you know that you will have fresh capital to deploy into new or existing investments.

What are you waiting for? Start building a dividend portfolio now.

What do you think of these dividend portfolio trackers? Do you already use any dividend income tracking software? Let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you!

Related Resources:

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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5 Proven Ways to Make Money for Doing Nothing

2019-01-28T01:48:00.001-08:00

These are some of the most simple, proven ways to make money for doing nothing.

5 Proven Ways to Make Money for Doing Nothing

Many people want to be rich but frown at the idea of hard work. Fortunately, not all moneymaking efforts need you to pump up 40-hour workweeks just to achieve financial independence. As they say, “Don’t work hard. Work smart.”

This guide introduces you to the many ways you can grow your money, whether that entails passive ways of earning or learning to play with risks in investing. Check out my guide on how to invest your money to learn more.

Anybody with a sound and realistic outlook in life will choose a secure financial future over living paycheck to paycheck any day. But while making that decision is a no-brainer, most people struggle to find an efficient and effective way to turn that well-meaning choice into actual dollars.

And with so many moneymaking scams these days, most get either discouraged or stumped by their own suspicion to actually make it work.

I created a book titled Dividend Investing Your Way to Financial Freedom to help you increase your income and build wealth at the same time.

If you want a sample of the book, you can download it here.

Combining both dividend investing and real estate can be a great way to invest your money. Here are several other tips on how to invest money to allocate your assets. Let’s get into some of the most proven ways to make money for doing nothing.

There’s nothing better than increasing your income without working more.

Legit Ways to Make Money for Doing Nothing

Whatever your reasons, it’s never too late to start. Here are some legit and tested moneymaking endeavors that will help you grow your money in no time.

1. Investing in the Stock Market

The stock market works in so many ways a goods market does, only that, instead of tangible goods, the products are stocks. Stocks are basically equities, which in laymen’s terms, are called company shares.

So if you buy shares of a particular company, you essentially own a fraction of that company. You are lowest on the capital stack, which means you get share profits after debt holders.

Now the landscape and mechanism of buying and selling stocks may require a more thorough discussion, so here’s a primer from Wall Street Survivor.

Investing in the stock market is one of the best ways to grow your hard-earned dollars without taking up too much of your time. You don’t even need much to start. There are many investment brokerages that allow you to start investing with as little as a few hundred dollars. It does not matter if you start with the minimum as long as you start.

A little caveat though: investing entails risk and patience. There’s no such thing as free lunch, and if you want to make money out of what you initially put forward, you must learn the tricks of the trade.

Once you’re at it, you’ll be enjoying the challenge, the learning process, and the bounty of profits.

If you’d like to start investing, I’d consider you follow these guides:

As a starting investor, you should consider investing with a robo-advisor like M1 Finance or Wealthsimple. These robo-advisors will automate your investments. All you need to do is continue to pour your money into your account. That really is making your money work for you.

For more experienced investors looking to build a portfolio from scratch, I’ve been building a portfolio with the goal of living off dividends forever. I created a 5-step guide that will highlight exactly how to invest for passive income.

You can use many of the different brokerages that offer free stock just for signing up. I use Robinhood (they will give you a free share if you use my link).

2. Investing in Real Estate

Another great way to grow your money passively is to venture into real estate. Because you’re investing in a tangible asset, you have more control over your investment. Not only that, you can leverage your investment into various revenue streams, such as opting to rent it out.

That way, you’ll be earning money to pay for the mortgage. And if you’ve bought your property at the right time, you will reap the benefits of increasing property values through your home equity.

Investing in real estate is also a way of diversifying your portfolio. If you have various investments, a real estate property often serves as a financial buffer that takes on the risk of your other investments. A lot of people use this strategy to secure their finances.

And importantly, real estate investments are tax deductible. You shave off tax payments if you’re paying for mortgage interest.

Tax is also deducted from the cash flow that arises from your investment properties and its costs of operation, not to mention property tax, insurance, depreciation, and multiple other benefits. I’ve built a number of different guides to help you invest in real estate effectively:

If you don’t have enough capital, you can invest in crowdfunded real estate or REITs. Use a crowdfunding platform like CrowdStreet to get started.

3. Getting a Better Bank Account

And by better, that means high interest. One of the oldest ways of multiplying your money is through your bank account, but it’s painful to see years of savings with very little interest in profits.

While the dynamic really does work, perhaps it’s time to consider moving your money to where you’re actually paid decent interest for it.

Check out for banks that offer attractive interest rates, and you’ll be ecstatic to find options that actually pay higher than the national average. Of course, you’re not going to get rich in an instant, but at least there’s a substantial gain from money that just sits in your savings.

4. Selling Items Online

There’s no other way of making your money grow that offers more practicality and challenge than venturing into business does. And with the advent of the internet, it’s never been easier to start your own.

Many people have taken advantage of the ease of managing an online business. And if you know how to reach your target market, you’ll have profits streaming in soon.

To successfully sell online, find a niche. Then look for a need in that niche and fill it. It may sound simple, but the execution is a minefield—which selling platform serves you better? Do you have the capital for your next inventory refill? How do you market your products in a way that it doesn’t get buried in the last page of the search results?

These are all necessary questions that need solid answers. But while that requires a lot of planning and thought, the results of doing things right are worth the effort.

Establish a good online presence with a reliable website. If you’re selling things online, you have to make your products stand out. You also have to consider the tools present in the platforms to ensure ease of use for your customers.

These are things to look for when looking for a reliable e-commerce platform. Here’s how to open a drop shipping store.

You don’t necessarily need to go that route. You can flip new and used goods too. However, that takes much more work and effort. It’s definitely not like making money while you sleep.

Here are some types of flipping:

Yes, people make money selling scrap metal
You can flip phones for a profit
Sell on eBay full-time
Here are some of the best items to sell for a profit

5. Monetizing an Existing Blog

This is mainly for people that already have a blog. If you do, you can easily place a few ads on there and start earning money. It’s not going to break the bank, but it’s small wins like this that add up over time.

Or, do you have a hobby that you’re passionate about? It’s time to let it out and share what you enjoy on the sides. Talk about it, and find a community for what you love. Blogging is an incredible platform that not only lets you share your passion but also allows you to make money out of it.

A good example of the most recent successes in blogging is in the DIY area. You can upcycle materials from the thrift store and sell them new.

DIY projects using affordable craft supplies have also taken the spotlight as people joined the organic-minimalist trend. The best thing about it? You can create and sell your own crafts right at the comfort of your home.

Whether it is, whether gaming, fashion, DIY, financial planning, hosting, or just talking about the nitty-gritty of the day to day, you’d be surprised how rewarding blogging can be.

If you want to make money out of your blog, learn the skill of creating good copy, understand SEO, and explore affiliate marketing. You may start out small, and it may take time to build your brand, but there’s no going back when you get big.

It’s as easy as starting a blog for $3.95/month with Bluehost (if you use my link). I think everyone should have a blog (you already share your thoughts on social media).

Here is why I created my retire early blog.

Conclusion on Ways to Make Money for Doing Nothing

Deciding to grow your money is one of the most financially mature moves you can do as an adult. After all, the anxiety of always living on the edge can be physically and emotionally draining.

Making your first investment today can help you start earning early so you can retire early and live the good life.

Passive income isn’t for everyone. It can definitely be a grind to get started. Here are some of the cons of passive income.

Are you ready to make money for doing nothing? Let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you.

Other Related Resources:

Use these best robo-advisors to automate your passive income investments
How to use a 401(k) calculator to save on retirement fees
How to build a dividend portfolio for success

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Live the Good Life: How to Become a Digital Nomad in Three Steps

2019-01-25T04:41:00.001-08:00

Everyone and I mean EVERYONE these days is trying to live free. We live in a complex, global world with so much to see and so much to do. Why not go out and enjoy the world and avoid the rat race of a cubicle? Well, it’s possible. At Millionaire Mob, our journey is to live through others by experiencing the world, learning and becoming an ‘internetpreneur.’ We like that a bit more than digital nomad… There are three easy steps to consider on how to become a digital nomad.

Live the Good Life: How to Become a Digital Nomad in Three Steps

How do you escape the everyday rat race of a 9 to 5? You go and explore. You find yourself doing the things that you are truly passionate about. Hopefully this also ultimately make you a better person.

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.”

-Neale Donald Walsch

Also, I believe now is a time that we live in a more connected world than ever before. The internet (which I am broadly defining as smartphones, mobile apps, cryptocurrencies, computers, websites, international e-commerce and so much more) has enabled us to interact with anyone at any time.

Within 5-10 minutes, I can hire someone to work from across the globe on a project that I want to get done. It is so easy. Why not be a part of the information age and a global revolution?

Why should you be stuck with the conventional thinking that business needs to be conducted in a 3 foot by 3-foot stationary cubicle?

How do you live a good life on the path to becoming a digital nomad?

There are at least three ways to be able to quit your day job. Keep in mind. I’m not talking about quitting your day job and building a business that requires your full on-site attention. I’m referring to a day job that allows you to work anywhere in the world. Live free. Live to explore the world.

We’ve even built some of the cheapest destinations to travel to once you hit the road as a globetrotter!

Manufactured Spending and Credit Card Churning

Once you follow the below steps to become a digital nomad below, you should consider using manufactured spending and credit card churning to travel the world. This will enable you to spend little to no extra dollars to get from place to place.

Also, by pairing both manufactured spending and credit card churning together you will be in a great spot to use these points for airfare, hotels and more. This can turn a much needed digital nomad experience into a much more enjoyable one.

What is credit card churning and manufactured spending?

Credit card churning is a method that travel hackers (or churners) use to open credit cards to obtain credit card bonuses repeatedly. This allows you to build up a significant stockpile of credit card rewards and airfare miles to use. Credit card churners then use manufactured spending to accelerate spending and obtain the credit card bonus earlier. Manufactured spending is the method of spending money on your credit card that can be turned into cash.

My favorite method of manufactured spending is buying virtual gift cards and then purchasing a money order with the virtual gift card. I also like funding bank accounts with credit cards, but that cannot be done with scale and should be used wisely.

What are the three best ways to become a digital nomad?

What is a digital nomad anyway? A digital nomad is a type of person that use technology to earn a living while living a nomadic lifestyle.

Huh? What is a nomadic lifestyle? Well, instead of truly having a centralized home you travel the globe and use co-working spots to conduct your work. This enables you to see the world. Do the experiences you love. You end up developing relationships all across the world along the way.

In order to make the list of best ways on how to become a digital nomad and earn passive income, certain criteria come to mind to make the list of steps:

Stress Level: We cannot have gigs out there that are truly stressful. Traveling can be stressful, so don’t let your work stress you out too. Stress will be there, but life is too short to sweat the small stuff. Find something that doesn’t require you to be present all the time.
Time Commitment: How much of a time commitment is it? Living free doesn’t exactly translate into living behind a computer. We are looking to maximize experiences and minimize the ‘9 to 5’ grind.
Scalability / Stability: If you intend to live free for the rest of your life, you need a passive income stream that will be around for the next 15 years. Also, the idea of being a digital nomad or a digital entrepreneur needs to be scalable so that (if you want) you can grow your income over time.
Location: This is an easy one. Being a digital nomad is called this for a reason. You should be able to work where you want and when you want.

The above set of criteria for being eligible as a step for becoming a digital nomad is important. In order to be a successful digital nomad, you must plan your steps strategically. Each step you take makes it easier for your longevity of a digital nomad.

Digital Nomad Community

If you want to continue to learn on how to become a digital nomad, there’s no better place than from the digital nomad community itself. I’ve found that the community is a very supportive group.

In fact, there’s plenty of resources within the digital nomad community to help you start your journey. Here are some digital nomad communities to learn and interact:

These two sites will help you find the best place to live as a nomad and how to become a digital nomad. Try one (or both) of these digital nomad communities out.

Three Easy Steps on How to Become a Digital Nomad

Without further ado, here are our favorite ways to become a digital nomad aka ‘internetpreneur’ (in order of priority). Follow these steps to become a digital nomad and you will be well on your way to traveling the world.

First Step on How to Become a Digital Nomad: Freelance

Skills Needed: Consulting / Designing / Whatever You Are Good At!

If you’d like to build a living while traveling around the world, you will still need to do work on your laptop or potentially at a co-working location. Before you make the leap to traveling around the world, start building a client base in the interest of your choice. Think about it for a minute. You currently get paid at a job to do something.

Why can’t you perform that as a service to someone? We live in a world that is so interconnected and global. The internet is your friend, so use it to build a personal reputation. There are various platforms to choose from that will help you build a client base or even start earning clients right away!

I love this method. In fact, I earned over $7,000 of additional income in my first 3 months doing freelance consulting! This is such a fantastic way to develop relationships around the world.

Once you start traveling and living abroad, you can use your client base to grab dinner with a recent client. Beer never tastes better than having it in a new country with a new friend. Try making money by becoming a personal travel photographer.

The world of freelancer nomads is growing faster than you think… There could be 1 billion freelancer nomads by 2035!

Second Step on How to Become a Digital Nomad: E-Commerce

Skills Needed: Internet Savviness

My second step is one that requires creativity, passion and some hard work. In your portfolio, you should have an e-commerce platform that you sell something. You can use it to build a drop shipping platform, a t-shirt company or even a service!

Perhaps, you can even pair this with the first step to grow a larger freelance business. I like e-commerce because we already source goods from around the world. To sell goods or services, you don’t need an office or a location. Perhaps, you do if you are selling food in a store.

In today’s world, the internet is king. So use it! Build an e-commerce platform from scratch via a platform of your choice. To sell goods or services online, significant research is required.

You need to be able to choose a growing industry with products that people love. The best part is that you can do this before you make the final trek into your digital nomad journey. The barriers to entry are low and it won’t cost you an arm and a leg to get started.

If you are working in e-commerce or hobby income. Is hobby income passive or non-passive income?

Third Step on How to Become a Digital Nomad: Dividend Growth Investing

Skills Needed: Initial Research on Your Favorite Public Companies and Some Reading

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is today.”

Ok, dividend growth investing should already be in your plans today. Regardless if you are planning on becoming a digital nomad or not, you should have some sort of nest egg or savings for the future. There is nothing better than having your hard-earned money work for you.

We’ve built several ways to get involved in dividend growth investing, such as how to find the next Dividend Kings. Dividend Kings are stocks that have increased their dividend for 50 CONSECUTIVE YEARS. An impressive feat that provides you a stable dividend income while you are out enjoying the best things in life.

You can find our list of Dividend Kings here.

Dividend growth investing allows you to receive both residual income and equity appreciation through stock price growth! There are certain stocks that you will want in your dividend growth portfolio, so choose wisely.

I like to take my income from my first two steps (freelance and e-commerce) and dump it into my dividend growth portfolio! An issue with dividend growth investing is that it takes significant capital to build meaningful income.

Pros and Cons of a Digital Nomad Lifestyle

Here are the benefits of becoming a digital nomad:

Ultimate flexibility
You are your own boss
The world is your oyster… Literally
Complete independence to live, see and go where you want
Priceless relationship building with people around the world

How about the downsides of becoming a digital nomad…

It takes a lot of work initially
Becoming a digital nomad takes some skill… and luck
Sometimes (and most times) you forgive income as you will likely be making less money
Not having a home can be stressful

Conclusion on How to Become a Digital Nomad

The digital nomad community is a great one and very supportive. It’s a feeling that everyone is around you to help and strive in your element. The work is not easy. It requires a lot of patience and hard work initially, so brace yourself.

I highly suggest that if you are considering a digital nomad lifestyle that you should begin your journey before you quit your day job. Becoming a digital nomad does not happen overnight. It takes time and some commitment while you have a day job.

Once you hit your goals it will all be worth it. The world is always changing, so stay on your feet for new ideas to become a digital nomad. If you have other needs to expand your online presence, here are 23+ proven online jobs that require no investment (time and money). Try them out to increase or replace your income.

Use these three steps on how to become a digital nomad and you will be living the good life before you know it. You can thank me later.

Other Making Money Online Resources:

How to overcome a language barrier in work, travel and the classroom
Making your dreams a reality, including financing options to start your business
How to create the perfect home office for freelancers

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Fiduciary vs Broker: The Differences You Must Know

2019-01-24T03:48:00.001-08:00

When investing or seeking out personal finance advice, you must know the difference between fiduciary and broker. Here we outline fiduciary vs broker to help you make better decisions and (potentially) save you money.

Fiduciary vs Broker: The Differences You Must Know

We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.

Let me ask you an important question, do you know the difference between a true fiduciary or fiduciary standard vs a broker or brokerage firm? If you don’t know the answer or are unsure what the difference is then I encourage you to read on!

I personally have not gotten a clear answer from anyone that I speak to in personal conversations about investing. I get looked at like I’ve got 2 heads when I say fiduciary. A what?? Exactly!

If you currently have an advisor, broker, or anyone that manages your assets/investments or even someone that gives you advice from time to time. If you are thinking about choosing someone to manage your investments then this is a must read.

If you haven’t started managing your money and getting a free consultation from Personal Capital, you are simply missing out.

PERSONAL DISCLAIMER:

Before I go on any further I want to make it clear that brokers and advisors that are not or do not practice the Fiduciary Standard aren’t bad people or necessarily take part in illegal activity.

My goal for this post is to educate and not discriminate against brokers, but rather educate you the reader in making solid decisions for yourself.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE:

I was once a client under the direct guidance of a traditional broker of a well-known firm but now I am currently a proud client of a true fiduciary.

Having experienced both sides of the fence this has given me a clear view of both. I’m Finance With Finesse, you can read more about my personal story here. As my story tells I was faced with large and unexpected financial decisions with no prior knowledge. My determination to get things right made me realize that a fiduciary was a top priority to get me on the right path.

Broker and Fiduciary Definitions

Let’s evaluate the definition of broker and fiduciary in order to understand the difference.

Definition of Broker

Broker Definition: A Broker is an individual or representative of a firm that purchases or executes investments for clients. 90% of all financial advisors in America are brokers, regardless of what their business card might say or you are told.

Here is how you find a financial planner for the millennial investor.

Brokers obligations are to only follow the suitability standard. They only have to believe that any advice or recommendations they make are “suitable” for their clients.

Brokers are paid commission tied to the investments they select for their clients. See any potential issues?

The main objective of a broker is to the firm they work for, not you the client, therefore, the broker does not have to place their interest below that of the client!

The suitability standard essentially says that it doesn’t matter who benefits more, the client or the advisor. As long as an investment is suitable or meets general direction of goals or objectives at the time it was placed for the client, the advisor is held free of liability.

Would you ever hire a lawyer, doctor, engineer that didn’t have your best interest? No! It is absurd that by law your broker (which 90% of advisors are) don’t truly have to act in your best interest. This could simply derail your plans for a happy retirement.

Registered Investment Advisor (Fiduciary) Definition

Registered Investment Advisor Definition: Also known as RIA’s. Again of the roughly 309,000 advisors in America, only ten percent make up registered investment advisors.

Just like doctors and lawyers they HAVE to act in clients best interest at all times. A registered advisor cannot sell you a product or profit off any sales of anything.

RIA must disclose any conflicts of interest with a client before doing business and explain how they get paid. There is nothing they can hide from you in any way. By law, this is a requirement and they are held accountable for it. Remember a broker is not!

Why would you not want an advisor that legally has to act in your best interest? Exactly! The astounding fact is that most Americans don’t! One of the biggest reasons is they just simply don’t know. Another reason for this is they are that rare, only one out of ten is a true RIA.

This brings up a big question you might be asking.

Why are there so few RIAs out there if we know this is the better way to invest? Well, its pretty obvious, brokers make a lot more money selling their products such as mutual funds with high fees, annuities that yield high fees and so many other discreet methods that also contain hidden fees. These fees over time will erode your gains substantially in the long run.

Personal Capital is actually an RIA in addition to their software, so if you have $100,000 of liquid cash to invest. They can invest on your behalf.

RIAs charge a flat fee for advice or a percentage of the client’s assets under management. A simple clean up front model. They’ll do the dirty work of reading and analyzing financial statements.

Fiduciary Standard Definition

Fiduciary Standard: This in contrast to the broker’s Suitability Standard. The Fiduciary Standard is that of the RIAs explained above.

In addition, Fiduciary Standard by definition is to receive conflict-free advice from individual professionals who have abandoned their big box firms and relinquished their broker status and have made the commitment to become registered. And of course, by law put their client’s needs above their own.

Amen!

So we now see a clear difference between the 2, don’t we? Simple enough, I’ll get an RIA and be done with it. Not so fast.

Here’s the tricky part…

Dually Registered Advisors Defined

Dually Registered Advisors: This my fellow readers is where I hope to bring value to someone that thought they might have a handle on this subject and may even have a RIA.

