Month: March 2021

If you are looking for a valuable way to turn your spare cash into even more money, then one of the most likely ways to do that is to invest in stocks and shares. As we all know, this is not a risk-free venture, and there is always the chance you will lose out.

But if you are sensible about it, you approach it in the right way and with the right help, you should be able to make some money through proper investment in stocks and shares. In this post, we will look at how you can improve your investment approach in stocks and shares considerably.

Budget Your Investment

First of all, you need to make sure that you know exactly how much you are actually going to put aside to invest with. If you can do this, you are going to find that it is much easier to avoid any particular problems in the long run, and you will be more likely to succeed.

Your budget should take into account what you need to pay for in your daily life. Don’t ever gamble with anything that you need to pay bills with, or to buy food with, or pay off debts with. You should only be investing with money that you can afford to lose, even with relatively certain investments.

Choosing Your Investments

Then you need to actually start thinking about how you are going to choose your investments, which is not something that can happen easily but is nonetheless hugely important to get right.

Most people will find that they can benefit from getting a professional to help them make this decision, which is why you should think about trying to find an advisor who can help, or even a portfolio manager to do it all for you. They will know all about which stocks and shares and upcoming IPOs to get on board with, which to leave alone, and how to make sure that you are approaching it all in a sensible manner.

Diversify

The process of diversification is essentially just about making sure that you don’t have all your eggs in one basket, while also increasing the chance that you will earn a considerable amount of money from your investments.

Diversifying means putting your money into more than one investment, and that is clearly something that is going to help you to do better with stocks and shares every time. As long as you are diversifying, you are in a much better position and more likely to avoid any particular catastrophes, so this is something that you will want to be aware of as you think about all this.

As you can see, there are some things that you should bear in mind, but as long as you have thought about these things you should be able to make much more of your investments in stocks and shares. That will mean a brighter financial future and more of an opportunity to earn as much as you would hope.

You are probably wondering about the most cost-effective vacation option to explore. In your search for the smartest way to use your travel funds, you might have heard of timeshares. You might also have heard that timeshares are the smart vacation home alternative but do not know what they are and how they work. What are the pros and the cons? Worry no more, as this article outlines all the crucial details you need to know about timeshares.

What is a timeshare?

A timeshare refers to a real estate program for residential property at a vacation destination in simplified terms. Here, multiple owners share the vacation property cost so that each owner secures the right to stay in the property for a certain period. For example, if you purchase a 1/52^nd share of a unit, be it a room, a suite of rooms, or even a condominium, you will often stay in the residence for one week each year. A week per year is the standard amount of time, although there are possibilities of buying larger or smaller annual time blocks.

How does timeshare purchasing work?

Now that you know what timeshare is, it is time to understand how the arrangement is made, its pros and cons. The two contracts for timeshare purchasing are deeded and non-deeded. The deeded contract, also known as a fee-simple contract, is similar to buying a house where you get a share of the ownership. This means you can resell or rent your timeshare at will. You may also pass it down to your children.

The non-deeded contract, also known as right-to-use contracts, is similar to signing a lease. As the name suggests, the agreement allows you to buy the right to use the property for a certain period without outright ownership. When the lease term is over, ownership reverts to the owner of the property.

What does the timeshare cost?

By now, you have already decided whether you want to enter into a deeded or non-deeded agreement. Either way, there are two fixed costs. You pay a certain fee upfront and pay a maintenance fee annually. The prices of a timeshare will vary depending on factors such as location, the unit size, and condition of the property, and the timing of your stay.

Research shows that maintenance fee is the most demanding financial obligation for most timeshare owners. For example, if you buy a deeded timeshare, you will always pay a maintenance fee even if you are not using the property often. Yet, the fees might rise with inflation.

Buying and Exiting a Timeshare!

Timeshare will work most conveniently if you have a traveling pattern you love visiting the same destination each year. Hence, you can lock in your annual holiday ski trip or beach vacation. This will also help you know the price in advance for proper planning. With time, you will get to spend less on your timeshare. You will also get to make the most out of your timeshare if you commit to annual trips.

It is important to know the option you have when selling the timeshare or exit. There are resort companies that offer take-back, resale, and exit programs. You can also seek advice from a timeshare exit company like Wesley Financial Group to understand better the times of exit programs. This will save you money, time and the hassle when it comes to the process of exiting from an agreement with the manager or the owner of the timeshare.

