Drive and Grow Rich - Here's How To Profit While Commuting

By R.D. Smith

Today, just like yesterday and the day before, you will make your way through heavy traffic traveling to and from your job. It's certainly not the favorite part of your day, but in our modern world, it's often a necessity.

New studies show the average person in the average big city is spending 240 hours per year commuting. That's a LOT of time just looking out the window, time you could be putting to very good use.

Recently I created a monthly series of audio CDs that feature interviews with self-made millionaires and business leaders. People listen to the CDs while driving to work. Many of the ideas, strategies, and tips in the series are revolutionary for most people.

The rich usually got where they are because they know and believe things the rest of us don't. Let me share a few of those important thoughts with you:

(1) You will never earn a LOT of money as an employee. Unless you're the CEO of a large company, or even the top level manager of a large mid-sized business, government statistics reveal the vast majority of us will never earn more than a modest living.

I know, there are all kinds of stories floating around about this person or that who are getting paid big bucks, but extensive studies show big paychecks are the rare exception.

(2) To earn BIG money, you MUST own your own business. It's that simple. The rich are almost always business owners. Billionaires are ALWAYS business owners. It's the ONLY way, short of winning the lottery, to earn a great deal of money.

(3) You don't need your own money to make money. One thing I quickly learned after interviewing countless wealthy individuals is they insist on running their businesses on OTHER people's money. They even have a term for it -- OPM -- Other People's Money. Along with that belief are a whole system of skills used to find and enlist investors who pay for your business.

(4) Don't buy the things you want and need. The wealthy often have simple ways to get much of what they want for free. They get free stuff from suppliers, free advertising from media, even free trips and vacations to the world's top destinations.

(5) Most important, keep in mind becoming wealthy is largely a state of mind. If you can THINK like a wealthy person, you will become wealthy.

I also want to stress there is more to being wealthy than just having a lot of money. All that cash will do little good if you're still unhappy, or have bad relationships, or don't feel good about yourself. Right along with learning how to make money, also discover the methods to insure a highly successful life. - 23222

About the Author:

R.D. Smith is creator of the popular "Drive And Grow Rich" audio CD series. Learn the success strategies of the wealthy while you commute to work. Revolutionize your life for less than $40 per month. See www.thinkrightnow.com/cmd.asp?af=1023490

Trading Systems - Do you have a Trading System?

By Maclin Vestor

A trading system is a methodology of trading. An investor who uses one system and follows a specific set of guidelines when making a decision, follows system trading, and will usually never deviate. A trading system is only one method of trading, and usual requires no thinking. It is possible to have one system that is governed by multiple system.

For example, to have 10 different systems, and select only one stock from each system every month according to the main system's qualifications.

Someone that uses several Trading Systems is a multiple system trader. They have to either have an overall system that encompasses all of them, or make their own decision on which to follow. Doing so can be dangerous, as the purpose of system is to prevent human error. It is advised to be a system trader who trades one system at a time, or trade multiple systems within a larger core system, and avoid being a multiple systems trader.

Trading System - Trading can be awfully hectic without some kind of methodology. You can't expect to take on the best traders in the world who have teams and resources at their disposal just by throwing around money at will hoping that it works. You need an actually defined system in order to be able to trade effectively.

Many successful systems are based on earnings and high potential for growth. Stockbee's trading system often swings for the fences. As a result, it requires a solid degree of protection. Obviously you shouldn't limit yourself to someone else's system, you need to find one that is right for you.

There are two kinds of traders, technical traders, and fundamental traders, each has their own system. Of course there are some who use both.

Technical traders

Some system traders, are day traders. Others are swing traders. Still other people are more of a trend trader. Each will have it's unique system. The system will be based on the technicals. Is it volume that triggers the buy? Is it price movement? A combination of both? Or perhaps it's pattern trading.

Some people even have trading machines or robots that do the work for them. Others rely on pattern recognition done by a system. The method is to sign up for email alerts, or some form of alerts, then make a purchase based on the software's recommendation. There are some people that screen down a stock based on strong fundamentals, and only trade those stocks, but trade them based on the technical chart patterns and volume.

They will sell based on a trend break, or rules on when to take gains such as 20% gain according to their system. They will set a stop loss based on their system as well. It might be 4%, or 8%, or it may be a trailing stop.

Fundamental traders

Fundamental traders might do things a little differently. They are looking for improving fundamentals, or stocks that pass through a certain screener. Zacks.com is a great resource if you want to rely on fundamentals. Earnings is always a big part of a system, and the Zacks' ranking uses earnings revision to get in early when the earnings and company internals appear to be improving. Zacks' has several screens, and their software allows you to screen stocks according to many different options.