Most RIAs are registered as both Fiduciary and a broker. Say what? I’m sure you see where this is going, don’t you?

Remember only ten percent of the roughly 309,000 advisors operate as RIAs right? That leaves us with 31,000 RIAs. Some 26,000 of these 31,000 operate as both.

So we are now left with only about 1.6% or 5,000 PURE Fiduciary’s in this country!

Before you panic or think this whole advisory thing is too complicated or too far fetched let me assure you, IT’s NOT once fully educated.

Dually registered advisors were at one point brokers that took the leap to go out on their own from a larger firm to give clients a larger range of investment options.

Once the broker makes the jump then the harsh reality is that these dually registered advisors sadly realize it’s hard to make the money as a true fiduciary.

The tricky part is they can legally switch hats right in front of you in split second, even though they may have good intentions for you, they are also looking out for their best interest.

It’s honestly not the advisor’s fault. The financial industry is structured to allow this. Congress makes sure doctors, lawyers and almost all professions act in the best interest of the public, adversely brokers do not have these strict guidelines. It’s actually very twisted!

How to tell the difference between fiduciary and broker

In order to find the right advisor then it may take a little shopping, but the process is not that difficult. If you ask specific questions you can get your answers quickly. You just need to make sure you know the correct questions to ask them.

When asking the right questions I guarantee you will get your current advisor’s attention and maybe, more importantly, you will catch them off guard.

My lack of knowledge caused me and my brother to take our advisor’s word for a long time, but after I fully understood what we needed I came back to him loaded my arsenal of questions and fired away. I had to make sure my mother’s assets were protected and figure out if he was was the right fit for us.

We used to talk on the phone for about 20-30 minutes but now our conversation shortened to only 5 minutes after I asked these questions. That’s all the time it took for me to realize that he was not the right broker for us. Even though he was a long time friend of my father’s and his broker for many years. He was a good man but once again I have to look out for my family’s best interest over his.

The decision was simple and I called the next day to dissolve my relationship with him as my mother’s advisor. He was somewhat shocked and commended me for my knowledge and of course offered me to stay as a client and make all of my own decisions.

Why hire an advisor then?

Well, what’s the point in having an advisor if you could do it on your own right?

I then hired a true pure fiduciary who has a very fast growing firm and they are awesome. I’m purposely not going to name any firms or give out any names in this post so I can do my own fiduciary duty and show you the reader that I’m not looking to make money on this post but provide you with a lot of insight from my experiences.

Now let’s dig into the questions that must be asked when looking for a true fiduciary. These questions are also very beneficial to ask your current advisor.

Questions to Ask in Fiduciary vs Broker

Here are several questions to ask in your evaluation on fiduciary vs broker:

Where will my money be held? First question that you should ask. If the answer is with them, politely walk out. Bernie Madoff sound familiar? The fiduciary will all have your funds held by a third party custodian. Fidelity, Schwab and TD Ameritrade are all examples of places that keep money in a secure environment. You sign a limited power of Attorney that gives the advisor rights to manage money but cannot make withdrawals on the account.

Are you registered Investment Advisor? If the answer is no then they are a broker. Once again politely decline. If the answer is yes then great, but still have to find out if they are dually registered or wear 2 hats. Simply ask if they are dually registered? If their business card says ABC broker-dealer then they are a broker.

Do you or your party receive any third party compensation for recommending the product? The answer needs to be no! You have to make sure there are no kickbacks or compensation coming from the third party custodian of the money.

Do you or your firm offer mutual funds or separately managed accounts? Very stern NO is the answer or they are for sure gonna get an extra commission with active trading or steering you into highly profitable products.

What is your philosophy on investing? Do you believe you can beat the market? If they think they can beat the market by picking individual stocks or mutual funds then this means a losing game for you in the long run. Very few can do this. HERE IS A LOOK INTO WHY.

What other financial services do you offer besides portfolio management and strategy? Due to broker status, most advisors have limited capability once past investing. You want a broker that can bring the tools of Tax efficiency, business advice, estate planning and any aspect of financial planning. I have utilized all of these just as much as investment advice for personal matters and have benefited greatly from all other services excluded from investing money. Managing money can get complex no matter how large your net worth. Having a team behind you makes the difference.

To get down on their level ask them if they are registered with SEC or FINRA? The right answer is SEC, not both and not just FINRA

Do you have the series 7 or 65 license? Right answer the 65 not both and not just the 7

Conclusion on Fiduciary vs Broker

I spent three months educating myself extensively on investing before making any decisions regarding my mothers estate. I wish I had stumbled on a blog post with all of this in one place with wording that I could understand and most importantly could connect and relate to someone that had been through this same scenario. IT WAS #1 INVESTMENT YOU CAN MAKE RIGHT NOW! BLOG POST WHERE I EXPLAIN ALL OF THIS.

I did not go over specific investments or types that a broker can nail you with or any that a True Fiduciary will suggest.

Read this post if you would like more information on this topic. 20 INVESTMENT TERMS YOU MUST KNOW WILL HELP.. In addition, consider these various financial ratios while investing.

Why?

When you have a “true fiduciary” they can and will educate you properly and always act in your best interest and you will have a teammate and partner that can assist and educate you!

Have I convinced you that a fiduciary is the only way?

If this post reaches just one person then it can make a substantial difference in the amount of time and money someone can gain. That’s why I started this and makes sharing all worthwhile.

I hope you find value in my post.

What type of broker do you have? Do you know fiduciary vs broker? Please let me know in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you.

Other Related Resources:

Use these best robo-advisors to automate your passive income investments
Our resources on how to invest money to ensure success
How to use a 401(k) calculator to save on retirement fees

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Fiduciary vs. Broker

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How Much Life Insurance Do You Really Need: A Rule of Thumb Analysis

2019-01-23T02:58:00.001-08:00

How do you truly determine how much life insurance you need? Here is a helpful guide including a few questions to ask yourself when selecting a life insurance policy.

How Much Life Insurance Do You Really Need: A Rule of Thumb Analysis

Life insurance can be a large expense in your personal financial plan. Especially if you have double coverage or chose an expensive plan relative to how much you actually need.

When it comes to purchasing life insurance, one of the most important things to consider is exactly how much of it you need. Usually, millionaires understand how much they are paying for everything related to money and their succession planning.

But before we get into the qualifiers, let’s take a quick look at the two types of life insurance typically offered.

Types of Life Insurance

There are two notable types of life insurance policies that you need to know before determining how much you really need.

These types of life insurance policies are whole life insurance and term life insurance.

Whole Life Insurance

Whole Life Insurance is sold as a lifelong policy with a savings plan attached to it. The savings plan is what companies usually highlight when promoting this kind of life insurance.

It’s marketed as a savings plan that can be tapped into in emergency situations. Further, should you outlive the length of the policy — typically upon turning 100 years old – you have the choice to cash out in full.

For example, if you purchases a $100,000 life insurance policy and accumulated $125,000 in your savings plan, at the end of your policy you’d be able to withdraw one of those values.

Of course, by the time you reach 100 you may not need $125,000, or even the original $100,000 of your policy, to the extent you might’ve when you were younger. So while the company is obliged to pay this out to you, you’re still essentially paying $75,000 for life insurance you’ll never get to use.

Here’s the catch about whole life insurance. Sure, you’re able to “borrow” from your savings plan for unexpected costs and whatnot, however, you’re also expected to pay back what you borrowed—of your own money—at an interest rate of up to 8%. So in reality, this savings plan is hardly a savings plan at all.

Term Life Insurance:

Term insurance is life insurance specifically designed to cover a certain period of your life when you’re statistically likely to be carrying more debt. Usually this period is anywhere from 10-30 years, and the policy ensures your family will be covered should you die with outstanding debts.

Term insurance is more affordable because it only covers you for a specific period of time and offers no so-called “savings” programs. This is usually the reason why people choose whole life over term. However, the lack of a savings program should actually be considered a blessing.

One benefit of term insurance is that you get more coverage for less money, which means you can buy the policy and invest the difference.

For example, if your average whole life policy is a flat rate of $300 per month (much depends on your health score), your average term policy should be $100 per month or less, depending on your health rating. Since your term policy has a significantly lower premium than a whole life policy, you can take the extra $200 a month and put it into investments.

These investments are designed to:

give you more return than a cash value or any other savings plan
provide you access to your money in an emergency
Allow you to double or even triple your policy value by the time it runs out.

These investments will enable you to become financially independent and no longer need life insurance to keep your family secure.

How Much Life Insurance Do I Really Need?

To determine how much life insurance you’ll need to ensure your family will be financially secure in the event you pass prematurely, the following factors need to be taken into account.

1. How much debt do you have?

First, gather up all of your deficits and bills including:
– Medical
– Mortgage

– Student Debt
– Utilities
– Groceries
– Credit Cards
– Auto Loans
– And any other outstanding debts and expenses

Next, Gather up all your assets including:
– Houses paid (but you likely won’t get full retail value)
– Cars paid
– Businesses
– Investments
– Retirement Funds

– Savings Funds

To do the math add up all of your deficits and then do the same with your assets. Subtract the amount of your total assets from your deficits to determine the full extent of your debt.

Look at how much you owe in total and how much you need to pay out every month. You need to calculate the minimum amount of money your family will need to support themselves until all your debts are paid off.

A good rule of thumb is to take your income and multiply it by 17. This is how much money your family will need to live comfortably after you’re no longer around.

If you don’t need to cover them for the entire duration of their lives, you can multiply by five or ten depending on how long they’ll need to be provided for.

2.How many children do you have?

Another consideration is your dependants. How many children—or people under your care — do you support on a daily basis? You should always buy an extra $100,000 of life insurance per child in order to cover their college expenses should you pass early.

3. Can your spouse work?

If your spouse is unable to work or won’t be able to cover your entire salary on their own, you’ll need to calculate how much money they’ll need every month in order to maintain their current lifestyle.

Then, according to Forbes Business, “multiply that number by 25. That’s how much money you’ll need to leave your partner to provide for them financially.” Include your assets and savings funds into this so you don’t end up paying for more insurance than you need to.

Conclusion on Determining How Much Life Insurance You Need

Life insurance is a numbers balancing game. Determining how much life insurance you need is actually great for financial planning — not just for the future but for right now.

Knowing where you stand on your debts and assets is exactly how you learn how to get on your financial feet. You can actually sell your insurance policy if you absolutely need to.

Investing in the right life insurance is important. We recommend buying term and working with an investor to find the investments that will set your family up for financial success for generations to come. There’s other forms of insurance available for you. For example, you can use Liberty HealthShare for shared health insurance services.

Do you have life insurance? What life insurance policies would you recommend? Please let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you.

Related Resources:

Best robo-advisors compared to help you invest wisely
How to invest money for success
Multiple 401(k) alternatives you never heard of

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33+ Things to Do When You Need Money Now

2019-01-22T03:28:00.001-08:00

Everyone gets in a bind every once in a while. Or, you might want to just raise money quickly to be able to invest it or pay down debt. Nevertheless, we are here to help. Here is an ultimate list of what to do when you need money now.

33+ Things to Do When You Need Money Now

Do you need money instantly? Sometimes you may find yourself in an urgent need of cash. I’ve said it before. I need money now. It may just happen that your water heater or car has just broken and you need money now to repair them immediately.

Well. No need to worry. We compiled a list of how to get money immediately.

What defines ways to earn money immediately?

In our list of ways to earn money right away, you will see that we include both making money online and traditional in-person or manual labor to get cash now.

I don’t like seeing my net worth decline on Personal Capital, so sometimes I’ll do some dirty work to earn additional cash to pay a large expense… Why not?

Keep in mind anything that you do online might have a lag in-terms of when you will actually receive the cash.

Mediums that will have a lag in cash payment

These platforms will have a lag in cash payment:

eBay
Etsy
Poshmark
Uber & Lyft

Mediums that will pay you cash instantly

These mediums and platforms will pay you cash for your work immediately:

Scrap metal
Donation centers
Craigslist
Nextdoor
Any manual labor
Classified ads that pay in cash

Keep these mediums and platforms in mind as you find a way to make money now. Each platform can be offered between the task to get cash now, so you might want to explore multiple options to raise your money.

If you need cash immediately, use a platform that will pay you hard cash and won’t require PayPal transferring or ACH bank account deposits.

List of 33 Ways to Get Cash Now

If you’re seeking things to do when you need money now and not necessarily ways to make money online, here are 29 things that you can do to make money right now:

Donate plasma

One way to make money now is to donate plasma. Just like donating blood, you can donate plasma and save a life.

Get paid to let people borrow your car

Do you have a car and don’t have the time to drive it with Uber or Lyft apps, you can still make some extra cash if you let someone else borrow it. You can make up to $5 an hour by allowing people to hire your car.

Sell your unused items

Another way to earn some extra cash is to sell the unwanted stuff at your home. They may include childhood toys, clothes that you no longer wear coat hangers, wine corks, and even unexpired gift cards and more. You can even sell free stickers that you’ve received.

Here are ways to get free stickers to sell.

Sell your hair

Hair? Yes, people will pay you money for it. If you have a long healthy mane or dreadlocks, you can trim and sell for a few dollars. You may find some serious buyers that will buy it from you.

Make money with your unused car parking space

If you have some private parking space and don’t own a car, why not let it out to another driver in need. You’d be awed at how much money you can make from letting out your car parking space and mainly if you are a city dweller or live near a city center.

Sell photos

You can make a few bucks if you can take a good shot of different items and then sell photos. You don’t need a fancy camera or photography skills. All you need is an eye for ideal shots. You can use Shutterstock, but you may find a delay in getting paid.

Help people move and declutter

It takes a lot of time and effort moving houses and decluttering. Offer a helping hand to someone who is moving places and also help them in arranging or decluttering the house and earn some extra dollars. I’ve hired a lot of people online to help me move.

Sell your old mobile phones

Another way to make money now is to sell your good old phone. If you’ve got some old phones that you have not been using since you got an upgrade, then rather than letting them gather up dust in the drawers, you can find a buyer and get money now.

Use your skills and knowledge

When I get into an emergency, and I need money now, I take advantage of my capabilities to make some. You can use the skills and knowledge that you have gathered to offer particular services or to fix stuff for money.

Join a private tutoring session or let people the services that you can provide for a fee. You can teach different subjects that you are good at like languages, dancing or musical instruments.

If you can paint or create something DIY items, then you can use it to get money now.

Help someone with small tasks

People are always trying to accomplish several things in their to-do-list every day. Why not offer a service they can outsource to you and charge them a small and reasonable fee.

When I find myself in a situation where I need money today, I try to free up my time to help my neighbors run errands. You can list your gig on Craigslist to start getting hired now.

Collect scrap metals

In your garage, kitchen and barns nearby, there is probably plenty of scrap metal lying around. You can collect those scrap metals from your home and garage and exchange them for quick cash in a scrap yard. Here is a list of places to collect scrap metal.

If you can get the scrap metal for free, you can go to a junkyard and they will give you cash for it immediately.

Sell unused uni-books

There is a possibility that you still have some relatively new or unused college and uni books or even novels, you can sell them and make some quick cash.

Old CDs, DVDs, and PlayStation

Do you have old DVDs, CDs or games lying around at your home? Turn those old CDs, DVD, and games that you have played once or got enough of into quick money. People can actually make a full-time income by selling items on eBay.

Sell empty jars

People use empty jars for different things. You can collect and clean empty jars at your home and sell them for a few bucks. A place like Etsy or eBay could work to sell your empty jars.

Do mobile car washing and detailing

Offer car washing and detailing services to people in your local area for a small fee. Sometimes people can be willing to pay for such services to avoid sitting in line at the car wash.

Vend the unused electronic devices

Do you have slightly used and broken electronic devices in your home, and then you can sell them to people who run businesses that refurbish and sell second-hand electrical goods.

Sell instruction manuals

Instruction manuals could fetch you a few bucks if you got them. If you have manuals for sound systems, computers or other items that you no longer use or already know how to use, you can sell the manuals for a few dollars.

Empty perfume and wine bottles

Wine and perfume bottles can create some beautiful DIY décor item. Sell the empty bottles in your home to a person who creates décor stuff or creates something beautiful that you can sell.

Become a food taster

Food tasting is another quick way to make money. You can check the taste, texture as well as the appearance of the new recipes and get paid for it.

Stick ads on your car

Wrapping your car with advertisements can bring you some money. If you’re car enthusiasts, you can make money by turning your car into a moving billboard. This may take a lead time and might not happen same day.

Do a garage sale

Have a lot of clutter lying around in your home? You can make extra coins from a garage sale. This is a great way to sell everything in your house and completely de-clutter.

You can whip up a garage sale in no time and start making money. Just make some signs to let everyone know you are open for business!

Try pet sitting business

Pet sitting can be another money-making opportunity. If you love pets, you can make some extra dollars by walking and training dogs around your neighborhood. Also, dog boarding can be yet another way to make good money right away.

Gardening Services

Gardening services can fetch you extra money. Check around your area to see where you can mow lawns and offer other gardening services. Everyone needs help with yard work!

Clean houses

Another service that can bring you money is cleaning other people houses. If you ask around, you may come across someone who needs some help with tiding up. Help them out and charge them something small for your services.

House/Babysit

Babysitting is yet another side hustle that can make you money now. Offer house or babysitting services to people in your local area and make some money.

Offer delivery services

People often need a rider or someone to offer them delivery services for items like groceries and other shopping items. You can find opportunities to deliver stuff to people and charge them a small fee.

Collect vintage/antique items and sell

Collect old vintage items that are no longer in use and exchange them for money. Rare stuff like coins can fetch you some extra dollars. We’ve built a complete guide on the best items to resell for a profit. Some other items that you can sell for a profit include:

Do repairs

You can also provide handyman services around your local area and make money from it. Assembling furniture and repairing bicycles can also be an excellent side hustle.

Become a mobile make-up artist

Do you love beauty and cosmetics? You can train as a make-up artist and offer your services on call at a reasonable fee. List your gig online and start finding new clients within one day’s time.

You’ll need to validate your experience with doing make-up before getting hired.

Download apps that will provide you bonuses

Did you know that there are plenty of apps that will allow for you to make money right away? If you just sign up, they will give you an immediate cash bonus just for signing up. Here is a further list of apps that pay you real money.

You can sign up for Ibotta and Dosh and get $30 total (if you use my link). This will go directly to your PayPal account. Review these other amazing cashback apps.

Beg, ask and/or borrow

Sadly, yes. This is an option to make money now. You’re likely going to have to repay the people you borrowed the money from. However, if you are in a bind, you can get cash in your pocket immediately to help get you out of a tough situation.

Sometimes all you need to do is just ask for money. I’d consider this a last resort option.

Donate bone marrow

Similar to donating plasma to get money now, you can donate bone marrow for money. This is a great way to get cash right away because you are also helping save lives.

Rent out a spare room, bed, couch or your own house!

You’ve probably heard of Airbnb… yes. That would be one that would fall under a lag in actually receiving the cash payment. You can become a host right away and list your room same day.

You’ll likely get paid via PayPal in the morning, so it isn’t exactly immediate. It’s close though! There are other alternatives like classifieds or Facebook marketplace that allow for you to list your place for rent same day.

Nowadays, you can even rent your couch, spare bed, etc. As an Airbnb host myself, I’ve been able to earn $500-$2,000 in extra monthly income.

Conclusion on How to Make Money Right Now

I get it. We all get in a situation where we need to raise money right away. I do it too when I need money for a large expense (even though I have it in the bank). I simply don’t want to take money out of my net worth.

When the tough gets going, you should get going! This list of ways to make money right now will help you find something that will allow for you to get some cash for hard work.

If you need to make money now, then you can do one or a few of these activities and make money today.

What are your favorite ways to make money now? Please let me know in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you.

Related Resources:

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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How to Buy a House: 9 Important Tips from First Time Home Buyers

2019-01-21T04:32:00.001-08:00

Buying a home for the first time can seem so incredibly scary that you may feel pressured into going with the first house that falls into your price range or continue renting an apartment, but this article is going to help you get a better grasp on the process for buying homes. To allow you to demystify the procedure and get the most out of the buy, we’ll look at what you’ll have to consider before you purchase, what you can anticipate from the purchasing procedure itself, and some convenient tips to make life less demanding after you buy your first home. Here are a few important tips from first time home buyers about how to buy a house.

How to Buy a House: 9 Important Tips from First Time Home Buyers

Before you start investing in real estate, you need to consider several of the key risks like market risk or home condition. Here are several other real estate risks to consider. Buying your first home is important, so you can feel safe. As said by the famous American poet, Maya Angelou,

“The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.”

Home ownership is one of the best ways to accumulate wealth. Millennials should consider purchasing a home early on in their career. Accumulated wealth statistics may shock you.