To-dos before buying any timeshare

Before buying a timeshare, you should commit time to do a few things. First, investigate the unit before you buy it. Visit the resort where you hope to buy the timeshare. Assess the quality of the space and the amenities available. Please speak to the manager and other timeshare owners who have been there before to hear their experience. Also, find out from the state’s attorney general if there have been complaints against them before.

Planning is also relatively healthy. Remember, timeshares will only save you money if you will consistently use them. Hence, it is advisable to book your vacation as early as possible, probably a year in advance.

Final word

A timeshare can be a great option for vacation. However, you should keep your eye open to know how you can save money with a timeshare. You should also understand the terms you want to engage in before signing a contract. Doing due diligence will save you time, money and frustrations. You can also seek help from a timeshare exit company if you want to get rid of one.

If you are looking to invest in the commercial real estate domain, a triple net lease makes a great prospect. Single-tenant NNN properties are a relatively low-risk option that offers the most reliable income stream for the long haul.

The best part is that you need not worry a lot about recurring financial expenses such as annual property taxes, maintenance costs, and insurance. These properties are great for building equity and adding diversity to your investment portfolio.

But everything boils down to choosing the right property. If you aren’t sure about picking one for investment, here are some guidelines to help.

Look for the right location

When it comes to the NNN property value, you cannot overlook the importance of the right location. You need to consider both physical and geographical locations when looking for investment options. An area that has good traffic and accessibility is ideal from a physical perspective.

Since it is a commercial investment, prioritizing corner locations is a good idea. Also, consider the other businesses in close proximity to the building. The geographical location decides the growth rate of investment.

Choosing an area or city with a steady population increase, good employment rate, and a healthy economy makes a wise decision for an investor. Tenant demand is another factor to consider if you are looking for a viable option.

Pick the best potential business type

Since triple net investment involves commercial properties, you need to consider the potential business types that can run there. It is best to look for ones that can support profitable business types regardless of the state of the economy.

Look for nnn properties for sale which are suited for recession-proof businesses that are not affected by economic downturns or slow times. Grocery stores, convenience stores, medical clinics, drug stores, and discount stores are some examples of businesses that run seamlessly, irrespective of the economic landscape.

Pay attention to tenant potential

Another factor you cannot miss out on while looking for an ideal NNN investment is the tenant potential of the place. Many properties will come with a long-term tenant lease, which often ranges between 10 to 25 years. If you plan to pick such an option, reviewing the history of the tenant’s business is a good idea. A viable rental history is favorable.

Also, check whether they have been regular with the tax and insurance payments. It makes sense to ensure that they have the longevity to continue tenancy even after you take over ownership. Good tenant potential gets you the assurance of security of your investment. If you can find a property with a high-yield brand or chain as a tenant, you can expect worthy benefits.

Triple net investments set you up for a secure and lucrative investment. But you can expect the best only with the right choice of the property. Extensive market research goes a long way in picking the right option. You can go the extra mile by seeking the advice of an expert who can help you decide more confidently.

So, are you all ready to buy the home of your dreams? Well, we congratulate you on this. But, as we all know that buying a new property is a whole lot of responsibility. From changing your address to moving in and setting your house.

Here’s the list of elements a person should check before buying any property.

Check the area

Before taking the big step of buying your home, don’t overlook checking the area in which the residence is situated.

For you and your family’s safety, the area should be secure and friendly. So that you won’t face any trouble in the future, track the report of crime rates of that place.

Know your neighbors too. Take a little tour of the area and observe the conditions of their house, try to talk to them so that you can have an idea about their behavior.

One more thing you can add to the list is to find out the number of houses for sale in the neighborhood. If you find the sale numbers more than normal, it indicates that the area isn’t suitable and people want to leave it soon.

Understand the sun orientation

Now, if you’re thinking about what’s the point of understanding the sun orientation. So, let us explain to you the factors that can affect your comfort.According to the Lake Keowee real estate experts, the south-facing windows will get the most sunshine during the daytime. And, in another way, if your windows are north-facing, the sunshine will be entering your home during the morning and evening time.

It can affect your lifestyle a lot. If you’re staying in a hot region and buying a south-facing home, then the daytime sun rays can cause you and your family problems. While, if you’re staying in a cold region, it will be blissful for you. So, now you can decide how much sunshine you need in your home.