Regardless of your trading system, one thing remains important in every single system. Money Management and loss protection.

It doesn't matter what the upside is or win rate is, if you can't protect yourself from major declines, you shouldn't be trading. I don't care if your system is 90% effective (no system is and if they say they are, they're lying), and if the gain is 1,000%. If you put all your money on it repeatedly, eventually you will suffer a loss so catastrophic you will never be able to recover without borrowing money. By taking one loss, you hinder your ability to make money. That is more costly then the potential for greater gains that you would gain by taking additional risk.

Just to illustrate if your system causes you to take a 95% loss, you need a 2000% return just to make up for that loss. You cannot trade like this. No system is better then it's weakest link. That weak link unfortunately for many people is the ability to manage money. Fortunately, it is a skill that can be learned, and doing so will make you a better trader. Better yet, if you do not wish to be a better trader, you can simply follow the rules of a system that contains a methodology on how to manage money and how much to invest before placing a trade.

I recommend that you either have a trailing stop or a hard stop. You can also buy a protective put if you are afraid of a stock bottoming out overnight and plummeting through the stop. Protective puts are like owning insurance. Unfortunately, you have to continue to buy the insurance as it eventually expires if you don't use it. Don't trade options without learning everything about them.

Some puts are not good for some strategies. Longer term trades and Investments will require long-term equity anticipation securities, or LEAPs, where as you may not need to risk as much capital for short term protective puts. A trailing stop should be usually 20%, where a hard stop should be more like 7%. Different systems will require different stops so take this with a grain of salt.

A good investor or trader actually will rarely need to ever be fully invested. There are people that trade on complete margin for a few times the entire year, and the rest of the year they're on the sideline, but generally the best traders that have a career that lasts have lots of money on the side, even more so if they use options and are unhedged. If you are unhedged, that is only playing one side of the market, (all buys, or only playing one theme such as only playing inflation or only playing deflation), you need to have even more cash on the side.

The lower the win rate, the more money on the side you need, and the smaller your positions should be. Any good system won't require you to analyze. Having to do a lot of the thinking can cause you to panic and make incorrect decisions. Most people aren't cut out for that, and that's why it is a smart thing for many to use a trading system.

If you trade within a system, you have a much better chance at placing winning trades. A trading system will have a solid record of success, evidence that it works and has been working, an understanding of the decline and proper money management planning. If you trade within a system, you can estimate your results, and by doing so attain measurable success consistently with a trading system. - 23222

About the Author:

Maclin Vestor teaches about How To Buy Stock Online. You can even learn about virtual stock markets and advice on the Stock Market For Beginners at his blog.

Improve Work Order Management

By Layla Vanderbilt

Managing investment property is not simple. You worry concerning the maintenance, and receiving rent payments. The broken appliances happen at odd hours and solving occupant complaints takes up valuable time. It takes additional of their time and currency to maintain. Unluckily, investors quick become weighed behind as the investment maintenance is additional work than predictable. The solution for a lot of investors, then, is to hire a reputable property management company to take above managing the property.

An excellent property management company frees the investor?s time and keeps excellent records and maintenance in the property. Hiring a company to manage the property will modernize your business if they present the services you need at an approved upon cost. So, what should you consider if you are interested in hiring a manager for your property?

Company fees are a major aspect in the decision making process, so do your research. For a large rental property, the national average is around 4 percent of the property's income. The national average for a single home is around 12 percent. Before you sign a contract, be sure to do your research on fees charged, payment schedules and the services included. What will their fees cover, and how will payments be made? How will they deal with other expenses not included with these fees, such as repairs and insurance premiums? Some send invoices, while others include these expenses with their fees.

Request them concerning additional properties they have managed. Get the addresses of a couple and check them out. Drive by them to see the type of outside work they do. The management you hire should be recognizable with the type of investment you own. In more words, a manager educated in apartment buildings probably wouldn?t be an excellent match for a single family home property.

Direct approach to the person-in-charge is always recommended.Good rapport with those you hire is always needed. Also know about their previous experiences. Ads appearing in newspapers,television and online about the company should also be verified. Questions must be raised that about their presence in the web and can prospective tenants apply online?

Other questions to be enquired are of hiring cleaning contractors for preparing vacancies and can the cleaning be done quickly to ensure you are not losing valuable time and money while the place is prepared for tenants?,do they have contractors for repair and landscaping needs?,what are the hours the property management company is available and if they are available after working hours for emergencies?,how close is the management office located to the investment property?.Also their viability of approach.Another aspect that should be kept in mind is their proximity to the investment property to solve the problems as they occur.