We took a look at the numbers from the Federal Reserve and provided an analysis on what accumulated wealth truly means.

Check out our wealth management resources to help you save for a home. The good news is that most of the wealth management resources we use are completely free to use.

In order to evaluate how to buy a house, let’s look at tips from first time home buyers. In this post, we will highlight how first time home buyers viewed buying their home. We will break it down by:

Things to consider for before you purchase your home
Things to consider after you purchase your home

Things for First Time Home Buyers to Consider Before Buying

There are several things to consider as a millennial buying a home. There are a number of people involved in the process and each of them will have their own opinion on items. For example, your realtor is trained in sales.

They will likely push to to try to buy a home quicker than you’d like. Another example is your mortgage lender. We all know from the Great Recession that they are willing to push the upper bounds of your limits on preapprovals. Just because they say you can afford a $350,000, doesn’t mean you should do it!

Here are some items to consider for during the home buying process.

How much mortgage are you eligible for?

Before you begin shopping, it’s vital to get a thought of how much a bank will really offer you to buy your first home. You may figure you can bear the cost of a $300,000 home, yet loan specialists may believe you’re really only going to be able to pay for $200,000 relying upon factors like how many other obligations you have, your month to month salary and to what extent you’ve been at your present place of employment.

You can use sites like LendingTree to compare mortgage offers for free.

Use a home appraisal checklist to ensure you are getting the right value.

Who will help find you a home and help with the purchase?

A real estate agent will enable you to find homes that address your issues and are in your budget range, at that point meet with you to see those homes. Once you’ve picked a home to purchase, these experts can help you in arranging the whole buying process, including making an offer, getting credit, and finishing the paperwork. A decent real estate agent’s skillset can protect you from any traps you may experience during the procedure.

What type of home best suits your needs?

You have a few alternatives when acquiring a private property: a conventional single-family home, a townhouse, a condominium, a co-agent or a multi-family working with two to four units. Every alternative has its upsides and downsides, contingent upon your homeownership objectives, so you must choose which kind of property will enable you to achieve those objectives.

You can likewise save money on the price tag in any classification by picking a fixer-upper, in spite of the fact that the measure of time, sweat value and cash required to transform a fixer-upper into your fantasy home may be substantially more than you anticipated.

What specific features are you looking for in your new home?

While it’s great to hold some adaptability in this department, you’re making maybe the greatest buy of your life, and you should have that buy fit both your wants and needs as nearly as possible. Your decision should incorporate fundamental wants, such as the neighborhood and size, the distance down to littler points of interest like washroom format and a kitchen that accompanies dependable machines.

How much home can you actually afford?

Then again, at times a bank will give you an advance for more house than you truly need to pay for. Much the same as with the purchase of a new car, you’ll need to look at the house’s aggregate cost, not only the regularly scheduled installment.

Obviously, looking at the regularly scheduled installment is likewise critical, alongside what amount initial installment you can bear, how high the property charges are in your picked neighborhood, how much mortgage holders protection will cost, the amount you envision spending to keep up or enhance the house, and how much your end expenses will be. What if you could live mortgage free? Here are several mortgage hacks to consider.

Things for First Time Home Buyers to Consider After Purchasing

There are plenty of tips that you’ll need to know after purchasing your home. The work simply doesn’t end after your purchase. In fact, the work just begins! Here are some helpful tips from first time home buyers.

Keep Saving Money!

With homeownership comes major startling costs, such as supplanting the rain canals or getting another water warmer. Begin a just-in-case account for your home with the goal that you won’t be found napping when these expenses definitely emerge. I love the thought of being a homeowner AND dumping large sums of my savings into the stock market or other passive income streams to build my safety net.

Also, to the extent you have student loans outstanding, following debt reduction methods to ensure you solidify your financial future.

Maintain Your Home

With all the money you’re putting into your home, you’ll need to make a point to take fantastic care of it. Standard upkeep can diminish your repair costs by enabling issues to be settled when they are little and reasonable.

Don’t Rely on Selling Your House for Your Retirement Fund

Despite the fact that you possess a home, you should, in any case, keep on saving the most extreme in your retirement investment accounts every single year. Even though it might appear to be difficult to accept for any individual who has watched the fortunes a few people made during the housing bubble, you won’t really rake in huge profits when you offer your home.

In the event that you need to take a look at your home as a source of money for retirement, consider that once you’ve paid off your home loan, the cash that you were spending on regularly scheduled installments can be utilized to finance some of your living and medicinal costs in retirement.

Be Prepared to Live in Your Home for the Foreseeable Future

Transaction costs make up a good portion of your homes value. I continue to hear from millennial home buyers that they want to purchase a home because ‘renting is giving away money’ to another owner. Oftentimes, millennials buying homes will talk like they are just buying a home to do it.

Conclusion on How to Buy a House

Remember, you need to own your home for more than 5+ years to actually start seeing equity building up. Mortgage payments are nearly all interest payments in the beginning years with a large portion of principal coming at the prior years. If you get locked out, here are cheap places to get keys made.

Some people rely on a home warranty to ensure they don’t have any big capital expenditures from their recent home purchase.

Do NOT buy a home if you cannot see yourself living there for 10 years or even owning it for 10 years. I like to purchase homes that have a rental value at least the amount of the mortgage at the time of buying the home. Why? Because this gives me the flexibility to turn the home into a rental property if I want to move elsewhere or travel!

Ensure you are on the right path to secure your financial future by using a financial planner.

Have you already bought your first home? What tips would you have for first time home buyers? Please let us know in the comments below.

From there you can use these tips to buy your first income property and start earning income. Here’s how to calculate a cap rate for your income property.

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How I Saved $3,120 Instantly on Alerus 401(k) Retirement Fees

2019-01-18T03:40:00.001-08:00

If you have a 401(k), you’ll likely want to use this guide to start saving retirement money on fees. My Alerus 401(k) was under-optimized. I instantly saved $3,120 in retirement fees. Here’s how.

How I Saved $3,120 Instantly on Alerus 401(k) Retirement Fees

Fees can erode your investment returns significantly. Especially if there are annual fees over a 20-30 year time horizon. I have a 401(k) retirement plan with Alerus.

You’ll likely want to follow the same guidelines for how to save money on retirement fees and start making your money work smarter. Alerus Financial is a well-regard financial institution and offers banking, mortgage, wealth management, and retirement services. I was happy to see that I could easily optimize my 401(k) using a retirement fee calculator.

In addition to my retirement goals, I’m on a mission to live completely off dividends. I created a dividend calculator that will help you develop a plan to live off dividends. Try downloading it using the button below. It only takes 5 minutes to punch in the assumptions.

I had a total yearly fee of 0.30% in my 401(k) before optimizing and completely cleaning it up. This equated to approximately $416 per year in annual retirement fees. I was able to reduce it down to 0.15% or $213/year.

This saved me over $3,120 simply by optimizing my Alerus 401(k) without taking on more risk. Here’s how I did it.

Steps to Optimize Your 401(k) and Save on Retirement Fees

Below I will outline the exact steps to take to optimize your 401(k) and start saving money on your retirement fees. These are the exact steps that I took to save $3,120 by following these easy four steps.

Here are the exact steps to take to start saving money on retirement and 401(k) fees.

1. Use a 401(k) Fee Calculator and Optimizer

The first step that you need to take is to find out what you are truly paying in fees by using a 401(k) fee calculator such as Blooom.

I use Blooom because it has a simple interface and sleek design. The best part is that Blooom will give you a completely free optimization and guide you through the exact steps of where you are overspending on fees.

This will help you save money and make your 401(k) optimized. Blooom is a well-trusted analyzer of retirement plans with over $938 million in savings.

Get a free analysis using my link of your Alerus employer-sponsored retirement plan. Understand your investments at a high level and uncover unnecessary hidden fees.

You can read my Blooom review for a full overview of the platform.

Plus, it gives me the exact results that I need to make actionable decisions in my Alerus 401(k).

2. Start Linking Your Account

After signing up for Blooom, simply type in ‘Alerus’ in the search bar to start linking your account. You can see the dashboard below. Select the Alerus Retirement Solutions options. It should come up first on the list.

Type in Alerus in the search bar

Once you have selected Alerus Retirement Solutions in the dropdown, Blooom will ask you to input your login information for your Alerus retirement account. This is a secure platform and Blooom is safe.

After you input your information, let Blooom work it’s magic!

3. Evaluate the Results

One thing I love about using Blooom is that I’m able to digest the results in three core aspects of my 401(k) and other retirement accounts.

The analyzer will break it down in three core categories:

Fees
Risk
Diversification

Here is a snapshot of how my Alerus retirement account looks after linking it on the Blooom analyzer.

Blooom Optimizer – Fees, Risk, Diversification

As you can see, I’ve optimized my 401(k) in a number of ways including fees and risk. I’ve selected only a handful of low-cost index funds in my account.

Fees Assessment

Now you can start optimizing your fees. For my Alerus 401(k), Blooom has no other tips for me to save money. I already did my job!

Use the ‘learn more’ section of the fees analysis to learn why saving on retirement fees is so important.

Blooom Retirement Fees Assessment

Risk Assessment

Blooom will conduct a full risk assessment of your 401(k) account. This will be fully complete based on your recommended amounts compared to your current.

My current allocation is balanced at 88% stocks and 12% bonds, which is slightly more aggressive than the recommended allocation of 84% stocks and 16% bonds.

Blooom Retirement Risk Assessment

Diversification Assessment

My current diversification assessment shows that I need to improve it. My current allocation is more heavily weighted to large cap stocks at 46% allocation compared to a recommended 30%.

Also, I have probably too much exposure to small caps and not enough in my international allocation. However, in my mega backdoor Roth IRA I am heavily allocated to international stocks.

Blooom Retirement Diversification Assessment

Good news! Blooom offers support for other retirement accounts including IRAs, Roth IRAs, and more. Make sure to link up those accounts to make sure that you have the complete picture.

4. Cross-Check Your Results with Retirement Forecasting

Bonus! There are plenty of other amazing financial tools that you can actually pair your Blooom analysis with. This will help you get a high-level picture of your investment status to guide your financial future.

Let’s all work smarter and not harder. All the while we can save significant sums of money, which equates to retiring earlier or paying for your child’s college.

I love cross-checking my Blooom free analysis with Personal Capital’s retirement planning dashboard. Personal Capital is a complete cash flow, investment and money management tool that is completely free (and easy) to use.

By reducing my fees from my Blooom analysis, I am in significantly better shape for reaching my retirement planning goals.

I want to retire at 65 and still have a $100,000 income. Based on my free analysis with Personal Capital, I’m projected (with a 75% success rate) to have $11,083 per month in annual income.

Personal Capital Retirement Planner

Yeah, that’s the good news. Here’s the bad. I have a long ways to go to reach that goal…

I’m constantly looking to improve and Personal Capital allows me to do that. I click the ‘see more improvements’ button to get better actionable steps to make my money work smarter and harder.

How to Improve My Retirement Plan

Personal Capital will give you some amazing advice about how to improve your retirement planning and portfolio… for FREE. Here is some amazing points on my dashboard.

I match their current asset allocation recommendations
There is too much cash on the sidelines that I need to put to work (insert income property here)

Take a look at my dashboard for yourself.

Personal Capital Retirement Improvements

I need to find a way to put some more cash to work in my savings accounts. This will greatly help my retirement planning.

Why Saving for Retirement is Important

Retirement is crucial. People don’t take their retirement accounts serious enough. I’ve been fortunate enough to max out my 401(k) and Roth IRA contributions for the last few years. However, I still feel like that isn’t enough.

Here are some reasons why saving for retirement is crucial:

We can’t rely on social security being there
You work too hard to not have a favorable nest egg
Tax advantages of retirement accounts are way too favorable to ignore

I suggest that you find ways to max out your 401(k) and IRA completely to the legal limits. If not, at least try to contribute the amount that enables your full employee match. Use our retirement readiness checklist to figure out if you are in a position to retire or not. There are plenty of other considerations for retiring outside of cash flow and expenses.

Conclusion on How to Save Money in Your 401(k)

By using the outlined tools of Personal Capital and Blooom, you shouldn’t have to hire a 401(k) advisor or pay additional money to make the most out of your retirement accounts.

I outlined an exact format for you to start saving money instantly. There is no reason to pay excess fees for no additional return. There are far too many funds that require additional fees, but do the exact same thing as low-cost index funds. There are plenty of other ways to use a retirement calculator to save money.

If you feel comfortable with your retirement accounts, more to a taxable portfolio. There are plenty of great brokerages out there… Even some that will give you free stocks just for signing up.

Will you start saving money in your 401(k)? Did you save money in your Alerus 401(k) by following my guide? Please let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you.

Related Resources:

Our resources on how to invest money to ensure success
How to use a 401(k) calculator to save on retirement fees
A guide to start investing your money… What does it take?

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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13 Best Books on Dividend Investing (Invest Your Money Wisely)

2019-01-17T02:25:00.001-08:00

Reading is crucial for investing success. These are the best books on dividend investing to help you invest your money wisely… And successfully.

13 Best Books on Dividend Investing (Invest Your Money Wisely)

One way to achieve financial freedom is to invest in dividends. Dividend investing can help you kill two birds with one stone because it not only lets you earn income but also achieve your retirement goals.

I clearly am a huge fan of dividend growth investing after creating a number of different guides.

Some of my personal favorites for investing in dividend stocks for passive income include:

How to live off dividends forever (including two case studies)
The definitive guide to building a dividend portfolio
How a dividend calculator works… Create your own plan to retire off dividends

Several people have created a comprehensive guide to help you in dividend investing. In this article, we have compiled a list of some of the 13 best books on dividend investing.

Dividend investing involves two crucial aspects. First, you must know how to identify stock picks with value. Secondly, you must learn how best to manage the dividend stocks in your portfolio. There is no excuse to not start investing. These apps will give you free stock just for signing up.

Top Books on Dividend Investing: Start Investing Wisely

Some great writers have explored how best to meet those two fundamental objectives. Learning is paramount with investing. You can improve your portfolio returns by focusing on a core strategy of dividend investing for both income and wealth appreciation.

Here we will explore dividend investing books and 13 of the best books on dividend investing all of which you are available on Amazon at affordable prices:

The Strategic Dividend Investor by Daniel Peris

Daniel Peris in his book “The Strategic Dividend Investor”, advises the investors to consider stocks that have high and rising dividend distributions and invest in them for a long-term. He explains that most stock market returns are those that are reaped in the form of dividends and not the capital gains received if you buy a stock with the aim of selling it after a few weeks or months.

One of the finest ways to create wealth is to use the stock market as a means of receiving a share of the excess profits which are usually offered in the form of dividends.

Get Rich with Dividends: A Proven System for Earning Double-Digit Returns by Marc Lichtenfeld

If you want to gain double-digit returns with ease, then you should consider reading “Get Rich with Dividends: A Proven System for Earning Double-Digit Returns” by Marc Lichtenfeld.

Marc in this in-depth dividend investing guide reveals how dividends are accountable for the 44% of the S&P 500′s returns for a decade. He shows how with dividends, an investor can achieve a double-digit average annualized returns over the long-term.

The Ultimate Dividend Playbook: Income, Insight and Independence for Today’s Investor written by Josh Peters

Josh Peters in his book “The Ultimate Dividend Playbook: Insight and Independence for Today’s Investor” reveals some of the best tricks to help you beat the market and how to use the dividends to build growth and earn income.

Given that not many people are lucky enough to make consistent returns in the cyclical stock market, this book that offers some valuable insights to ensure success on dividend investing.

Dividend Stocks for Dummies by Lawrence Carrel

Another great read and one of the better books on dividend investing is, “Dividend Stocks for Dummies” which is by a person called Lawrence Carrel. Dividend Stocks for Dummies is a book that offers some valuable professional insights and shows the investor the reason why they need to include dividends in their investment portfolio.

It also shows you how you can make the most out of dividend investing despite the type of the market. In addition, the book clearly shows you the values as well as the returns of dividends. Dividend Stocks for Dummies shows you how you can research different companies, estimate their growth and returns as well as learn how to manage a dividend portfolio for increased dividend investments.

Dividend Growth Income: How to Supercharge your Investment Returns with Dividend, Stocks written by Nathan Winklepleck

Nathan Winklepleck explains how you can boost your investment returns while taking less risk in “Dividend Growth Income.”

In his book “Dividend Growth Income: How to Supercharge your Investment Returns with Dividend Stocks”, Nathan explains with practical examples how you can achieve financial freedom through investing in Dividends.

The Little Book of Big Dividends: A Safe Formula for Guaranteed Returns written by Charles B. Carlson

Chuck Carlson in his book “The Little Book of the Big Dividends: A Safe Formula for Guaranteed Returns” teaches about how to find opportunities, pitfalls, and how to build an ideal portfolio.

It offers an action plan for dividend investor that involves finding the “Big, Safe Dividends using the Big Safe Dividends formula”. It even covers how to find the “Big Safe Investments in foreign stocks, ETFs, preferred stocks, REITs among others.

The Single Best Investment: Creating Wealth with Dividend Growth written by Lowell Miller

“The Single Best Investment: Creating Wealth with Dividend Growth” is one of the best books about dividend investing written by Lowell Miller. It is a dividend growth investing book that emphasizes the need to invest in dividend paying and moderate-growth companies to reap the benefits of steady returns with low levels of risk.

The book offers simple rules that can help any investor choose the best stocks, use traditional evaluation methods, reinvest dividends and compare stocks and bonds to build a good investment portfolio. It also explains some technical aspects of the stock market with statistics as well as academic research, examples of real-time performance and resources that can be used for advanced research.

Dividends Still Don’t Lie: The Truth about Investing in Blue Chip Stocks and Winning in the Stock Market written by Kelley Wright

Dividends Still Don’t Lie is a development book of Dividends Don’t Lie which was previously written by Geraldine Weiss in the ’80s. It is a book written by Kelley Wright that focuses primarily on the Dividend-Yield Theory to help investors understand how to make steady gains in the stock market.

Kelley Wright teaches investors the value-based strategy to investing. It involves using the stock dividend yield as the key measure of value. It is a strategy that emphasizes dividend-yield patterns, unlike most other strategies that mainly stress on price cycles of a stock, market strategy or the company’s products among other factors.

Kelley Wright book offers investors a value-based strategy to help them pick the stocks that use dividend yield as the main measure of value. I advise somewhat against using annual dividend yield since I have a long investment horizon. However, if you prefer yield, try out Kelley’s book.

Step by Step Dividend Investing: A Beginner’s Guide to the Best Dividend Stocks and Income Investments (Step by Step Investing) written by Joseph Hogue

Joseph Hogue in this gem guide “Step by Step Dividend Investing: A Beginner’s Guide to the Best Dividend Stocks and Income Investments” teaches the investors how to cease playing the stock market game with stock investments only and dive into dividends that will provide them with consistent returns.

He explains that even if the dividend stock prices drop, investors still earn a steady income thanks to the regular dividends payouts. It lays out a simple step-by-step strategy on the power of dividend investing as well as three income investment that every investor should have in their portfolio.

Dividends Don’t Lie: Finding Value in Blue-Chip Stocks written by Geraldine Weiss

In his book “Dividends Don’t Lie: Finding Value in Blue-Chip Stocks”, Geraldine Weiss offers insights to investors on how to create wealth from investments which is according to the stock market cycles that keep recurring.

It is a technically detailed and conservative analysis that recommends investors to study the high-grade issues with consistent dividend increase records. It tells the investors to consider buying shares when the stock has a lower price compared to dividend yield and selling or reinvesting elsewhere when the prices rise, or when the market is bullish.

The Dividend Growth Investment Strategy: How to Keep Your Retirement Income Doubling Every Five Years written by Klugman Roxann

Klugman Roxann evaluates and compares different investment strategies of mutual funds, stocks and bonds with the DGIS to show the investor why DGIS is the better investment strategy. The DGIS strategy helps maximize the growth of the retirement nest egg at the same time it produces income that doubles after every five years.

Unlike mutual funds, the dividend investors can overcome the market downturns and inflation by growing their capital and still increase the growth returns while avoiding taxes on their dividends.

Income Investing Secrets: How to Receive Ever-Growing Dividend and Interest Checks, Safeguard Your Portfolio and Retire Wealthy written by Richard Stooker

If you’re risk averse, you want to build wealth with the lowest level of risk. Income Investing Secrets helps you discover how you can avoid financial setbacks and emotional stresses that are caused by an unstable and fluctuating stock market. It advises investors how to earn money even without necessarily depending upon the capital gains.

Dividends investment is an income investing secret that lets the investor earn with regular income gained from the stock dividends. The book also reveals to the investor some of the best and most reliable income producing investments types as well as how to minimize the risk of investments. You get more than just dividend growth investing. I love investing in real estate for income. You can invest in hotels, residential homes and more. Here’s how to evaluate real estate risks before starting.