Think about the privacy you need

Before spending a bulky amount on your new home’s building, ponder about the fact that how much privacy do you need in your life. According to it, you can choose the area you want to live in. Imagine you are a peace lover and avoid noises and your house is situated in the market area. The car honks, and the crowd will start suffocating you soon.

But if you’re an outdoor person and love to explore markets and other places, that place will fascinate you the most. Your privacy choice may define how much time you’ll spend in your new home, so make sure you get the privacy you want.

Don’t spend more than your budget

We understand that property never comes in little amounts. It needs a whole lot of savings and a budget to get the home you desire. Some people tend to borrow loans to buy a bigger home. But in our opinion, a person should never be dependent on a loan unless they have great credit.

There would be no use in staying in a huge building and getting suppressed under a debt. Consider choosing the property according to your budget and enjoy a stress-free life.

Wrapping up

Buying your dream home is like a dream come true. You deserve the feeling of pride in your own house. But don’t forget to take care of the above elements and have your own sweet home.

Well, last year put a whole new spin on things from health, work, schools, and home. Our goal of early retirement has not changed, but the way we will proceed forward with that goal has been affected by 2020.

How could it not? We should all learn from the perspective gained from the last unprecedented year. Undoubtedly, it will be written about in multiple books, series, and films; however, how we will write our own future is what’s important.

Let us help guide you through a few of our top tips for home buyers looking to retire early like us.

Simplify Transportation and Reduce Vehicles

A personal car is a major expense. It can be a financial burden when two people that are bringing home the bacon and need to commute to the office or meetings. Well, over the last year, we witnessed almost every industry go remote. From technology and education to finance and telehealth, most jobs have become either completely remote or partially remote.

Thus, that means that most couples and families can simplify transportation and the number of vehicles per household. That means a tremendous savings every month.

However, we understand. Still, everyone wants the freedom of having a car and cruising the open road, but there is no need for two car payments, two insurance payments, and two maintenance bills annually. 

Shop Around for the Best Housing Loan

The best decisions come from well-rounded research. That means do your due diligence online and offline about what you can afford in a housing loan. Very few home buyers can buy a home without a mortgage.

So, shop around and do your homework in regards to the current housing loan interest rate. After the last year, it may surprise you some of the incentives banks, lenders, and financial institutions are putting out there in 2021.

However, remember that budgeting is key to long-term success. Be warned that a budget is not finite. It must ebb and flow with your changing times. 

Make Your Assets Work For You

While you are shopping around for a new home, why not make your existing home, car, or other assets work for you. If you have extra space or time, you can easily make a bit more money to add to your savings. This extra coin can come in handy for a down payment on your perfect house, DIY projects on said house, or into your retirement funds.

Of course, you don’t have to do this on your own. There are many companies, apps, and services that can help you market your assets. Some examples are Airbnb and Uber. Some other shared economy companies you should take a look at are here.

Automatically Put Away a Portion of Each Paycheck

When the New Year started, many resolved to save money. However, if you don’t put a good plan in place, life gets in the way. One way that we have found to work for us is direct transfer.

By setting up this service, your bank transfers a set amount of money from your checking into a savings account. So after you have received your biweekly or monthly pay, your automatic transfer puts more money into your savings or retirement.

Believe us, the piggy bank thing didn’t work for us as kids; however, if they had an automatic transfer from allowance to piggyback it would have.

Find Where Your Money Pit is and Reduce or Stop Spending

We all spend money. However, each spend is categorized differently: needs, niceties, and uber luxuries. Your money pit is between the niceties and uber luxuries. We all need a roof over our heads, food, water, clothes, and transportation. However, it is in the other two categories that a lot of our money goes out the window. The first step is to pinpoint where you are spending your money whether clothing, travel, and/or entertainment. Then, the second step is to either reduce or stop spending for a period of time. Put that money away for your big buy, a new home.

Let this guide help navigate your journey to buying a home with the goal of early retirement still in your sights. Whether it is one or a combination of the five tips, you will be well on your way to living in your new home as well as achieving your end goal of early retirement. Hey retiring in your forties is the new goal!

As we grow older, we start to appreciate (and maybe understand) the appealing of saving and investing, since we get to experience the actual value of money thanks to becoming more independent and how working actually is.

They are things that can, to a certain degree, protect our money from inflation, and they also work as tools towards fulfilling specific goals or dreams.

When it comes to saving, we have the most common method, which is placing money into a saving account in order to generate a fixed level of profit that is determined by the terms of service provided by the bank or organization in charge of said account.