Hiring a property management company to oversee your property saves your time wasted on daily problems.The company also allows the owner to find time for other deals which can be passed onto the same company to manage them as well. - 23222

About the Author:

Layla Vanderbilt is the webmaster for a leading property management software review website which connects people with the leading property management tools.

Ways To Come Out Of Your Debts

By Layla Vanderbilt

Millions of Americans are moving heaven and earth to pay off their loans while an equal number of them are finding it extremely difficult to manage their loans. This can virtually leave you in a debt trap as a bad credit score will not allow you to get any kind of loan or set right your debt position. However, all hopes are not lost yet, as there are companies that are ready to lend you a helping hand in clearing your debts and improve your credit score, but you need to tread carefully so that you do not end up in a mess again.

On most occasions, Companies volunteer to talk to your bill collectors to bring your loans to a respectable level in order to help you clear them. As mentioned earlier, you should be careful while endeavoring to improve your credit position; you do not end up aggravating the situation. Assuming that the companies and your bill collectors help to reduce your loan burden, your credit report could still be reflecting it as a bad debt, which will in no way help your credit score.

Another way to lower your monthly payments and improve your credit rating at the same time is to obtain a debt consolidation loan which will pay off all of your debts in full. Of course, your credit rating must be good enough for you to qualify for one of these loans.

One consolation is that the debt consolidation loan normally comes with an interest rate which is less than what you were paying hitherto, and hence, repaying this loan over a period does not pose to be a problem. You stand to gain substantial money in this manner and your reputation dopes not suffer at the hands of those who gave you the loan.

Another good option for some is to take on a second mortgage. This is a fantastic option if you have equity in your home and can secure a good interest rate. Your monthly mortgage payment will increase but you can potentially save thousands of dollars in interest and it will feel great to have put all that debt behind you. Paying off high interest debt with low interest loans saves a ton of money in interest payments and helps you pay off your debt sooner. It's the best thing you can do for your credit score, too. Your creditors will have nothing to complain about.

Your credit score is extremely important when you want to make a major purchase such as an automobile or a home. If you can possibly afford it you should use one of the methods described above that will pay off your debt in full. This will keep your creditors happy and will ensure that you have a good credit rating. Before you make a decision on which option is available and which one best meets your needs, you should review all of the possibilities carefully. - 23222

About the Author:

Layla Vanderbilt is the webmaster for a leading website that offers for instant bad debt consolidation advice and guidance.

How To Learn Forex Online?

By Jane MacRae

Forex (or foreign exchange) trading presents small, independent investors with an exciting opportunity to make money. However, before you dive into this type of investing, it is important to learn as much about the forex market as possible. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to learn forex online.

* Know About the Jargon

As in any specialized area, the forex market is filled with terms and jargon that can be hard for a beginner to understand. Learning these terms will put you at a definite advantage. You can simply go to any search engine and type "forex terms" into the search box. Once you find a good list of terms, spend some time familiarizing yourself with the unfamiliar jargon.

* Take Online Courses For Free

It may not be wise to invest in an expensive course to start your investment venture. You can simply take the advantage of free online courses, and there are no shortage of them. Again, you can do so by searching for "free online forex course" on the like with your favorite search engine. Alternatively, you can go to a message board frequented by investors and ask if anyone there knows of any good, free courses you should try.

* Learn from a Professional

An alternative to the free route is the paid options, and it is more suitable for those who have already had some investing practise. Look for those experts who provide teaching or mentoring services online. You have to pay for participation, but it may be worthwhile to have a personal tutor, or a mentor who will be there to answer any of your questions, and help clear up anything you find confusing.

You can simply ask around to find a good, reputable paid online course. In the Forex market, those who were once in the same boat as you are in now will usually be more than happy to help steer you in the right direction.

* Sign Up For a Free Account

Once you have begun to learn about forex trading (whether on your own, or with the help of a professional "teacher") you will want to put your knowledge to the test, but without financial risk. There are many sites where you can sign up for a free demo or test account. For about thirty days, in most cases, you can actually try your hands at forex trading for free. These demo accounts will not only let you know whether you are ready to risk your money on the real thing, they will also help you gain hands-on experience.

Just like many other business opportunities, there is no way you can achieve something without putting in your efforts. Forex trading opens up a world of possibilities to many of us, but you really need to furnish yourself with sufficient knowledge. To learn forex online could be an efficient way leading to your success both in terms of time and cost. - 23222

About the Author:

Click here for our review of one of the leading automatic forex trading system in the market, which will grant you a huge advantage over your competitors. Also check out this related article about forex trading broker.