Dividend Investing Your Way to Financial Freedom: A Guide to Live Off Dividends Forever written by Millionaire Mob

Top on our list is Millionaire Mob book “Dividend Investing Your Way to Financial Freedom: A Guide to Living Off Dividends Forever” which explains to investors how they can live off dividend investing. The book offers a 5-step guide that is necessary to help you live off dividends.

It offers free resources to calculate the best dividend investment options, their exact criteria on how to identify undervalued dividend stocks and actionable steps to help you become a better dividend growth investor.

You can use the book to find high-quality dividend growth stocks that will have a high likelihood of increasing their dividends well into the future.

Here is why I created my dividend investing book.

Conclusion on Best Dividend Investing Books

If you have been searching for books on dividend investing, I hope this list has offered you some valuable insights. Learning is so important with financial independence. I try to read at least 3-4 books per month to continue pushing the envelope of knowledge and learning.

Make a point of reading them, and you’ll be on your way to financial freedom.

What are your favorite dividend investing books? Let us know in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you.

Other Dividend Growth Investing Resources:

Our resources on how to invest money to ensure success
How to use a 401(k) calculator to save on retirement fees
A guide to start investing your money… What does it take?

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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How to Calculate a Cap Rate: Make Money with Real Estate

2019-01-16T05:45:00.001-08:00

The capitalization rate is an important metric for commercial and residential real estate investing. Here our guide on how to calculate a cap rate.

How to Calculate a Cap Rate: Make Money with Real Estate

Real estate investment is a very lucrative venture. However, it can be pretty tricky because of some hidden dangers and unforeseen market forces that can bring down a seemingly great real estate investment. I’ve been tracking my real estate holdings through Personal Capital.

Personal Capital added Zillow house value to the real estate component and I love it!

Personal Capital shows my exact net worth over time with real estate added in for free. Plus, I’m able to track income property cash flow as well.

Real estate should be in everyone’s asset allocation for building wealth. It is one of the few asset classes that provide increased income AND capital appreciation at the same time. In the stock market, I’ve been investing in dividend stocks that feature similar characteristics.

I created a book titled Dividend Investing Your Way to Financial Freedom to help you increase your income and build wealth at the same time.

If you want a sample of the book, you can download it here.

Combining both dividend investing and real estate can be a great way to invest your money. Here are several other tips on how to invest money to allocate your assets.

It is crucial thus to have the right calculation and tools to help you fully understand the value of your investment. Calculating cap rate is one of the best ways for an investor to know the position and the return on investment. As an investor the higher the cap rate the better. That could mean more risk. Here are several other real estate risks to consider before investing.

With proper calculations, you can understand the costs and potential gains of your real estate investment. It is essential to understand everything about the capitalization rate or cap rate of a given property to accurately estimate the profitability of the investment. In this article, we will look at how to calculate a cap rate.

So, to understand more about calculating cap rate in real estate, let’s first look at what cap rate means.

What Does Capitalization Rate (Cap Rate) Mean?

Cap rate is expressed as the ratio of the property’s net income to the value of the property or the purchase price of the property which is then multiplied by 100. The ratio is an analytical metric that is used to determine real estate property’s profitability, and to enables the investors to compare the viability of two or more pieces of property.

Just like other financial ratios, you need to use this metric to be able to help you make a conscious investment decision.

There are several ways to calculate the cap rate, but in this article, we will specifically look at calculating the cap rate from NOI (Net Operating Income).

Steps on How to Calculate a Cap Rate in Real Estate

To calculate the cap rate, you can use the cap rate calculator for rental property. But, you will first need to have both the NOI and the current market value of the property. Here are the three necessary steps to follow when calculating the cap rate:

The first step is that you will need to figure the annual gross income of the investment property.

It involves adding up all the revenues the property generates yearly. In a majority of cases, the gross income includes the rental income that you will receive from the tenants. It may not be the only possible source of income because you may also accrue revenues from other sources such as income from a vending machine, a parking lot, and other additional income the property generates.

Gross income is all the income collected per month which are then multiplied by 12 (months) to get the annual gross income.

The next step is to subtract all the yearly operating expenses that are associated with the property from the annual gross income.

Some of the operating expenses of an income property include:

Property management fees: Property agencies may manage the property, and thus you may be charged property management fees which usually can range from 8% – 25 % of gross income.
Taxes: The tax rates differ with location, property size, and value.
Insurance: It involves the premiums paid to insure and protect the property from loss of income, damage and perils from fire and other weather-related damage. Things like a home warranty plan can help protect your home appliances in the first few years of ownership.
Maintenance and repairs: It includes all the costs associated with making repairs or maintaining the property and can consist of painting, pest control, and lawn care among other necessary repairs.
Miscellaneous expenses: The miscellaneous costs can include such costs like accounting, legal fees, common area utilities and more.

It is vital to note that the cap rate doesn’t include the business expenses of the property such as the property’s’ purchase costs, mortgage payments among other fees. These costs are variable and usually reflect the investors’ position with the lender.

The last step is to divide the net income by the current value or the purchase price of the property.

Cap rate is the ratio between the net income and the current value or price of the property and is expressed as a percentage. It is important to note that the current value of the property is preferred to the purchase price because the property price appreciates with time unless you’ve just purchased the property. So, when calculating the cap rate, use the current fair market value (FMV) which is usually the value of the property on the marketplace.

Cap Rate = (Net Operating Income/Current Market value of the property) x 100

Cap Rate Calculation Example

Let’s look at an example to help us understand how to calculate a cap rate. Example of calculating the Cap Rate:

For example, let’s say there is a house whose rent is at a rate of $650/month. The gross income of the property will be 650 × 12 = $7,800 per year.

If the property associated costs include $800 in property management, $610 in taxes, $350 in maintenance, and $550 in insurance per annum for the property. 7,800 – 800 – – 610 350 – 550 = $5,490, will be the property’s net income.

Let’s say the property current value is $30,000. Given the information, we have calculated above we can now find our cap rate:

$7800 (gross income)

-$800 (property management)

-$610 (taxes)

-$350 (maintenance)

-$550 (insurance)

=$5,490 (net income) / $30,000 (purchase price) = 0.183 = 18.3% cap rate

Let’s now look at the importance of the cap rates to the real estate investor.

The Importance of Capitalization Rate

The cap rate is a very important metric for real estate investing. Here are several reasons why the cap rate is such an important metric.

It helps compare different investment opportunities.

The cap rate is mainly used to compare between two or more investment opportunities. For instance, when everything else remains constant, if an investor has two assets where one property has a 10% cap rate versus another property that has 3.5%, the investor will most likely focus on the asset with a 10% cap rate.

Cap rate is an important metric that helps compare the profitability of different investment opportunities. However, it is not the only analytical metric to consider. It is vital to understand that different cap rates represent different risk levels. A higher cap rate implies a higher level of risk whereas a lower cap rate implies lower risk.

So, there is no optimal cap rate, and it all depends on what the investor prefers. Sometimes the investor’s preferences may be based on the geographical location of the asset. The assets must be the same type of property and in similar geographic areas to be able to compare or contrast the cap rates of two or more pieces of property.

Conduct your own due diligence of course. You want to find opportunities that have a very high cap rate, but are low risk.

It indicates the amount of time it would take to recover the entire investment.

The cap rate also helps indicates how long it would take to recover your investment from an asset. For instance, if an asset has a cap rate of 10%. It would take approximately ten years for the investor to be fully capitalized or recover their investment.

You can use the cap rate as a way to determine an offer price

Using simple math you can use the cap rate as a way to determine your offer price for a commercial or residential income property. For example, if you know your net operating income and have a preferred cap rate you use it to determine market price.

If your net operating income is $100,000 and you want to achieve a 10% cap rate, you simply take $100,000 dividend by a 10% cap rate. This equals a $1,000,000 offer price for the income property. An appraiser will likely use a cap rate to determine value or at least look at comparable cap rates for similar buildings. Here’s an appraisal checklist to consider for preparing your sale or purchase.

What are realistic cap rates?

A cap rate is definitely not a one-size-fits-all approach. A cap rate can vary depending on the sector within real estate and the location. In a recent article from CrowdStreet, they reference how investment groups vary based on the location.

Here is how CrowdStreet broke it down:

“For example, that same investment group can spend that $20 million to buy the Los Angeles apartment building at a 5% cap rate. Or, it may consider spending $14 million to buy a shopping center in Kansas City at a 7% cap rate and the remaining $6 million to buy an industrial building in Minneapolis at a 6.5% cap.

There are a number of other factors that go into those real estate decisions, but on a purely numbers basis, the investment group can weigh the pros and cons of buying one asset in a top market that will deliver a 5% return, or buy two different assets in smaller cities with a higher blended return of 6.85%.”

As an investor, you need to think of it, in the same way, no matter if you are investing in residential, hotels, office, etc. A cap rate for a hotel investment in New York would be a lot different than a cap rate for a residential property in Omaha, Nebraska.

Investing in hotels is a lot easier than you think. Here is how anyone can start investing in hotels.

Cap Rates by Real Estate Segment

Here is a breakdown of the capitalization rates by segment over time.

Cap Rate by Real Estate Sector

Conclusion on How to Calculate a Cap Rate

In today’s age, there are plenty of ways to invest in real estate. You can easily do so through investing in properties directly, through REITs, stocks and real estate crowdfunding.

I use CrowdStreet, which offers me some of the best of breed investment opportunities in real estate that I can’t find elsewhere. I’m able to invest in commercial real estate and other opportunities across the United States.

The calculation of cap rate can help you become a smarter investor. Calculating cap rate is essential because it is one of the analytical tools that can help a real estate investor to assess the profitability of a residential or commercial investment property. I hope this guide will help you determine whether a specific real estate investment will be a viable option or not.

Do you know how to calculate a cap rate? Please let us know in the comment below. We’d love to hear from you.

Other Related Investing Money Resources:

Use these best robo-advisors to automate your passive income investments
Our resources on how to invest money to ensure success
How to use a 401(k) calculator to save on retirement fees
A guide to living off dividends forever… What does it take?

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The post How to Calculate a Cap Rate: Make Money with Real Estate appeared first on Millionaire Mob.

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Why Passive Income Isn’t (Always) The Best Way To Live

2019-01-15T01:35:00.001-08:00

Passive income isn’t for everyone. Some people can’t spend significant time trying to earn an income that will never come. Let’s evaluate some of the disadvantages of passive income to understand if it’s the right way to live for you.

Why Passive Income Isn’t (Always) The Best Way To Live

Passive income earners seem to be coming out of the woodwork these days. They’re the bloggers who spend their days traveling through exotic places, take breathtaking pictures, and making a living from a popular blog or e-book.

They may also be the neighbor who made smart investments in the markets a long time ago and are now retired and (presumably) sit around counting their money and complain about yard work.

I admit I get a ping of jealousy when I see these types. And that’s when the wheels in my head begin to turn. What’s stopping me from taking that path?

While their lives might seem envious, the saying “Be careful what you wish for” is true for a reason. When I sat and thought it out, I realized that there are a number of unexpected costs, obstacles, and hidden requirements that may not make relying on passive income the best way to live.

I created a book titled Dividend Investing Your Way to Financial Freedom to help you increase your income and build wealth at the same time.

If you want a sample of the book, you can download it here.

Combining both dividend investing and real estate can be a great way to invest your money. Both can give you passive income and a residual capital benefit.

Here are several other tips on how to invest money to allocate your assets.

What is Passive Income

Passive income is a type of income you get on a regular basis that requires little effort. Some examples of passive income include earnings from:

Monetized blogs (start a blog with Bluehost for as little as $3.95/month)
Affiliate programs
Royalties
Rental income (rent out your place on Airbnb and earn income that goes straight to debt or investments)
Flipping items
Investing (see what it takes to live off dividends forever with our dividend calculator)
Cryptocurrency

We live at a time where the gig-economy has made making money as easy as taking pictures of your spare bedroom and renting it out to travelers. Affiliate marketing has made it possible to make a living from your Instagram. Platforms like YouTube have even allowed people to monetize their makeup tutorials and hobbies.

With all of these changes in how and where people work, it’s easy to see why people like me dream about quitting our day jobs and instead live off passive income sources. With so many alternative ways to bring home the bacon, heading into an office for 40 hours a week seems moronic.

Here are the identified forms of passive income from Millionaire Mob:

Airbnb: $500-$2,000 per month
Dividend income portfolio with Robinhood (get free stock when you use my link): $100-$150 per month
Shutterstock: Sales of stock photos ~$50 per month
Peer-to-peer lending with Lending Club (get $50 free using my link): $35-$50 per month
Real estate crowdfunding with CrowdStreet: To-be-determined

These are all part of the 10-year plan to increase income and build wealth as fast as possible.

Cons of Passive Income

I’m sure you have seen a number of topics saying: there’s no such thing as passive income or passive income is a bad way to earn additional income or even that passive income is fake!

For me, I think it’s safe to say that passive income is very much real. However, there are definitely disadvantages to consider. Here are some of the disadvantages of passive income sources.

1. Passive Income Takes Diversity and Time

As idyllic as sitting around and doing little to earn money sounds, relying solely on passive income can be a risky way to earn a living.

For one, it’s always a bad idea to keep your eggs in just one basket. Many first-timers assume that they only need one stream of passive income. However, it takes several streams to sustain a comfortable lifestyle. And managing a number of streams can become chaotic and complicated.

When I first began a career blogging, I was overwhelmed with the amount of work I needed to put in from the get-go. Learning what makes a user-friendly site, studying best SEO practices, and even just writing the content on each page took days of research, trial, and error. It was a slow process, and I realized that I was going to need to keep working my 9 to 5 until I saw any sort of money appear.

And despite the idea that passive income should be accomplished without having to do any work, many incomes do not last forever. For example, bloggers constantly need to rewrite content, develop new courses or e-books, and promote their sites in order to continue a steady income. And investments may take a turn for the worst, requiring investors to keep an eye on how well their portfolio is doing.

Developing a course can take significant time to start earning realistic earnings. Here’s how to create an online course for a hobby.

2. Passive Income Can Be Isolating

Part of the reason I fell in love with my last 9 to 5 was the people I worked with. I’m a bit of a chatterbox, and I love getting to know everyone. While it’s much easier to get my tasks done from the comfort and quiet of my own living room, not heading into an office every day, regularly working alongside others, or even having someone to make small chat to can make me a little stir crazy.

For those who have a tough time keeping themselves accountable, the passive income lifestyle could completely throw them off course. For others, it’s a lifestyle that removes your opportunity to work with people who could bring you more work.

3. The True Cost of Starting Passive Income

Passive incomes are never as straightforward as they seem. These opportunities often require thousands in startup money, an obstacle that’s cost-prohibitive for many people. And when you multiply this need for cash by the number of income gigs you have going, your ROI may disappear quicker than you can blink.

For example, many of my friends began purchasing passenger vehicles to rent to other Uber and Lyft drivers. This removed the need for them to head out in the early hours and drive all day – they simply took a cut of the profits their contractors made.

However, to start this sort of business, I would still need the cash to buy a second car. And if that car breaks down, I would need money saved to help make repairs, pay for registration, and cover insurance. Without an initial chunk of change, this seemingly foolproof plan could fall apart in days. Or, if you are selling on eBay or even looking for scrap metal.

You’re time adds up and you might not be sure everything will go accordingly to plan.

4. Alternatives to Passive Income

The idea of spending the next 30 years of my life in debt working a 40-hour office position frightens me. And with so many alternative ways to make money, it seems foolish to stick to such a traditional path.

Yet I’m still hesitant to jump right into the passive income wave. Although laying back and letting my money work for me is a dream come true for many, I prefer to stay a bit more hands-on with my funds.

Lucky, there are plenty of ways to make a quick $500 whenever I feel moved to work. Freelancing, taking surveys, driving for a rideshare company, even charging Bird scooters are all fun, flexible ways to make some money on the side.

And, of course, there’s working part-time. Maintaining a regular job that requires some effort can provide you with some unbeatable benefits, including job security, a sense of stability, a structured schedule, and a steady source of income not based on the gambling of investments.

You can try using some of the best freelance websites to start earning side hustle income. The only problem with that is that y0u substitute your time. Here are 23+ online jobs to consider.

Conclusion on Deciding if Passive Income is For You

When it comes to passive income, remember Easy come, easy go. If full-time and part-time work really isn’t your jam, make sure you’ve figured out how you can sustain a passive income lifestyle and saved up a couple of months of salary before departing your job (and remember to do so on good terms).

If nothing else, your time in the full-time, 9 to 5 workforce will provide you with a firm and unsettling motivation to innovate your way into a sustainable passive income lifestyle.

What are your opinions on some of the cons of passive income? Please let us know in the comments below.

Lexi Carr is a freelance writer with a passion for research, saving money, and helping others. When she’s not obsessively reading financial advice blogs, you can find her binging a mini-series or drafting an article.

Other Passive Income Resources:

Use these cashback apps to earn income for routine purchases
How to flip phones for profit and start earning side hustle income
Tips for investing in wine to earn income

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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6 Best Options Strategies for Safe Income (Including Examples!)

2019-01-14T04:20:00.001-08:00

Options often get a bad rap as risky investments. Actually, they are risk-mitigate tools if used correctly and can help you weather the storm during any market conditions. Here are some of the best options strategies for income.

6 Best Options Strategies for Safe Income (Including Examples!)

We all love income investing strategies that can generate consistent monthly income, right. Why? We have monthly bills to pay, from utility bills, cable to phone bills and, more. Creating multiple streams of income is thus very vital.

A stock options trading is a safe income investment that can guarantee you a steady income. At this point, you’ve taken the necessary steps to start investing.

You are probably wondering, how? Well. Here we will explore some of the best options strategies for income.

A majority of people are familiar with income investments such as dividend investing, bonds and rental property. While these are safe income investments strategies, some require a more significant initial outlay like rental properties.

When I check Personal Capital, I’m able to see my various investments and cash flow for free. Use this tool to evaluate your income and investment diversification.

The book is titled Dividend Investing Your Way to Financial Freedom and features a number of resources to help you invest for financial freedom, including:

Improve your portfolio returns
Understand the pros and cons of a dividend investing approach
Develop and craft your own dividend investing strategy
Build wealth through a long-term compound interest plan

If you want a sample of the book, you can download it here.

Many people cannot afford rental properties (like investing in hotels) or other high capital cost investments. Options can be a great way for people to build income and wealth for little upfront capital.

In this article, we will explore how stock options can be the best way to create monthly income. You need to build a solid foundation to understand options trading to help you attain your goals before you start trading.

What are options strategies?

Options are like tools that can help an investor buy stocks at the target buying price or sell stocks at the target selling price. There are two major types of options which include put and call options.

The call option gives the holder of the option the right but not the obligation to buy at the strike price. The put option, on the other hand, gives the option holder the right but not an obligation to sell at the strike price. Options can give you the flexibility to navigate your portfolio and increase the income in your portfolio.

With both a call option and a put option, you can sell and buy the contracts. If you are a seller, you want the options to expire worthless to increase your income. Most of the below strategies for boosting your portfolio income includes both selling and buying options contracts at the same time.

You can find options virtually with every broker. Compare some of the best options brokers before proceeding with one that suits you best.

How to find the best stocks for options strategies

I think fundamental analysis and the evaluation of financial ratios are the best way to narrow down the right stocks for an options income strategy. If you choose the right stocks, you will find that these options strategies are the best ways to make money with options. Over the long haul, speculation will not win out. Having a proven, calculated options strategy is the best way to make consistent money from options.

How do you find the best stocks for your options strategy?

I’ve given you several lists on criteria for finding undervalued stocks that should help you use a stock screener like FINVIZ Pro or GuruFocus to widdle down your stocks to ones that have strong fundamentals. The best stocks for an options strategy include:

Have higher implied volatility relative to historical averages
The stock has identifiable resistance and support levels
The stock has made a recent significant move in one direction or the other (not always required)
A company that has outstanding fundamentals including profit, strong balance sheet and management team
In addition, you want to deploy an options strategy with a liquid volume of options trading

The above criteria will help you find the best stocks to deploy an options income strategy.

It doesn’t always have to be stock! In fact, some of the most effective income strategies with options are by using indices. Indices are usually very liquid options markets and you likely have significant exposure to the various indices with your retirement accounts. You can use these options strategies for income to boost your index investment income.

List of the Best Options Strategies for Income with Examples

Options trading may be a risky investment (if not used correctly). However, with the right option income strategies, you can make monthly income through options. There is however a small likelihood of making steady money when buying options, and thus we will mainly look at the selling options strategies.