It is the most commonly used because of its safety as well as its reliability, but in no way is it the most profitable method. But it is understandable, considering that it is as safe as it gets.

There are other ways of saving, but they might not be as reliable, and some of them can be considered forms of investment as well, since you, to some extent, risk the money you are placing in the investment to earn a (probable) profit.

Considering that, and all the many methods you can rely on when it comes to saving and investing… Is it better to rely on saving accounts, or just try out new methods? Among the many options you have, buying gold is considered a somewhat reliable form of guarding your money, but how does it work? Should it actually be considered an investment instead?

Differences Between Saving and Investing

It is important to understand the differences between the two. Someone may differ with this opinion, but between the two, none is better than the other. They both are there to fulfill specific needs, and claiming that one method is better than the other is just wrong because, in some way, they are just two aspects of the same world.

There’s this article that can help you with more detailed information about it https://www.thebalance.com/saving-money-vs-investing-money-358062, but I will briefly showcase their differences.

Saving can be described as a safe method that is used to protect your finances towards a certain goal, be it purchasing something that is too expensive to be bought immediately, or just for the sake of retiring. Regardless of its objective, saving is used to achieve something in a slow, but secure and steady way.

On the other hand, investing can be considered a risky method of protecting your money, since you might end up losing some of it along the way. But with that risk, a probably profit is also achievable. This profit can be much higher than the initial investment, but it all depends on the niche behind the said investment.

A general rule of thumb when it comes to investing is that the riskier an investment is, the more profit can be created through it. Still, this is by no means a definitive rule, since there are investments that are safe and can create a decent profit. However, it all depends.

That is why research is a very important aspect of both saving and investing, and when we talk about gold, understanding the principles behind it can help you make a decision.

The Drawbacks of a Saving Account

The reason why purchasing gold is perceived as a form of saving instead of investing is because gold barely changes its prices over time, and when it happens, it rarely stays that way for a long time.

And that is why some people, as mentioned in this article, might prefer the idea of saving by purchasing gold instead of putting their money in a bank account. The reasoning is simple.

When you put money in a bank account, although you are indeed protecting it from spending it on stuff while slowly creating a fortune, you don’t get a lot of profit from it. It is mostly considered a way to complete a goal, more than creating profit per se.

But a saving account won’t protect your money from inflation, a very common phenomenon in today’s society. Inflation can absolutely bring your money towards a bad end, and you can’t do anything about it but spend it before things get worse.

On the other hand, purchasing gold might be a solution to this problem.

The Benefits of Purchasing Gold

Although gold is a precious metal like silver, its uses in industries and the creation of specific pieces of metal are not as common. Gold is mostly perceived as a metal that can be used in jewelry and decorations, thus, it is not as affected by the law of supply and demand.

This is why its prices are not as volatile, but it can still fluctuate at times when holders decide to sell, or buyers decide to go crazy. Still, it tends to turn back to normal before you notice. If you check https://www.investopedia.com/articles/basics/08/invest-in-gold.asp, you’ll get a solid idea of what I’m talking about.

A simple way of seeing it is that although you might not get a lot of profit in comparison to other forms of investment, it can be considered a much more profitable way of saving money than a bank account, but this depends entirely on you.

How do you engage the market, how much research you do, as well as taking the right decisions, are what will ultimately decide how much you benefit from purchasing gold. The more you engage in the activity, and the more you learn along the way, the better results you will get.

Approaching the Experience

There are many ways to approach the experience. You have the option of purchasing your gold from a local, physical store or try into online platforms of trading and purchasing. Regardless of what you decide to do, it is always wise to do some research beforehand.

This is because stores tend to have their own prices and some platforms might have commissions that are higher than other platforms. GoldMoney, for example, is a famous platform you can rely on, but is GoldMoney legit? Those are the questions you will have to ask yourself before making a decision.

A good recommendation I can give is to always engage in the community. Certain communities, like the subreddit r/investing from Reddit, are a good place to start. People that are more experienced and might have really good advice for you, might be there waiting for your question.

Besides that, relying on customer reviews and reputation is another solid way to know whether a store or platform is legit. These are the best way of getting to know a product or service before hiring it or purchasing it, so take that in mind before making any decision.

Overall, always have multiple potential options at hand, and make sure to research them properly, so you can choose between the options which one is better for your current needs.