To sell options like an expert, consider using TradingView as a tool to help you understand where a stock has resistance or support. Read more about the tool in our TradingView review.

Here are a 6 of the best options strategies for income:

Covered Call Writing

A covered call writing strategy is one of the best option income strategies. A covered call is also a buy-write strategy. I know you are curious to know what it entails. Covered call writing is an options strategy that involves holding a long position in an asset and writing/selling call options on that asset to generate profits.

It mainly arises when an investor has a short-term neutral view on the asset. Thus, the investor holds the asset in a long position and holds a simultaneous short position via the option. The investor aim is to earn income from the option premium. Read more about the best stocks for covered call writing.

Collar

A collar is yet another best options strategy to make money. It is equivalent to an out-of-the-money covered call position, but with an addition of a protective put. In this case, the put acts as an insurance policy. So it limits losses to a minimal, but an adjustable amount. Losses are limited which also means limited profits. But most investors are okay with it since it guarantees some steady income.

A collar options trading strategy is designed by holding shares of the underlying stock while at the same time you are buying protective puts. Also, you are selling call options against that holding. Having the same expiration month, both the calls and the puts are out-of-the-money options. They must also be equal in some contracts.

It is an ideal strategy to use if you are a trader that is writing covered calls basically to earn premiums, but you wish to protect yourself from a sudden drop in the underlying security price.

An example is to buy 100 shares of IBM and Sell one IBM Jan 110 call and simultaneously buy one IBM Jan 95 put.

Cash-Secured Naked Put Writing

Another best options strategy for monthly income is the cash-secured naked put writing strategy. It is a strategy that entails writing an out-of-the-money or at-the-money put option and at the same time setting aside sufficient cash to buy the stock.

In simple terms, you sell a put option on a stock you want to own by selecting a strike price that represents the price that you are willing to pay for that particular stock. So, your aim is to get allocated or to acquire the stock below the current/today market price.

Therefore, whether the put is assigned or not, all outcomes are seemingly satisfactory. You get a cash premium in exchange for the obligation to buy stock by paying the strike price. If you don’t purchase the stock, you still keep the premium as a consolation prize.

If you have sufficient money in your brokerage account that you can use to buy the shares, and then you are considered to be ‘cash secured.’ But, that is on condition that the put owner exercises the put.

An example is when you sell one AMZN Jul 100 put and you maintain $10,000 in the account. If you want more examples, read our post about how to sell weekly puts for income.

Iron Condor

An iron condor is another best options strategy for income. An iron condor is a position that comprises of one put credit spread one call credit spread. Its gains and losses are also limited. With an iron condor option strategy, the investor is exposed to a limited risk. It is a non-directional strategy that has a high probability of making limited but consistent profits. It occurs when the underlying asset seemingly has low volatility.

An iron condor can be equivalent to combining a bull spread and a call spread.

An example is to buy 2 SPX May 880 calls and sell 2 SPX May 860 calls and buy 2 SPX May 740 puts and then sell 2 SPX May 760 puts.

Credit Spread

A credit spread is one of the best income strategies using options. With credit spread strategy, you purchase of one call option and then sell another. An alternative, it involves the purchase of one put option, and sell off another. In this scenario, both options have the same expiration. The reason why it is termed as a credit spread is that the investor collects cash for the options trading.

Therefore, the higher priced option is sold and cheap, a further out-of-the-money option is bought. It is a strategy with market bias and limited profits as well as losses. A call spread is usually bearish, and the put spread is bullish. An example is to buy 5 JNJ Jul 60 calls and sell 5 JNJ Jul 55 calls.

Alternatively, buy 5 SPY Apr 78 puts and sell 5 SPY Apr 80 puts.

Diagonal Spread or Double Diagonal Spread

Diagonal spread can also be a perfect options trading strategy for safe income. It involves spreads where an option has a different strike price as well as expiration dates. The diagonal spread usually involves purchasing and selling of an equal number of options of the same class, and same underlying security with different expiration months and strike prices.

The diagonal spread options strategy is equivalent to calendar spread where short term options are sold, and the long term options are bought. It is mainly to take advantage of the sharp time decline in options that are close to expiration.

With the diagonal spread, the investor has a near term outlook that is slightly more bullish or bearish. It means that the option that is purchased expire later than the option sold. Also, the option purchased is further out-of-the-money than the option sold.

An example is to buy 7 XOM Nov 80 calls and sell 7 XOM Oct 75 calls. Alternatively, you can buy 7 XOM Nov 60 puts and sell 7 XOM Oct 65 puts. When you possess both positions at the same time, it’s a double diagonal spread which is thus one of the best options strategies for income.

Conclusion on Options Strategies for Income

The best options strategy for income is the cash flow investing strategy which involves the selling of options. Nobody knows whether the stock price will rise or fall. What matters most is the ability to manage the risk you are exposed to.

So by selling options, you can collect the premiums from the buyer of the options up front. Selling options are thus one of the safest options trading strategies. Buying calls or puts is a good strategy but has a higher risk and has a low likelihood of consistently making money. I like combining my options strategy with fundamental analysis.

I use these financial ratios to screen for the right dividend stocks.

This helps ensure me that I’m deploying an options strategy with stocks that I like for the long-term.

What do you think are the best options strategies for income? Let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you.

Other Related Investing Money Resources:

Our resources on how to invest money to ensure success
Our free dividend calculator to see what it will take to live off dividends
A guide on how to read financial statements and conduct financial statement analysis

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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6 No-Brainer Ways on How to Read Financial Statements

2019-01-11T07:09:00.001-08:00

If you want to become a successful investor, you need to know how to understand a company’s financial statements. Conducting financial statement analysis is crucial in making or breaking an investment opportunity. Below we will cover financial statement basics, financial statement analysis and key financial ratios. Let’s get into how to read financial statements.

6 No-Brainer Ways on How to Read Financial Statements

For a speculative investment approach like day trading of stocks, options, and futures, it might not be necessary to have a look at financial statements. But if you’re going to invest in a specific company with a long-term perspective, then your first point of reference will be its financial statements.

Through financial statement analysis, you can find undervalued stocks in a straightforward manner.

This, therefore, means that understanding what all the figures in financial statements indicate is quite critical. However, reading and interpreting financial statements can take a toll on anyone – and sometimes, even some accountants get it wrong when it comes to this.

My name is Alexander, founder of daytradingz.com. In this post, you will be shown exactly how to correctly read and understand a company’s financials to enable you to make wiser investments choices.

The article may not teach you how to become an accountant, but you’ll surely learn how to have an expert’s view of the financial statements.

If you want to invest your money effectively, you’ll need to know how to read financial statements. Millionaire Mob wrote a dividend investing book to help people get started investing.

The book is titled Dividend Investing Your Way to Financial Freedom and features a number of resources to help you invest for financial freedom, including:

Improve your portfolio returns
Understand the pros and cons of a dividend investing approach
Develop and craft your own dividend investing strategy
Build wealth through a long-term compound interest plan

If you want a sample of the book, you can download it here.

A tool like Personal Capital can help you manage your investment exposure for free.

Why Financial Statement Analysis is Important

Financial statement analysis is crucial because it will tell you information about a potential investment not otherwise seen through valuation/pricing, qualitative analysis, and more. A company might have an outstanding product with great growth, but have completed mismanaged their financial standing.

With the right financial statement analysis, you can uncover opportunities that might have room for improvement in a company’s financials not inherently priced into the valuation.

A good example was with Apple during their cash hoarding phase, a few investors noticed that they could optimize the capital structure by using leverage to repurchase shares and pay a dividend.

Apple had so much cash that they could use leverage at extremely low rates to repurchase state that had a return on equity of greater than 15%. It’s simple math.

If you are going to be an equity investor, you are lowest on the capital stack. Thus, it’s even more important to analyze a company’s financial statements to understand the viability of the company as a going concern.

You need to understand how to read financial statements if you investing in stocks, building a dividend portfolio, real estate, debt, etc. Every investment requires some level of financial statement scrutiny.

Getting started with investing is easy nowadays, these platforms will give you free stock simply by signing up.

How to Analyze Financial Statements

Two key financial statements are crucial towards understanding the financial position of any company. They include:

Income Statement
Balance Sheet

Let’s see how you can go about analyzing each of these separately.

How to Analyze an Income Statement

An Income Statement is a financial document containing the Revenue, Expenses, and the Net Profit of a company during a certain of time, mostly one year.

We may not cover every tiny detail of an income statement, but we’ll certainly cover some of the most important aspects using some ratios and relationships.

1. Net Profit Margin

This is the Net Income after tax divided by Total Gross Revenue.

For instance, if a company’s income statement contains an after-tax income of $100,000 and a gross revenue of $1,000,000, then you’ll analyze its Net Profit Margin by doing the following:

Net Profit Margin = $(100,000/1,000,000) which yields a Net Profit Margin of 10%.

Do this for similar companies in the industry to see how high or low a company’s net profit margins are. A higher ratio than its competitors means the company is doing well and the vice versa.

2. Earnings Per Share (EPS)

The EPS is a figure that shows the portion of the profit of a company that is allocated to each share traded on an exchange. It is calculated by dividing the net after-tax income by the number of outstanding shares, and the resultant figure shows a company’s ability to distribute profits to its shareholders.

Consider an example of these three company whose 2017 performance was as follows:

Company	Net Earnings	No of Outstanding Shares	Earnings per Share (Net Earnings/Outstanding Number of Shares)
McDonalds	$5.19 billion	807.4 million	6.4
Facebook	$15.9 billion	2.9 billion	5.5
Amazon	$3.03 billion	480 million	6.3

Here’s how to you can find the basic info for earnings per share on MarketWatch.

MarketWatch Earnings Per Share

If you were presented with the statements of these three companies for analysis, you can now clearly see that McDonald’s offered the best Earnings per Share in 2017 compared to Facebook and Amazon. This meant that McDonald’s had more sufficient income to pay dividends to its shareholders.

► Consider using stock analysis tools or a stock screener like the following:

FINVIZ,
TradingView,
MarketWatch and
Finbox.io with free functionalities to find the best companies listed at NYSE and NASDAQ based on their earnings per share growth.

FINVIZ has a great, easy to use screener that is completely free to use. Here’s a guide on how to use FINVIZ.

FINVIZ Stock Screener Dashboard

Alternatively, you can use a tool like Motley Fool Stock Advisor to have new investment ideas sent to you. This can be a great way to get idea generation flowing for your investing goals. I like working smarter not harder.

Here’s my Motley Fool Stock Advisor review if you want to see if it’s worth the price.

3. Return on Equity (ROE)

Return on Equity reflects the amount of net income as a percentage of a shareholder’s equity. This metric is also known as the Return on Net Worth and is expressed as a percentage as follows:

ROE = Net Income/Shareholders Equity

If a company reports a Net Income (Net Profit) of $100, 000 and an average shareholder equity of $1,000,000, this means that the company’s Return on Equity is 10% i.e. (100,000/1,000,000).

If you compare this to other companies in the same industry, the highest of them all reflects the company that is putting its assets to better use and thus, the best performing.

In the next section, you’ll be shown how to analyze some vital items in the balance sheet.

How to Analyze a Balance Sheet

A Balance Sheet or a Statement of Financial Position is a document that shows the assets, liabilities, and the equity of a company.

Below are some of the metrics you’ll need to use to help you understand a company’s financials.

4. Quick Ratio

A company should be able to come up with cash as and when required to fulfill its obligations to avoid penalties, fines, or suits. It is therefore important for you to evaluate the ability of a company to come up with liquid cash using the Quick Ratio.

The ratio also speaks volumes about how a company manages its cash.

It is calculated by taking the Current Assets less Inventory, then dividing the resultant figure by the Current Liabilities.

Consider this example of two companies operating in the same industry:

Company 1: Microsoft Corporation’s part Balance Sheet showing Current Assets and Current Liabilities.

Yahoo! Finance Microsoft Financial Statements

Company 2: Apple Incorporation’s part balance sheet also showing Current Assets and Current Liabilities.

Yahoo! Finance Apple Financial Statements

Source of images: https://yhoo.it/1jUfBeX

From the part balance sheets, we can easily compare the performance of the two companies in terms of the ability to raise liquid money within short notice as follows:

Quick Ratio is calculated using the formula: (Current Assets – Inventory)/Current Liabilities

Microsoft’s Quick Ratio in the second quarter of the year 2017 = $ (162,696,000 – 2,182,000)/55,745,000 which comes to 2.88.

Even before we analyze the next company, I need to mention that a ratio of 1 and above is an acceptable industry standard.

Apple’s Quick Ratio in the third quarter of 2017 = $ (128,645,000 – 4,855,000)/100,814,000 which yields 1.23.

The two ratios, therefore, mean that Microsoft was in a better position to raise liquid cash in the second quarter of 2017 as compared to Apple in the third quarter of the same year.

5. Account Receivables Turnover (In Days)

A decent number of big corporations went into receivership simply because they accumulated more debts that their working capital could sustain.

This typically leads to a cash crunch which paralyzes the operations of a company.

Therefore, the Accounts Receivables ratio in days is essential towards evaluating the ability of a company to collect their debts in a timely manner.

The ratio is obtained by dividing the standard number of days in a year (365 or 360) by the ratio from the formula:

Credit Sales/Average Accounts Receivable,

In full, this is the formula: 365 OR 360/(Credit Sales/Average Accounts Receivables)

To make this clearer, consider a company with sales amounting to $1,000,000 out of which $100,000 are cash sales. In addition, the company had an opening receivables balance of $50,000 in January and $100,000 in December.

To obtain the Accounts Receivable Turnover ratio in days, you’ll need to do the following:

Ratio = $ (1,000,000 – 100,000) / (50,000+100,000/2)

The number of days within a year will then be divided by the resultant figure, in this case, 12, to obtain the required ratio as seen below:

Ratio = (365/12) which is approximately 30. This means that it takes an average customer 30 days to pay debts owed to the company.

You can compare this ratio to other industry players to gauge and see how effective a company’s debt collection department is. The lesser the number of all days, the more unlikely a company will encounter a cash crunch.

6. Book Value (Net Tangible Assets)

This metric is used to measure how a company earns from its investment in physical assets. It is evaluated by taking a company’s Total Assets less Intangible Assets such as Goodwill – the difference represents a company’s net physical assets.

An enterprise that makes a profit of $10 million using $20 million worth of net assets is definitely better than one that generates $10 million in profits using $40 million in net assets.

There you have it!

Like I mentioned earlier on in this article, it may not be possible to highlight every detail of a company’s financials. However, the above is meant to help get an overview of how to read and understand financial statements.

Here are several other financial ratios to consider during the financial statement analysis process.

Conclusion on Financial Statement Analysis

Of course, investing is more than just reading and correctly interpreting financial figures. And there’s no doubt that financial statements are a key source of information regarding the financial health of a company, but they are not a means to an end.

It is essential for you to stay informed about other happenings around the financial space to help you make informed decisions about conclusions drawn from a company’s financials.

Other things you need to consider include business takeovers, tech advancements, political events, economic trends, among other things.

The best thing about learning how to read financial statements is perhaps the fact that you don’t necessarily need to pay a financial guru or an accountant to interpret for you the financial figures.

This will save money while keeping you in charge of your investment decisions and avoid myths of investing.

The downside, however, is that when you read financial statements, you’ll need to keep in mind that these accounting reports are somewhat tentative and conditional.

Accountants make a lot of estimates and projections when it comes to revenue, other income figure, expenses and losses.

At some point, soft numbers can be mixed in with hard numbers in the statements. To cut the long story short, financial statements can be quite iffy; and it can be challenging to get around this accounting limitation.

Do you understand how to read financial statements now? Let us know in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you!

Other Related Investing Money Resources:

Use these smart investment techniques to turnaround your investment portfolio
Our resources on how to invest money to ensure success
Our free dividend calculator to see what it will take to live off dividends

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Investing in Hotels: 5 Ways Find Hotel Investment Opportunities

2019-01-10T00:48:00.001-08:00

Getting in the hotel business is actually easier than you think. Here are a few ways you can start investing in hotels.

A Guide for Investing in Hotels: 5 Ways Find Hotel Investment Opportunities

Having a passive source of income is one of the biggest dreams of many people. Everyone wants to have some degree of certainty when it comes to matters of finances. Investing in hotels is one sure way that can help you achieve financial freedom when done wisely.

One of the biggest investment myths is that you need a lot of money to start investing. That is very false. The same applies for hotels. You don’t need a lot of money to get involved.

It’s a no-brainer that if you’re thinking of how to invest your hard earned money, you want to get something that will guarantee you a regular flow of income and at the minimal level of risks. Hotel investment opportunities are a lot more common than you think. There are several ways that you can gain exposure to the hotel industry.

Hotel investors are definitely wanted. And needed.

I love pairing my dividend investing alongside real estate investing. They both feature similar features, which include the opportunity to increase your income AND realize capital appreciation/residual value.

I created a book titled Dividend Investing Your Way to Financial Freedom to help you increase your income and build wealth at the same time.

If you want a sample of the book, you can download it here.

Combining both dividend investing and real estate can be a great way to invest your money. Here are several other tips on how to invest money to allocate your assets.

I’ve been tracking my asset allocation using Personal Capital, which is completely free to use. I’m able to track both my cash flow and net worth at the same time using their intuitive dashboard.

Use my link to get a free investment consultation.

Why invest in hotels?

Because people need a place to sleep. No really, the United States is very spread out geographically and people LOVE to work. A number of jobs across the country require people to meet in-person, which entails traveling. Hotels are a crucial part of the American economy.

Despite the rise of home-sharing, hotels are still an attractive investment opportunity because remote locations simply don’t have the opportunity for home-sharing. The meaning of investing in hotels has a number of different considerations, including direct ownership, partial, corporate participation and more. I’ll highlight how you can get involved.

With hotels, you have the benefits of the following that aren’t found in residential real estate:

Tenant duration diversification (tenants stay at varying levels)
Tenant demographic diversification (people staying at hotels come from all jobs, income and risk profiles)
Locational risk mitigation through multi-location hotels
Benefits of scale in certain instances

Investing in hotels is definitely market specific, so do what you can to conduct your own due diligence on each type of investment opportunity that I will outline within here. There are plenty of risks associated with investing in real estate and income properties. Market risk is just one of them.

Here are several other real estate risks to consider before investing.

5 Ways Anyone Can Invest in Hotels

Hotel investment opportunities come large and small. The best part is that you can find opportunities to invest in hotels nearly in every market.

Although investing in a hotel was in the past considered a thing for the rich, with new laws and investment structures, it is possible for most people today to invest in them even without necessarily building or buying a hotel. In this article, we will focus on the five major ways of investing in hotels.

Invest in Hotel REITs

Hotel REITs are significant players in the hotel industry, and they participate in various ways either as buyers, sellers, hotel owners and can also hold hotel debt. REITs (Real Estate Investment Trust) are real estate companies that resemble mutual funds. REIT form was created by Congress in 1960 to enable the average Americans to invest in real estates without the need to buy or finance any property.

It gives people a chance to invest in a variety of companies without buying the stock of every company. One can purchase hotel REITs just the same way you can buy mutual funds, stocks or and bonds.

Hotel REITs pay their clients some of the most attractive dividend yields as compared to other companies in the stock market. Although these yields are mostly affected by the booms and recessions in the economy, individuals can still make good money from these investments. Their recent dividend payment is a representation of yields ranging from 3.8% -7.8% which is way higher than the common stocks.

The major disadvantage of this kind of investment is that REIT dividends are treated as ordinary income. It means that instead of enjoying the lower dividend tax rates, they are taxed as normal income to the individual. They do not fall under the “qualified dividends.”

Start investing in Hotel REITs by opening a brokerage account with Robinhood (get a free share of stock using my link). These apps will give you free shares of stock just for signing up (and depositing). There’s no excuses to not start investing now.

Examples of Lodging REITs include Ashford Hospitality Trust, MGM Growth Properties, Sothera Hotels Inc., and more.

These Lodging REITs can be a great way to start earning some additional dividend income.

Crowdfunded Real Estate

Crowdfunding is yet another way to participate in hotel investing. It is the process of acquiring funding for a project by getting a large number of people, primarily through online platforms to contribute small amounts towards the project. The practice enables the entrepreneur to acquire funding easily and the investors to get an easy way of becoming part of the project.

By using a crowdfunding platform to raise capital, you are given a broader reach to accesses investors who can share your capital raising campaigns. If you wish to become a hotel owner through crowdfunding, you can do this either as; the entrepreneur or as an investor in a crowdfunding site. Crowdfunding sites use different social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to get potential investors.

Through the 2012 Act of Jumpstart Our Business Startups that modified some Regulation D rules, real estate entrepreneurs can now do more direct marketing to acquire funding. Crowdfunding can come through two ways which include:

Rewards crowdfunding in which the entrepreneurs will presell their product/service to launch their business idea without having to incur any debt or giving out shares.
Equity crowdfunding in which the investor receives some shares of the project depending on the amount of money they have contributed towards the project.

A great platform to use for accredited investors is CrowdStreet. I love how they offer diversified options for investing in real estate. The returns are far above what you’d see in anything else out there with IRRs in the 20+%.

Common Equity in Hotel Stocks

Another ideal way of becoming a hotel owner is through purchasing common equity in hotel stocks. If you’ve been wondering how to invest in a hotel, then you should consider getting some hotel stocks in your portfolio. When you purchase these shares, it means that you give the hotel money to acquire part ownership of the hotel. The more shares you possess, the larger the percentage of ownership you have.

Common stockholders are the ones who determine the board of directors or vote for any merger, and they also are the ones who receive high returns if the hotel is successful. Common equity has enabled even the ordinary and average citizens to acquire ownership and participate in the worlds renowned hotels. An investor is issued with a stock certificate to signify ownership.

Stockholders get dividend payments depending on the number of their shares and also the profits that the hotels make. The revenue of the hotel will be determined by the occupancy room rate, average room rates, food, and beverages, as well as management services among others.

Although hotels are affected by various factors such as terror attacks and natural disasters, they remain among the best real estate investment opportunities offering a lucrative return on capital for investors. Stocks do not mature, and therefore the owner is the sole determiner of when to sell it.

Some of the key things that one should look for before investing in hotel stocks include:

The hotel’s strategy as well as the capex plans for the next 5 to 10 years
Economic cycles and factors
Hotel segmentation

As a common equity investor, you are lowest in the capital stack. In the event of a liquidation, you are paid out last. Some hotel stocks include Hilton, Marriott, MGM, and more.

Create Your Own Hotel with Airbnb

Airbnb is another easy and great way of investing in hotels. It is an online platform that enables individuals with free renting spaces to list them online and get clients to rent the space. If you have a room that you can rent out and wish to offer it for lodging services to travelers, you can list it on Airbnb and easily get potentials, customers.

It enables the members to organize for homestays, hospitality services, lodging, and tourism experiences. You need to have space and list it on Airbnb to become a hotel owner. You pay a commission of 3% to Airbnb for any booking made through the platform, and the guest pays 6% to 12%. The company acts as a broker and does not own any of the listed hotels.

The platform usually specializes in private homes renting, but to some extent, even the commercial hotels are listing on the website. It costs you nothing to start as long as you have a space to let and you also use less effort to advertise your space.

I’ve increased my income by $750-$2,000 per month by listing my home on Airbnb. Give it a try. It’s a great way to put income in your pocket that flows directly to your personal bottom line. By using Airbnb, you are sort of investing in a hotel room rather than an entire complex. If you have multiple bedrooms and you slice them up, you are investing in multiple hotel rooms.

Just Buy a Hotel Property Outright

Another way on how to invest in hotels is by purchasing a hotel property. It means that you have to have enough capital to buy the property as some of these properties can be very expensive. By purchasing the property, you can decide to operate the hotel yourself or set a managing team to undertake the daily operations of the hotel.

When buying a hotel, you can do this by either purchasing the entire hotel, buying a part of the hotel like some of the rooms or even the reception area. Buying the whole is the most expensive option, but it allows you to enjoy all the profits as well as having complete control of the hotel.

You will also cater for all the expenses and costs of running the business. You can also buy a freehold property in which another person runs the hotel, or you buy the management rights of a hotel that gives you the rights to manage the hotel, but the property belongs to someone else.

Disadvantages of Investing in Hotels

Of course, there are definitely some cons from investing in hotels. Let’s take a look at why looking at hotel investment opportunities might not be a great fit for you.

Short-term rental risk aka vacancy risk
Larger upfront capital costs
Operational risk
If you have only one hotel, you are subject to significant market risk

Only you can determine if the risk profile fits your investment needs. However, I think everyone should at least consider if investing in hotels is suitable for their portfolio.

The hotel room return on investment has traditionally been much higher than residential real estate (flipping aside) and can certainly be much more attractive than commercial real estate.

Conclusion on Investing in Hotels

Investing in residential real estate gets a lot of press. I simply believe that hotels are a great way to get sub-sector diversification and an opportunity to build your portfolio in real estate.

Investing in hotels is a lucrative venture, and it’s no longer as expensive as it used to be due to the various ways you can use. If you want to invest in a hotel, then consider trying one or a few of these ways. See how this fits into your investment plan by using our dividend calculator.

Will you try investing in hotels or look for hotel investment opportunities? Please let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you!

Other Related Investing Money Resources:

Use these smart investment techniques to turnaround your investment portfolio
Our resources on how to invest money to ensure success
A guide to living off dividends forever… What does it take?

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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26 Places to Collect Scrap Metal for Reselling

2019-01-09T02:33:00.001-08:00

Did you know that you can find scrap metal near you? Did you know there are thousands of people that need to buy scrap metal? Yes to both! Finding scrap metal for reselling is actually a pretty profitable business. We will highlight 26+ places that you can collect metal scrap near you.

26 Places to Collect Scrap Metal for Reselling

Finding ways to increase your income is paramount for wealth creation. I recently did a post on how to make money flipping phones and that made me realize. There is significant value in the scrap metal in those phones that people are making money off of.

Where else can I find metal scrap near me? Well, I had to find out! We’ve already written about the following reselling guides to help you increase your side hustle income:

Scrap metal collection is a booming and profitable business. Scrap metal demand is rising as the need for recycling rises. When scrap metals are used as a raw material, it can help us preserve our environment. If you’re interested in this business but have you’re wondering “where can I get metal scrap near me”

Well… In this article, we will explore where to find scrap metal for free and how to make money by reselling them. Becoming a junk reseller isn’t the hottest trend in the world, but it certainly isn’t going away anytime soon.

Also, I know a few people that made the collecting scrap metal side hustle into a full-time business. All you need to do is start small, reinvest cash flow for further scale and repeat.

How to Make Money Selling Scrap Metal

Scrap metal is everywhere, and if you look hard enough, you can collect scrap metal and make a decent income reselling them. The earnings usually depend on whether the metal is ferrous or non-ferrous. Non-ferrous metal scraps can fetch you more money than ferrous ones because of their properties and are more difficult to come by.

Non-ferrous metals have desirable properties including higher conductivity, low weight, non-magnetic and resistant to corrosion. The scrap yard dealers that buy the scrap metals weigh them and can pay you per ton.

If you’d like to get into the scrap metal business, follow a few simple steps to ensure you can build a sustainable business and make money.

Ensure you buy at the lowest possible price (free is always best of course)
Make sure you understand what people pay for scrap metal prices
Sell to the right buyer of the scrap metal
Stay disciplined in your gross margin (i.e., revenue less cost of acquisition)
If you find something that is working, grow it by hiring outside help (you don’t need to be the person collecting the metals)
Continue to move up the value chain

But how do you know what are good scrap metal prices? Here is how to get cash for metal.

Scrap Metal Prices Overview

One of the biggest components to create a scrap metal reselling business is that must monitor and know scrap metal prices on a daily basis, especially if you have a significant amount of salvaged equipment. People are willing to buy and sell anything.

Metal is continually recycled. It needs to be. We use so much metal in our electronics and other products and it’s simply too hard to produce.

Thus, we need to recycle it. Therefore, there are plenty of places that are willing to pay a premium for scrap metal just so it can be repurposed.

List of 26+ Places to Find Scrap Metal

A lot of people wonder, where can I buy scrap metal near me? So, here are some of the best places to find scrap metal near you:

Search Your House

When I ponder of where I can get scrap metal, the first place to find metal scrap near me would be in the house. Everyone uses different items that can be scrapped if they are old or worn out.

If you look keenly in your house, you can be sure to find a few items that you no longer use and that can be scrapped. You can collect those scrap metals and take them to a scrap yard near you.

Sheds and Garages

Another place to find cheap scrap metal is to search in your basement, garage and shed of friends, family, and neighbors. Ask them to give them to you as a way to help them clean up or can sell them to you at a reasonable cost. A lot of items that act as kitchen appliances are made of steel, aluminum, brass and copper and thus can be used as scrap metal.

Machine Shops

If you visit machine shops near you, you may find metal scraps. The bigger machine shops sell their scrap metal to dealers, but you may be able to get some. Try to give them a competitive price offer which may give them a reason to sell the scrap to you.

Junkyards and Dumpsites

Another place to collect scrap metal is in the junkyards and dump sites. Some junkyards can give you scrap metals for free while others will give them to you but at a fee. There are plenty of different scrap metal recycling yards around you. However, you will likely need to pay money for these whereas the other options you can obtain them for free.

Scrap Metal Companies

You can also get scrap metal from the scrap metal facilities. They usually buy local scrap metal for reselling and sometimes they reform them into standard sizes to sell to machine shops and metal companies. Thus, you can get scraps of all sizes and shapes. There are actually people that have made large businesses from this. You basically become a metals trader.

Garage Sales around your neighborhood

Sometimes the households get rid of some of their belongings at a small price. Be on the lookout for garage sales around you and bargain for items that could be worth more as scrap. Look for items such as electronics, workout equipment among other items. Also, Craigslist has a lot of products that people are basically giving away for free.

Community Clean-Ups

If you participate in community clean-ups, you may be lucky to come across aluminum rims among other wrecked car parts lying around. Check with your town and find out when the next clean up happening.

Bulk Garbage Day

In a majority of cases, the garbage collectors have bulk material pickup day which can be another great way to walk away with scrap metals. Homeowners place the items that they want to get rid of in the curb the night before, and thus you can find some free scrap to take. Check around for items such as AC units, grills, fridges among others.

Website/Online sources

To get metal scrap near me, I would also consider searching the internet. A majority of scrappers use online sites such as Craiglist to look for people who are trying to get rid or selling items. You may find some local giveaways around your area where you can buy cheap scrap metals and cash in on it.

College Campuses

Another place to get scrap near you is to look at college campuses. College students often clean up their hostels and apartments, and they throw away some “ugly furniture” such as broken TVs, lamps, and shelving units and more.

Festivals/Events

During the festivals, events and other fairs, scrappers can collect a bulk amount of aluminum cans. Find out if there any events happening around you, you can get a substantial amount of scrap and bag a few dollars by reselling them.

Recreation Centers

In recreation centers, you can find some scrap from old sports equipment such as old aluminum lacrosse sticks, and aluminum bats among others. You may get some free scrap while helping them get rid of the old and worn-out equipment. Always consult with the owners to get their permission before you collect any item.

Local area Homeowners & Residents

Another great place to look for scrap metals is from residents and homeowners. They could have items such as air conditioners, bedframes, appliances and lawn furniture among others. You can let people know your services by marketing your scrap pick up business to the people around you.

Mobile apps

Apps are also great resources that you can make use of when searching for scrap metals. An app like iScrap can be of great help in helping you find the closest scrap yards around you as well as reporting your prices.

Restaurants

Stainless steel equipment is usually found in restaurants because of their ease of use and cleanliness. In a majority of cases, you can find restaurant equipment that has worn out and is no longer in use such as refrigerator, countertops, and oven among other appliances.

Bakeries

In bakeries, you can also get a lot of stainless steel equipment similar to kitchens. They also have stainless steel or aluminum racks and shelving. Stainless steel is used in Bakeries mostly because it is easy to clean and food rarely sticks on it.

Car and Aerospace industry

Stainless steel is also often found in equipment and parts in engines, and airplanes because of its heat resistance property. It is strong and can withhold very high temperatures so it is used in testing engines or when a lot of friction is formed.

Kitchens

In kitchens, you are also likely to come across equipment made of stainless steel such as dishwashers, sinks, cooking trays, pots and pans among other appliances. In schools where there is a kitchen, you can check around and may get some older pots that are no longer in use that you can resell and make money.

Railings and abandoned buildings

If there is a railing or an abandoned house around you, you can take a look around and collect some metal scrap. Most structures have stainless steel items including benches, door handles, and railings among others. Be sure to get permission from the owner if it is private property or the from the person in authority.

Construction and Renovation Sites

Find contacts of renovation and construction tradespeople including HVAC repair technicians, plumbers, and electricians and establish networks with them. Ask them to give you leads or to let you know when they have any scrap metal that they would like to get rid of.

Local Businesses and Offices

Businesses can scrap computers and other tools that have broken down. Move around and leave a business flyer that helps advertise your business to the offices and businesses around you.

Electronic repair shops

In electronic repair shops, you are likely to find monitors and screens that are beyond repair. Most often, scrap yards don’t accept monitors because they are hard to recycle, but you can cut off wires and transformers that are attached to the base of the computer monitors and TVs instead. You can get insulated wires that are also attached in items such as DVDs players, VCRs, laptops and desktop towers and more. Use scissors or nose pliers to cut them off and resell them in a scrap yard.

Artisanal Joints and welding businesses

Artisans and welders use metal as they craft their tools. Find joints near you that are involved in metal works and find out if you can get some cheap scrap metals. In welding businesses, you can collect also collect some cheap metal scraps.

Farms and Ranches

In farms and ranches, you can find scrap metals. If you live near a farming area or a ranch, visit the place and find if you can collect some free scrap metals. They may have left old machinery, cars among other items rusting away and so it is an ideal place to collect scrap metals.

Shooting Ranges

Public, as well as private shooting ranges also may have brass shells gathered to sell to recycling plants. You may go and negotiate with them and get cheap discharged shells as scrap to resell.

Hospitals, medical clinics, assisted living centers and clinics

In medical practices and hospitals, you can find all sorts of scrap items including walkers, wheelchairs, beds and other appliances. Create a network with the administrators in such institutions and let them know about your scrap business.

Conclusion on Scrap Metal Near Me

It’s a dirty job but somebody’s gotta do it. If you have been pondering, “where can I collect metal scrap near me?’ I hope this list has offered you some useful insights. It is vital to ensure that you have put in the safety measures such as wearing protective eyewear, gloves and headgear and also be sure to register your business.

Where will you consider collecting scrap metal? Will you become a junk collector? Please let us know in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you.

Related Resources

16+ ways to get free stickers from the brands you love
33+ places to get keys made near you
6+ apps that will give you free stocks for signing up

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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How to Start Investing: A Guide to Make Investing Easy (and Profitable!)

2019-01-08T02:38:00.001-08:00

You can invest easy if you have a plan and strategy for success. Here’s how to make investing incredibly easy and profitable.

How to Start Investing: A Guide to Make Investing Easy (and Profitable!)

Leave it to itself, for the love of God. Leave it. – Colbert–Le Gendre – Journal économique, 1751

When I reached college and started getting a feel for what I wanted to do as a career, I gravitated towards economics and finance. Before long, I got a head full of steam and decided to take a chance at investing for myself. I was easy to learn how to invest money.

Much like the children at Lake Wobegon, I thought I would be above average and realize some great investment returns. Much to my dismay, however, the early results led to many tough lessons.

My first investment idea led to painful, yet informative losses. Roughly a decade ago, satellite radio got a lot of buzz when two major competitors merged to form SiriusXM.

The deal sold to the public offered hundreds of millions of dollars in cost synergies, the creation of a formidable content powerhouse, and a larger share of the entertainment market. The investing rationale seemed like a no-brainer. I bought roughly $1,500 worth of shares.

How wrong I was. Within months, the stock dropped nearly 97%. Talk about a scarring experience on my first investment.

The story thankfully has a happy, but inadvisable ending. Being the young fool that I was, I thought my original decision was still right and I elected to purchase another stake in the company around the all-time lows.

“It’s said that a wise person learns from his mistakes. A wiser one learns from others’ mistakes. But the wisest person of all learns from others’ s successes.”

There was no evidence to support my decision. This wasn’t investing. This was gambling. I knew that I had to make investing easy. Here’s an investing made easy guide to ensure success. At the end of the day, you will know how to start investing.

Gambler’s Luck: How I Learned to Start Investing Profitably

I threw good money after bad and luck would have it that another company would step in to save the merger from failure and the stock took a turn for the better. I sold my position near break-even and decided to take a hiatus from investing after a bruising start.

Before I started again, I wanted to reflect on what I had done wrong. In hindsight, I deduced my losses were attributable to thinking I had an edge when in fact, I really didn’t.

To avoid this outcome again, I knew I needed to read a lot more about investing and the market. I developed five steps I needed to follow before beginning my investing journey on better footing.

Also, I needed to recognize it isn’t enough simply to buy a stock you think will perform well. I needed to understand the basic premise of what investing consists of dealing with the future.

And like all things related to the future, we can’t have a perfect prediction of what the future will bring. In that sense, we make forecasts for how we think a stock or the market will perform and in so doing, encounter the biggest element involved with investing: risk.

Risk is a bad thing which should make you worry if you’ve got your head on straight and act rationally. Because humans are naturally risk-averse, if you act prudently, you should expect to receive incremental returns for any incremental risks you assume through investing.

Your goal should be to manage your risk appropriately while growing your net worth through savvy investing and cost management.

You can do this by using Personal Capital to ensure you are diversified and choosing low-cost options in your retirement accounts for FREE.

The Difficulty of Picking Winners… Consistently

It’s extremely important to note that investing is not about how well a business runs. While it should be a functioning business, the real driver for stocks is their performance in relation to market expectations.

In fact, savvy investing is based on identifying a mismatch between a stock’s current price and the expectations of where the stock could go. When this mismatch exists, there’s an expectations gap.

Don’t be mistaken, finding and understanding a solid business are key elements to distinguish between companies rightly deserving of their current stock prices given all available information and uncovering hidden gems that have no business trading at current prices.

But most importantly, an intelligent investor recognizes the difference between the price paid for a stock and how much that stock is actually worth.

Just finding a great company isn’t enough when it comes to investing. Valuation, the price paid, and how it measures up to expectations are more important.

Here’s how to find undervalued stocks.

How to Gain an Edge in Investing

Some investors go to great lengths to gain an edge over the market. In recent years, a cottage industry of tech firms has sprouted up which provides “alternative data” to those willing to pay for it. These firms process and provide information on everything from weather to web searches to satellite imagery and sell it for some serious money to large investors looking to get an advantage.

But attempting to gain an edge is nothing new to the market. For years, astute investors have pored through annual reports looking for nuggets not priced into a stock.

They look for subtle hints gleaned from changes in risk factor ordering, management commentary, or any number of other items. Warren Buffett reads “500 pages [of corporate reports] every day” and says this knowledge builds up like compound interest. Others read even more.

What will be the new way of gaining an edge tomorrow? There’s no way to know for sure, but it may produce significant outperformance for those early to take up the practice and quickly competed away as many more pile on to adopt the practice.

Finding an edge is hard enough, but maintaining one is all the harder.

Why You Should Diversify Your Investments

Picking individual stocks is fraught with all kinds of uncertainty. For starters, by investing in one stock, the investor takes on unsystematic risk or the risk that comes from the uncertainty tied to investing in a single stock or industry. Another term to describe this is “diversifiable risk.”

There are definitely other risks to consider such as your position in the capital stack.

As the name suggests, investors can mitigate this risk by diversifying their portfolios to include a wide range of stocks, sectors and industries. Doing so will avoid the risks associated with one specific stock or industry.

For the risk-seeking investor, concentrating a portfolio in a handful of stocks or sectors can lead to larger gains as compared to a basket of securities. However, for the less-experienced (and even the professionals) this added risk can torpedo an investment portfolio.

Some investors find those gems and become the heroes, but few and far between have this sustained success. If consistently picking the best stocks were easy, everyone would do it and no one would think of Warren Buffett as the “Oracle of Omaha”.

It’s never been easier to gain exposure to different asset classes. Residential real estate is a great investment because it offers the opportunity to increase your income AND build wealth over time. You can also gain exposure to commercial real estate using crowdfunding platforms such as CrowdStreet.

Also, peer-to-peer lending offers an opportunity to earn additional yield. You can use LendingClub and their free automated investing to earn additional income to complement after-tax investment accounts or even retirement accounts.

How to Approach Investing and Be Humble

It’s tempting to think that an investor’s job is to find the best stocks at all times, but this view presents all kinds of problems. The better approach involves viewing investing as a spectrum of probabilities. By that, I mean evaluating the probabilities of certain investment outcomes.

For example, do you find it more or less likely that Amazon will double its revenues in the next 5 years? Why or why not?

Do you have some unique insight that leads you to think this outcome is more or less probable? How does the market feel about that probability? The question to ask is, “What do I know about Amazon’s business that the market doesn’t?”

Obtaining material information not readily known by the public can affect your expectations for a stock and give you an advantage over the market. But as mentioned above, many investors go a long way to establish an edge and thinking you have one when you really don’t might undermine your returns. Sometimes having humility and avoiding mistakes can lead to a better investing outcome.

Following that notion, I think about smart investing in a way that minimizes mistakes instead of pursuing maximum gains. I don’t like taking on uncompensated risk. You can minimize risk by evaluating these financial ratios for investing.

A portfolio requires a healthy balance of risk and reward as well as exposure to many different securities. I keep the following items in mind when investing:

Steer clear of any and all avoidable risks. Don’t take on unnecessary risk when the probability of a better investment outcome doesn’t exist.
Be cautious and highly skeptical of your conclusions and whether you feel you possess some edge. It is much more likely you don’t have one when compared to the deep pockets spending endless time and money seeking the next edge.
Minimize the number of times you touch your portfolio. High portfolio turnover in search of better investments more often than not leads to negative consequences for your returns.
Avoid big mistakes. You stand to gain a lot more by doing nothing than thinking you have some edge (when you really don’t) and acting upon it.

In Investing, Doing Less is More

So where does this leave me as an investor? As I outline above, if I aim to avoid unnecessary risk, always be skeptical that I possess an edge, touch my portfolio as infrequently as possible and minimize my mistakes, what options are available to me?

As a small investor, my best choice in investing is to follow the economic model made famous in France: laissez-faire, French for “let it be”. What do I mean by this?

Doing as little as possible through low-cost passive index investing. Why? Because it accomplishes all of those items and costs me little-to-nothing.

Active investing is difficult. The majority of investment managers, people who do this for a living, routinely underperform their benchmarks.

Remember when I said to think of investing as a spectrum of probabilities? The odds of active investing (stock-picking) outperforming a passive strategy have become increasingly slim, especially as index funds become virtually free.

So, what is the most reliable method for reaching investing success? In my opinion, with all that I have presented, it is utilizing the last real edge in investing: time spent in quality investments.

Let low-cost, diversified index funds compound my returns and outperform the majority of folks chasing higher returns by thinking they have an investing edge. Fees are the worst. Especially in your retirement accounts. That’s why I use a fee calculator like Blooom and Personal Capital.

You can read a Blooom review to learn more.

Here’s how to use these two retirement fee calculators to your advantage.

Passive index investing avoids unsystematic risk through diversification, doesn’t rely on any unique insight you think you have and the market doesn’t possess, minimizes investment turnover, and avoids big mistakes.

This investing style meets all of my criteria for realizing the best investment outcomes. In investing, doing less is more.

Jack Bogle knew how to make investing easy

How to Begin Investing with Little-to-No Money

I began investing in low-cost passive index funds (exchange-traded funds, or ETFs) through Vanguard but a year ago made the switch to Betterment, a robo-advisor. I changed because Betterment uses scientific research to optimize which ETFs you hold based on your investing objectives.

Other alternatives include Wealthsimple or M1 Finance. These can be game-changers for your wealth building strategies.

Additionally, the service automatically rebalances your holdings across time as you make contributions, take withdrawals or near your investing objectives.

The other added advantage to robo-advisors like Betterment is that they offer tax-efficient investing strategies to minimize the amount of taxes you pay on realized gains. Read through the best robo-advisors compared to pick one that is right for you.

If your accounts aren’t tax-advantaged (e.g., IRA, 401(k)), harvesting these tax losses can increase your returns by minimizing your recognized capital gains each year. These services charge slightly more than a basic Vanguard ETF but practically manage themselves while keeping you diversified based on your investing objectives.

Actually, did you know that there are apps that will give you free shares of stock for signing up? Check out this list of ways to get free stocks from apps.

I use Robinhood for my after-tax accounts. Use my link and get a free share of stock!

Conclusion on How to Start Investing

There are several key takeaways from the lessons learned here. Investing should not be overly-complicated or stressful. It should be fun, automated and simple. I love applying the Keep It Simple (KISS) approach to investing.

Use math to minimize risk while maximizing reward. However, don’t overdo your math. It might only end up hurting in the long-run. In order to make investing easy, you have to start with your plan.

Millionaire Mob created a dividend investing book to help you increase your income and build wealth over time. The investing book is called Dividend Investing Your Way to Financial Freedom.

If you want a sample of the book, you can download it here.

Or, read more about why I wrote a dividend investing book to hear my story.

Do you know how to start investing? How will you invest easy? Please let us know in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you.

Other Related Investing Money Resources:

Use these smart investment techniques to turnaround your investment portfolio
Our resources on how to invest money to ensure success
A guide to living off dividends forever… What does it take?

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Save Money on Coffee: 5 Best Credit Cards for Coffee Lovers

2019-01-03T18:24:00.001-08:00

Coffee can be expensive. Especially now that coffees can cost between $4-$5 per order. Those cold brew nitros can really add up. Thankfully, there are a number of cards that offer attractive cashback for buying coffee. Here are the best credit cards for coffee lovers.

Save Money on Coffee: 5 Best Credit Cards for Coffee Lovers

A majority of Americans love to start their day with a cup of coffee. If you are fond of coffee, then you should consider getting yourself a credit card for coffee lovers. Credit cards not only come in handy when doing shopping and traveling, but also when buying coffee.

Today, there are several best credit cards for coffee lovers offered by different credit providers. Besides giving you a chance to make purchases on credit, you can also take advantage of the credit cards rewards, goodies as well as freebies. If you don’t have credit and want to build it, these cards can be great starter options for you to start building your credit score.

I track my spending with Personal Capital and I’ve probably spent too much money on coffee. However, I saved some money from these cards.

List of Best Credit Cards for Coffee Enthusiasts

Use a resource like DailyCupo to continue to learn about coffee. There’s much more to coffee than drinking it. You must know how to save money. In order to save money, try to use optimal rewards credit cards to help you reap the benefits from your habit.

These credit card rewards can significantly help you reduce the costs of your coffee or occasionally get you a few free coffee drinks. Without much further ado, here are a few best credit cards for coffee lovers:

Starbucks Rewards Visa Cards

One of the best credit cards for coffee lovers is the Starbucks rewards visa card by Chase. It features a reward program and loyalty benefits. With an annual fee of $49, Starbucks Credit Card is among the best credit cards for coffee lovers. Despite its steep price tags, for coffee lovers, the price is still worth it because it can potentially help them save a lot if they make frequent purchases with the credit card. It offers rewards such as free food as well as drinks items at Starbucks to the customers that buy their coffee with it.

It also offers the customers instant gold status which pays in the form of stars, unlike many reward cards that pay in the form of points or miles. With 125 stars, you can get free food or drink items of your choice at Starbucks. For the first time you load a registered Starbucks card in the mobile app, you receive 250 stars for using the Starbucks Rewards Visa Card.

Other Starbucks Rewards Credit Card Benefits

Other rewards for cardholders include a sign-up bonus of 2,500 every time you spend $500 in the first three months after you get the card. With 2,500 stars, it means that you can get 20 foods and drink items which may include a combination of 15 Caramel Macchiatos and 5 apple pancakes, or 10 turkey pesto paninis and 10 Frappuccinos, or 13 Cranberry Bliss Bars and seven pumpkin spice lattes at the holiday time.

In addition, it offers 1 Star for every $4 that you spend outside of Starbucks stores and 1 Star for every $1 which you load digitally to your registered Starbucks Card using the Starbucks Rewards Visa Card in the Starbucks mobile app. You can also get two stars per $1 spent if you pay with the registered card.

Every year, it offers eight annual barista picks where you can get eight free drinks as well as food items.

If you redeem your Stars for the drink and food items that are worth $5 each, you would be receiving 4 cents out of each Star which is okay if you are redeeming rewards for Starbucks drink and food items.

Starbucks’s reward card has an APR that range from 17% to 24% which depends on the consumers’ creditworthiness.

I’ve been earning points ontop of the credit card by using Drop. If you sign up for Drop, you get 1,000 points by using my link. You can read more about drop in my best cashback apps review.

Chase Sapphire Preferred

Another credit card ideal for coffee lovers is the Chase Sapphire Preferred. It offers double points on all purchases made when dining out including when taking a cup of your favorite drink in the coffee shops. Besides the double points on dining purchases, it also offers double points on reservations made on travel, and you also get one point per dollar spent elsewhere.

You can also redeem the points in your chase ultimate rewards program and get merchandise, gift cards, airline miles, hotel points, and travel reservations. The Chase Sapphire Preferred has an annual fee of $95 which is waived in the first year after you sign up. But, it incurs no foreign transaction fees. The APR rate of this card lies between 16.24% and 23.24% which depends on the creditworthiness of the cardholder.

Citi ThankYou Premier

Citi ThankYou Premier is also ideal for coffee lovers. It offers double points every time you dine out and for all the entertainment that you receive and pay with the card. It gives you three times the points on all the expenses incurred during travel including the gas expenses. The points are redeemable for gift cards, merchandise and travel reservations.

You can also get airline miles or points with the Hilton HHonors program. The card also attracts $95 annual fee which is waived for the cardholder in the first year after getting the card. It does not have any foreign transactions fee. The APR for this card ranges from 14.24% to 23.24% which also depends on the creditworthiness of the cardholder.

American Express Everyday Preferred Credit Card

With the American Express Everyday Preferred credit card, coffee lovers can benefit from it for making frequent purchases with it. It is one of the best credit cards for coffee lovers and rewards 50% bonus point to customers during each statement period when they make 30 or more charges.

In addition, it is ideal for coffee lovers who take at least a cup or a few cups of coffee every day. It gives you three times the points on all purchases that cost up to $6,000 at the US supermarkets. Or, 2 times the points on all purchases made at gas stations in the US and one point per dollar on all purchases made elsewhere in each calendar year.

It offers 0% introductory annual percentage rate (APR) on all balance transfers and purchases made during the first year. Then after the introductory offer expires, the APR range from 13.24% to 23.24% which depends on the creditworthiness of the cardholder. The card also attracts $95 annual fee. It has no transaction fee on foreign purchases.

Chase Freedom

Chase Freedom is yet another best credit card for the coffee lovers. Unlike most cards that have annual fees, Chase Freedom comes with no annual fee. It offers a sign –up bonus of $150 cash back for spending $500 during your first three months after you sign up for the card. It offers 0% introductory annual percentage rate (APR) on new purchases and balance transfers during the first 15 months.

After the 15 months, the APR ranges from 14.24% to 23.24% which depend on your creditworthiness. Be careful though because the Chase Freedom card will burn a spot on your 5/24 with Chase. If you don’t know what that is, read more about the Chase 5/24 rule. Here are the credit cards not subject to 5/24.

It also offers 1% cash back on all purchases made and has 5% cash back on combined purchases of up to $1,500 in the categories of the card’s quarterly bonus. The bonus categories for April, May and June 2018 are usually purchases of groceries made via PayPal and Chase Pay and Apple Pay. The Walmart and Target are not included in it as grocery store purchases. I’ve used it to earn serious cash back at Whole Foods previously.

You can stack your Chase Freedom on top of your bonuses by using Drop, Ibotta and Dosh. These apps will give you free money just for signing up:

Drop (Get 1,000 points by using my link)
Ibotta (Get $5 by using my link)
Dosh (Get $5 by using my link)

You can read more about how I use the Chase Freedom card in my Chase Freedom Credit Card Review.

Conclusion on Best Credit Cards for Coffee Lovers

If you are a coffee lover, then you can get yourself one of these best credit cards to use next time you visit a coffee shop. You will not only get the coffee on credit but also receive some great rewards for using it. I use a number of different credit cards to travel the world for little to no cost, if you don’t want to use a credit card to churn. Here is how you travel hack without credit cards.

Related Credit Card Resources:

Best Credit Cards to Churn and Travel the World
Get rid of holiday debt with balance transfer credit cards
Why you need these cash back rewards credit cards

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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5 Important Investment Myths You Need to Avoid

2019-01-03T00:34:00.001-08:00

There are plenty of misconceptions about investing out there that you need to understand to make money. Here are 5 important investment myths you need to avoid.

5 Important Investment Myths You Need to Avoid

You’ve probably heard of stories about people close to you who lost a fortune in the stock market. It sent chills down your spine and made you think twice about ever investing in anything. However, some of the information making the rounds is false.

I’ve been investing in the stock market and real estate to continually build wealth. I even wrote a book about it called Dividend Investing Your Way to Financial Freedom.

You can download a sample of the book if you are interested in learning more.

Avoiding these misconceptions associated with investing is very important. We will explain these myths and why they are debunked. If you want to invest money and build wealth, you simply need to create your own plan and stick to it.

Why investing your money is important

Investing your money is incredibly important. Through investing, you grow your income and assets over time without putting in additional work.

The decisions you make today about investing your money are much more important than 20 years from now. You need to position yourself for success today. Not tomorrow. Investing in stocks, bonds, real estate and alternative assets classes will help you get there. You need to do this through a diversified and disciplined approach.

I’ve been using a blend of dividend stocks and other assets to build my wealth over time. My dividend investing book highlights why I think dividend stocks are a great way to increase your income AND build wealth.

List of 5 Investment Myths You Must Avoid

In fact, students are learning them in schools today. Such misleading information can cause significant losses in investments while leaving you in an ocean of debt.

It ends here! Take a look at some of the myths you need to avoid while investing.

Invest When You Have a Lot of Money

This is by far the biggest myth peddled. It’s more like procrastinating a certain task. With money, you can never get enough. Therefore, there’s nothing like “when I have enough money.”

For others, it’s the fear of the unknown that pushes them to procrastinate investing. If you need to start investing money, use our guide on how to invest money.

Debunked: The biggest mistake many people make is trying to accumulate a huge amount of money in order to start investing. This is the wrong move. Instead, invest and save a small amount from your income. Your investments might not bring in huge returns, but this method will help to cultivate excellent money habits.

Saving and investing in small portions of your income is a good strategy if you’re preparing for retirement. Furthermore, you can increase your earnings over time by reinvesting your earnings.

If you’re looking to invest, don’t wait until you’ve got a house full of cash. Rather, use the little amount you have. Did you know you can start investing in stocks with as little as $100?

You can even use apps like Acorns (get $5 free just for joining!) to guide you through investments from the comfort of your couch.

Properties Are a Sure Bet

Real estate attracts numerous investments, but many seem to think all is rosy in this industry. The previous success of various real estate investors has fueled biased thinking among new investors., one where these investors believe they are in for the biggest success of their lives.

Debunked: While many investors have made a killing in the real estate industry, there’re those who suffer major losses. Real estate is no different from other investments such as bonds and stocks.

Your part in the capital stack plays an important role on how much risk you are taking. This means you have to take time to do some research in order to know the best time to buy a certain asset.

Get a real estate investment adviser who will help you to make informed investment decisions. This will go a long way in averting losses. If you are investing in real estate for income, these are the top 13 real estate risks to understand before you get started investing.

Stick to What You Know

If you’re new to investing, it’s good to stay in your lane. You don’t want to invest in unfamiliar territories.

Debunked: Investing in a familiar field is a smart move, but again, putting all your eggs in one basket is risky. If a storm hits your industry, your money will be at stake. However, you can diversify your portfolio by investing in new sectors, but don’t fly blind.

If you intend on investing in areas beyond your knowledge comfort zone, seek the services of an investment adviser. He or she will give offer expert advice while also recommending which type of investments will be good for you.

Personal advisers can be expensive, but you can seek online advice, which is far less expensive. Some of the best-known companies include Aspiration and WiseBanyan. My favorite is Personal Capital, I get a free investment consultation and I track my cash flow and net worth using their app.

Before choosing an investment firm, though, it’s important to do your research by comparing them online.

John D Rockefeller knew a thing or two about investing

Diversifying Won’t Work with a Small Investment Portfolio

With fewer funds, you might be tempted to pump the brakes on portfolio diversification, at least until when you have “enough” funds.

Debunked: Again, it’s risky to test the depth of water by dipping both feet. For this reason, it’s smart to diversify your portfolio. You might not have the money for large investments, but make sure you invest in ETFs.

ETF stands for Exchange-Traded Fund, which means it is comprised of a number of investments wrapped in a single fund.

Buying an ETF allows you to diversify your portfolio even if you’ll have small shares in each. However, you need to keep an eye on the transaction costs. You don’t want these costs to take a huge percentage of your sales.

Buying ETFs is a straightforward process. You can start with Acorns (get $5 free just for joining!). This app allows you to invest in ETFs with your change. You’ll need to link the app to your bank account and thereafter, it’ll track every single coin you spend. In fact, there are apps out there that will give you free stocks just for signing up. Use these as a method to start building wealth right now.

You can invest using a number of methods, such as an automated schedule which will invest at a selected time on a regular schedule. Or, use a robo-advisor such as M1 Finance or Wealthsimple. These sites will automatically invest your money. Allowing you to go out and enjoy the good things in life.

Invest Using a Hunch

It can be tempting to throw the dice at a company which seems to be making some significant progress. Going by a hunch, you’re likely to be ahead of the pack.

Debunked: Your gut feeling might be correct, but not always. What will help you is crafting an investment thesis? This will incorporate the company in question, as well as its competitors. Also, according to investment advisers, you might want to start small as you try and get the hang of things in the market.

You can learn the trends and gather information regarding the company through search engines if it’s a publicly-traded stock. If you are researching a stock, you can use their competitors to make predictions.

Instead of going with a hunch, seek the services of a reputable financial adviser with relevant experience in the field you want to invest in. Nevertheless, if you want to take a shot by yourself, then you better do some quality research before buying. You can follow the news, interview various players in the market, or read white papers.

Here are some ways to invest in the stock market with limited risk.

Taking a wise decision and knowing about the myth properly can undoubtedly help you to avoid getting into financial trouble which ultimately causes personal loans or bad credit if you are short of fund for paying them on time.

Are You Out of the Woods Now? Conclusion on Investment Myths

As you make investments, expect some wins and losses. However, don’t be quick to call it quits when you fall. Instead, pick yourself up, learn from the mistakes, and move forward. After highlighting these myths and mistakes, the road to successful investments is almost clear.

What remains is for you to polish your knowledge and keep learning. Consider developing your plan by using our investing calculator to see what it will take to retire off of your investments.

What are some of your most commonly known investment myths? Please let us know in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you.

Other How to Invest Money Resources

How to build a dividend portfolio to ensure success
Best robo-advisors compared to help you automate your investing
How to use a 401(k) fee calculator

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How to Make Money Flipping Phones for Profit

2018-12-31T02:08:00.001-08:00

You can make money flipping phones for a profit. However, you need to have sound strategy that includes certain product types like iPhones or Androids.

How to Make Money Flipping Phones for Profit

Making an extra coin is always welcome to a majority of people due to the ever-rising cost of living. If you are looking for a profitable side hustle, then you can start flipping phones for a profit. We’ve already written about the following reselling guides to help you increase your side hustle income:

I take all of my side hustle income and dump it into an investment portfolio that generates additional income. My dividend investing portfolio.

I created a dividend investing book to help you get started investing for financial freedom. The book is titled Dividend Investing Your Way to Financial Freedom.

You can download a sample of the book here:

In this flipping cell phones guide, you will learn how to start flipping iPhones, Androids, old cell phones and more. You won’t need to buy a phone flipping course in order to get started. With this guide, you will be able to start making money right now.

I’ve been increasing my net worth by tracking it for free using Personal Capital. This free tool has helped me increase my net worth from the negatives to nearly $500,000 in 5 years. I’m obsessed with using it and linking all my investment and side hustle accounts.

Why flip cell phones for a profit?

Cell phones are one of the most used items in today’s world. It’s now an essential commodity in every household. You will find that every person in nearly every family across the globe has a phone. Cell phones are also necessary in the business world since collaboration is vital to surviving in business.

The use of phones keeps going up since it makes communication in every area of our lives easier. It’s no wonder cell phones are now high demand products. With an increase in demand for phones, it then means phone business is an ever growing industry.

Technology is dynamic, and so phone manufacturers also keep changing the phone specs also to meet the changing needs of their customers. Some brands like iPhones, in particular, are released almost yearly around September. It is possible today to make profits reselling cell phones. In this guide, we will look at how to buy and sell iPhones and other products to make profits.

Some people think that you need to flip only the highest selling cell phones to earn a profit. Actually, it sometimes is the opposite. Older phones people will literally pay you to take them in bulk. If you have the ability to strip down the cell phones, you can actually sell the components and make money simply by taking in the phones. That is just one way to earn profit from cell phone reselling.

Three Easy Steps to Start Flipping Phones for Profit

Flipping phones for a profit is a very daunting task. However, you can make good money flipping phones if you are persistent. So here we will explore how to make money selling iPhones and how to become a cell phone reseller.

Let’s look at the three main steps that are vital in the phone flipping business:

How to buy phones

Individuals who want to sell their cell phones usually use online markets to look for buyers. You can find numerous places to purchase iPhones from online sources including Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, eBay, and OfferUp, among other places.

You can make a profit if you resell cell phones that you have bought from these websites. When you want to flip phones for a profit, there are two options to choose from which include:

Search for cheap phones

If you opt to go with this option, you can search for the undervalued phones in a different site. Then by comparing the price quotes of similar phones in those sites, pick the cheaper ones.

Also, you can look for phones whose prices are negotiable and make a great deal with the seller and then buy and sell phones for a profit. For instance, you can search for cheap iPhones on eBay and resell them using a different site like Craiglist.

Search for cracked phones

It is another alternative to the buying and selling of cheap phones option. In this case, you can opt to buy phones with cracked screens then you can fix them and sell them at a profit. It is easier to get a better deal for a phone with a broken LCD. You can make a huge profit if you buy, fix them and sell them at a higher price of course at a margin.

There are certain vital aspects that you need to be keen on before you buy a phone. Here are essential elements to look out for when searching for cell phones to buy:

Avoid phones whose speakers don’t work, the ones do not power on and where buttons are broken.
In addition, avoid phones that are locked out for example, with an iTunes password.
Do not buy a phone listed with a BAD ESN or CDMA phones also avoid BAD IMEI or GSM phones since it means that the phone cannot be used on some specific carrier.
Ensure that you read the phone titles correctly.
Find out the cost of replacing the LCD screen or learn how to replace them
Calculate your profit before you purchase the phone

How to sell phones

The other step that is very important is to know how to sell the phones that you have purchased or that you’ve already repaired and are ready for sale. There are two types of places to choose from where you can sell your phones for a profit including the private market and the buyback vendors.

In the private markets, you can sell the phones at a better price compared to selling them to the buyback vendors. It is not a guaranteed market, and the sale process can delay. The seller might also incur some expenses for listing, time-consuming negotiations, delivery, and even meet-ups. It also involves a higher likelihood of getting scammed.

If you opt to go with the buyback vendors’ option, on the other hand, the sale is guaranteed, sales and payments are quick, and the shipping may also be catered for. With this option, however, the vendors don’t pay as much money as the ones in a private market.

If you want to streamline the sales process and create attractive images for your phones, consider hiring a freelancer on Freelancer or Fiverr.

If you sign up and hire someone on Freelancer using my link, you will get $20 free to use.

How to calculate the profit that can you make flipping phones

Another important aspect when flipping phones for a profit are to figure out how much money you will make from each sale. It involves knowing the core specs of each phone, the time it has been in the market, the amount of time you spent selling it, the amount of money you bought it for, all the fees that you have incurred and also know the market that you have chosen to use.

The selling price that you quote should be able to repay you back and still help you make a profit from the sale. The income you can earn also depends on the number of phones that you can flip in every sale and your average profit margin.

Keeps a record of all the phone sales that you have made and try to experiment the business using different strategies. It will reveal to you how you can streamline your phone flipping business and the best tactics to stick to that brings you more profit.

If you find a reliable supplier or a website where you can expect to get cheaper phones, then you can manage to make your phone flipping business a full-time job with steady income streams. It is vital to know that you will need to have the right amount of money to help you start the business.

You can start with around ten phones in a week and grow your stock gradually. If you can manage to sell at least two phones per day and make an average of $50 profit, then you can make an average $500 a week. If you double or triple that, then you will be able to make good money from this business. It’s up to you if you want to make this into a full-time business or make a quick $500.

Conclusion on Flipping Phones for a Living

You can make a living flipping phones for a profit if you put in the necessary work and efforts required to build the business. You can expand your business exponentially if you grow your supply chain and if you keep reinvesting the profits from each sale.

Here are some key takeaways from becoming a cell phone reseller:

Test a niche of products to resell
If it works, scale it.
Automate your process by hiring freelancers on Freelancer or Fiverr, this can help streamline your business.
Don’t be afraid to take risks.

Are you going to try to become a cell phone reseller? Please let us know in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you.

See Related Resources:

These 27+ apps pay you real money
7 money giveaways to win free prizes
Make money from investing in wine

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Join our community of over 3,000 mobsters seeking financial freedom. What are you waiting for?

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Top 13 Real Estate Risks to Understand Before Investing

2018-12-28T01:52:00.001-08:00

Real estate is a very attractive asset class. However, it doesn’t come without risks. If you are going to buy a home or become a landlord, consider these real estate risks before you make your big decision.

Top 13 Real Estate Risks to Understand Before Investing

Investing in real estate is an ideal passive income strategy and a way to diversify your portfolio. However, there are so many real estate risks that every investor must know. It’s important to understand how the risk of real estate investment occurs and ways of mitigating it.

There is no doubt that a majority of people are turning to real estate investments since they consider them safer and more secure than many other investment opportunities.

Adding an extra stream of income is a smart move that can boost your finances and guarantee future financial stability. I’ve been investing in the stock market and real estate to continually build wealth. I even wrote a book about it called Dividend Investing Your Way to Financial Freedom.

You can download a sample of the book if you are interested in learning more.

Thus, real estate investing is something that every person should have in their asset allocation to ensure you can increase your income and build wealth at the same time. Real estate investing has many similar variables to investing in sound businesses for income and capital appreciation.

My goal is to live mortgage free by using a combination of investing and real estate income to accelerate paydown of my mortgage.

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Why real estate investment risks matter

Real estate investing seems like a straightforward exercise. However, there are many complexities that are completely outside of your control. Before making a real estate investment, you have to research and consider these risks before making your big investment.

Otherwise, you could end up losing money or stuck with a stranded asset that is producing negative cash flow. That means you have to put up more money just to keep it afloat and operating!

How to Conduct Real Estate Risk Analysis

These real estate investment risks are important in a number of considerations beyond just buying your own property and renting it out. You need to understand the risks of real estate in the following situations:

Investing in public or private Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)
Real estate crowdfunding
Purchasing your own home and renting it on Airbnb
Investing in an income property and finding a long-term renter
Investing in commercial real estate

The list goes on… A number of these considerations for investing in real estate related to other investments too. Your real estate risk analysis should include all of the following below.

Some of these will be covered in your home appraisal, but you should always conduct your own due diligence before investing. Your due diligence and real estate risk analysis should include the following:

Site visit of the property
Comparable property sales on a $ per square foot basis
Site visit of the market and city
Economic analysis of the region through job statistics, major employers, affordability and market forecasts

Let’s get into the risks associated with real estate investing.

List of Real Estate Risks to Consider Before Investing

To get it right in this ever-changing industry, one cannot evade the need to understand the real estate risks to take precautionary measures. In this article, we will focus on the 13 top real estate risks to realize before making that bold investment move.

Market Risk

The market trends and economic conditions vary every day. Real estate industry is of no exemption. There occur changes and forces in the sector, and so, an investor should do in-depth research as well as understand the prevailing market trends before they make an investment decision.

If the market conditions are right, it results in high tenant occupancy, and the opposite also applies. All factors that affect the demand and supply of the real estate market will have a significant impact on your investment value.

You should have a good estimation of the market condition before you invest to understand future prospects. Consider doing your assessment before your home appraisal in our checklist. From there, read the home appraisal report to understand the appraiser’s viewpoint on the real estate market for that particular location.

Physical Asset Risk

The physical asset risk is a kind of risk that emerges when unprecedented costs occur due to the physical condition of the property. When a property ages, there is an excellent potential for unpredictable issues that develop including wear and tear. It, therefore, calls for such things as costly equipment repairs and replacements as well as renovations.

A prudent investor ought to consider all this and take a physical assessment before investing in an asset. They should seek a professional opinion on the condition of the property to avoid eminent losses. An investor should perform due diligence to avoid buying a property that has unseen structural problems which may later cause expensive repairs and maintenance.

You may want to consider negotiating in a home warranty in your purchase of the home, so you can reduce capital expenditures during your first few years of ownership.

Investor/Sponsor Risk

Another kind of real estate investment risk is the investor also called sponsor risk. It is brought about by the inability of the developer executing the business plan as well as not delivering the expected results to the stakeholders. It is divided into two categories namely:

Asset Management Risk: It the risk that depends solely on the asset manager’s expertise since he is the one who has been entrusted with the responsibility of implementing the business plan to ensure successful results.
Property Management Risk: some assets such as multifamily, senior housing, and hospitality, require distinct customer service as a vital part of effecting a business plan thus highly rely on property management. Therefore, exceptional property management is paramount in these cases to ensure daily onsite operations run effectively.

Foreclosure Risk

Another real estate risk occurs when an investor fails to honor their obligation of paying their mortgage installments. If an investor defaults to pay for some few months, the property faces the risk of foreclosure or may lose the property to the bank. A foreclosure affects you negatively and limits your chances of acquiring loan approvals from banks.

Over-leveraging

If a property losses a significant number of tenants, the debt coverage service ratio may drop to below 1.0 due to the fall in the property’s income. The resulting fall may place the property on the risk of not fulfilling on its mortgage. If a property is leveraged above 80% of the value, which in most typical cases should be between 0-80 percent, then the assets can be termed as overleveraged.

Keep in mind that you are on the lowest part of the capital stack as an equity investor.

Debt Maturity Risk

It is a risk that occurs as a result of an asset’s debt maturing at a time when its operating capital is compromised or during a market downturn. The project may then fail to get credit on the same amount of the unpaid debt thus making the project to fall into the risk of defaulting on its mortgage.

It happens since the investors may fail to raise the necessary capital to finance the project.

Liquidity Risk

Since real estate assets are illiquid, it means that an investor is not able to readily convert them to liquid cash. The process of selling an asset is also complex and slow thus if, in need of quick money, you cannot rely on an asset to sort you out. Selling a property at a rush may also result in losses since you might never get the desired market value

Tenant Risk

Tenant risks can be divided into two categories namely; rent power risk and rollover risk:

Rent Power Risk – it’s a kind of risk that depends on the paying and staying capabilities of the tenants. When looking at this risk, you need to understand the financial abilities of the tenants. What is the creditworthiness of the tenants in a particular property, their stability and also the number of tenants? Whether the tenants have staying power or whether their businesses would fail and force them to close or default on the lease are paramount issues that you should consider. The large tenants like Google or Wal-Mart are deemed to be less risky and thus are desirable unlike the small and individual tenants
Rollover Risk – it refers to the term remaining on leases of a certain property. It affects all types of tenancy whether single or multi-tenant properties. An investor should understand the type of lease on the property they are targeting to invest in as they will pay a premium on the lease’s value which may turn to a loss if the tenant default on the lease.

Negative Cash Flow Risk

Cash flow in real estate investment refers to the net profit the investor gets after taxes, mortgage, and other expenses. Negative cash flow would occur when the taxes, expenses, and mortgage payments are greater than the total income thus creating a potential loss of money for the investor.

One should properly calculate the income and expenses and income out of the property before investing.

Leasing/Vacancy Risk

It occurs when an investor invests in a property where a vacancy exists, anticipating to lease up space but the lease up doesn’t happen, or it takes a longer time than expected to get a tenant. It is crucial to moderate the lease-up risk by planning for proper amounts of resources and time in a pro forma when considering lease up situations.

Construction Risk

When undertaking major construction developments whether new or renovations, the project may face various risks. The project may incur cost overruns, the project taking longer to complete than anticipated, exposure of physical weaknesses in the property that were previously unseen and more.

All these may pose various risks including physical asset risk and leasing risks thus the need to properly evaluate the property first.

Geographic Risk

The value an asset is highly influenced by the geographical location of the property, the population size, demographics and job growth among other factors. Properties in areas with high population or high pool of tenants such as New York, L.A., Chicago or San Francisco are known as the primary markets and are desirable since it insulates against market dips.

On the other hand, markets with shallow or low population base are considered riskier as they are susceptible to the market changes.

Entitlement Risk

Any new project developments entail complex and lengthy processes such as obtaining a municipal approval for new construction. The whole process is what is referred to as the entitlement process and poses an entitlement risk before you acquire the permits to construct.

Conclusion on Real Estate Risks

There are plenty of risks for investing in real estate, both on the new construction and operating side of the equation. Become a savvy investor by thinking through every piece of the pie with your investment returns.

Understand the financial ratios of your investments to continue with an effective strategy. Ratio analysis can tell you more about a property’s performance than just the financial statements alone.

I hope this list of top 13 real estate risks will help you avoid pitfalls when making real estate investments. It is crucial for any investor to perform thorough research before making an investment decision to minimize the possibility of incurring losses and to guarantee a positive Return on Investment (ROI).

What are your most feared real estate risks? Please let us know in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you.

Other How to Invest Money Resources

How to invest money to ensure success, including investment tips to consider
Best robo-advisors compared to help you automate your investing
How to build a dividend portfolio from scratch

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10 Smart Investment Techniques to Turnaround Your Investment Portfolio

2018-12-27T02:07:00.001-08:00

Everyone will have a slump in their investment portfolio at some point in time. It doesn’t matter if you are an expert investor or just getting started. It is all part of the process. Here are some smart investment techniques to turnaround your investment portfolio.

10 Smart Investment Techniques to Turnaround Your Investment Portfolio

Investing money is paramount to building wealth. You are guaranteed to hit highs and lows in your investment process. However, you must stick with your plan for success. Follow our investing money section to learn more investment techniques like the ones described below.

Staying invested is what you need to do. Continue to invest your money, but do it smarter. I created a dividend investing book to help you get started investing for financial freedom. The book is titled Dividend Investing Your Way to Financial Freedom.

You can download a sample of the book here:

One of the most attractive features of binary trading is its relative simplicity. Unlike many forms of forex trading, binary options take a yes or no, ‘higher or lower’ position regarding the value of a financial asset, and offer a fixed profit or loss from the start of the process.

Within this framework, there are many variations and subtleties, of course, but the clarity of the basic principle is something which attracts many investors who may find other forms of currency trading somewhat daunting.

I use Personal Capital to track all my portfolio cash flow and diversification. It’s completely free to use and has an amazing interface. I suggest you give it a try.

10 Smart Investment Tips to Use to Dig Yourself Out of an Investment Slump

Let’s dive into 10 of the best smart investment tips to help dig yourself out of an investment slump. What this doesn’t mean, however, is that profits are guaranteed any more so than in any other type of trading. Whether you’re a newcomer to binary trading or have been doing it for a while, it’s pretty much inevitable that you’ll experience a slump in investment returns at some point.

When this happens, it’s vital to return to many of the first principles which initially create the foundation for a strong trading strategy. Taking the following tips on board will help you to do that:

Look at your broker

You need to choose your broker very carefully, as the popularity of binary trading, particularly amongst those new to the currency markets, has led to vast numbers of brokers setting themselves up, all apparently offering the best platforms, highest ratios of pay off and most appealing asset portfolios.

Finding the right broker isn’t just about knowing that an individual is reputable, it also involves reassuring yourself that they take an approach to the markets that match your own strategy. Sources of information to tap into include fellow traders, local regulators and the reviews published by sites like binaryoptionsexpert.net. Even if you’ve been successful in the past, a marked slump in profits may signal that it’s time to change your broker.

Practice

If you’re a newcomer to binary trading it should go without saying that you need to practice. The lure of easy money (although there’s really no such thing) and simple trades (another thing that doesn’t actually exist) means that some people are tempted to start trading without getting to grips with the basics.

This is a mistake, and the same applies if you’re going through a slump in returns. Stop chasing your losses for a while, find an effective demo that allows you to trade in virtual money and go back to practicing simple, one-hour options as a means of getting out of whatever bad habits have caused your downturn in fortunes.

At the very least, a few successful virtual results will start to convince you that you haven’t lost your touch entirely.

Study the Patterns

Claiming to be able to predict the fluctuations of currency markets with any degree of accuracy is more than a little rash, but there are tools available that make it much easier to gauge what a currency may be about to do in the coming minutes, hours, days or even months.

Chief amongst these are candlestick charts, a highly visual alternative to bar charts which originated in Japan and manage to represent the fluctuations of various currencies in a visually dynamic manner.

Take the time to study various candlestick charts – particularly if you can find examples which preceded volatile market conditions – and learn to recognize the patterns that signal the kind of shift that you could profit from.

Stay Focused

As stated earlier, the basic principle of binary trading is pretty simple, but within that principle, there are many options to pursue. In addition to the range of assets that you might be offered by a broker, there are also options such as touch or no touch, boundary and ladder trading.

While experience may have encouraged you to experiment with some of the more complex trading options. Look at markets outside of the more well-known assets, a slump is a time to focus on the basics. This means sticking to markets you know well, and traditional trades such as Put/Call. If you are focused on Dividend Kings and had success, stick to it.

Retune Your Money Management

Although the various outcomes of trade are fixed at the time you make it, it’s still vital to have a strong money management plan in place if you want to keep any loses down to an amount you can easily afford. Decide what the size of your account balance is and don’t be tempted to top it up from outside sources to counterbalance a losing streak.

Similarly, don’t be tempted to chase losses by doubling up on investment, as the amount of money leaving your account can soon run away from you. Hitting a losing streak is inevitable from time to time, but adjusting your money management strategy – perhaps by lowering the percentage of your account balance you’re willing to risk on a trade – is one means of ensuring the streak doesn’t cause lasting financial damage.

A tool like Blooom can help you optimize and analyze your retirement accounts to ensure you are managing your money effectively. It’s free to use to get a checkup on your retirement accounts. Try it out!

Stick to Your Strategy

You can develop a strategy on your own. Through experience and practice, you can adopt a ready-made strategy from elsewhere. The point is that you have to have a strategy and that going through a slump in returns is just the moment when you need to stick to that strategy.

This may seem counter-intuitive, given that the strategy isn’t providing the returns you want, but the alternative is allowing your emotions to come to the fore. Stray away from what worked previously can make matters worse.

Since these emotions are likely to be anger, disappointment and perhaps a touch of panic, a fixed strategy which can be adapted to suit changing circumstances is the better option a hundred percent of the time.

Watch for the Signs

Even the most experienced trader needs all the help that they can get, and an alert service which will signal potential shifts in the binary marketplace could make all the difference. You may have got by without investing in one until now. A slump in returns would indicate that you’re not spotting everything you ought to be spotting.

In many ways, longer-term trading and intensive studying of tools such as candlestick charts can make it more difficult to spot one-off events that emerge from the more general patterns. A reputable alert service which uses algorithms to detect the direction of travel of an asset could make all the difference. Use a tool like TradingView to become a charting expert. Read more on our TradingView review to learn more.

Take a Long-Term View

We all probably have a different take on what constitutes a slump, and one person’s complete collapse might be another’s temporary blip. If you do experience a downturn in fortunes it’s imperative that you don’t panic.

Make sure of this by always maintaining a longer term view of your strategy and money management. You should be working to a plan which lasts longer than a single day, week or even month of trading. It’s vital not to let panic about short-term losses force you to deviate from this plan.

You can use a tool like Motley Fool Stock Advisor to get new investment ideas sent to you instantly. Read more about our Motley Fool Stock Advisor Review to learn more.

Expect Losses

You’ve never met the trader who never made a loss, and there’s a reason for that – he or she doesn’t exist. Losses are a part of trading, and the higher returns of binary trading come with a slightly higher risk. The key to ensuring a run of bad results doesn’t turn into an account destroying slump is not to panic. Don’t chase after bad results.

If you’re having a bad day, week or even a few hours then accept it, close down your platform and work on a few of the tips outlined above. At the very least, you’ll return to trading only when the emotions of the initial moment have begun to subside.

Follow the News

Although binary traders gain a lot of insight from specialist tools such as candlestick charts and alert systems, it also pays to keep a careful eye on something as basic as the world news. Political events, statements and even tweets can have a massive impact on the fluctuations of the currency market.

A reputable source like Bloomberg explains, for example, how President Trump’s trade policies are likely, in the longer term, to drive the value of the dollar lower than is historically the case. Taking ‘real world’ evidence of this kind on board could play a huge role in seeing the trends that are worth investing in long before anyone else does.

Take your own opinion with investment news because you need to be able to keep an open mind. Don’t let the news sway your investing decisions. Use it to make an informed decision.

Conclusion on Smart Investment Tips to Consider

These smart investment tips are a great way to take your portfolio in the right direction. Consider these investment tips on how to start investing your money. Here are some key takeaways with smart investing:

Never stray away from your plan.
Stay invested and stay focused.
Never stop learning.
Take a step back and look at the bigger picture.

Check out my stock portfolio infographic to help you get started with investing if you haven’t yet. What do you think about these smart investment tips? Please let us know in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you.

Related Investing Resources:

Free investing calculator to help you develop a plan for investing in the stock market
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BinaryOptionsExpert.net is a comparison site for binary trading brokers. They serve to educate the public, enabling them to make an informed and educated decision when selecting a binary trading broker site.

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