The Monopoly Way to Real Estate Investing Success

By Julie Broad

Lots of people ask me "when is the right time to buy property?" Well, the truth is, anytime is a good time to buy property. However, just because it's always the right time doesn't mean you can't lose money on real estate. Real estate, like other investments, carries a certain element of risk - otherwise it wouldn't be investing! What makes real estate investing risky? Buying bad properties. Bad properties are bad properties- it has nothing to do with timing.

People ask "Should I buy property in this sky high market or should I wait for it to turn around or hit rock bottom?" Timing the market is impossible. No one really knows what it's going to do. However, you can find a good deal in any market and a good deal is always worth buying.

I learned about real estate early because I come from a family of real estate investors. Whenever there are big family events, we always play Monopoly quite competitively. It's not just a game to us; we do it to prove how good we are at investing in real estate.

The secret to winning in Monopoly is just like the secret to winning in life with real estate; although you cannot time the market it is about timing.

You want to buy as much real estate as you can, as early on in the game (or in your life) as possible . . . which means, the best TIME to buy real estate is ALWAYS now.

You wouldn't play Monopoly without knowing the rules right? You'd be totally lost. Everyone knows that in Monopoly the person with the most money wins, and that you make the most money by buying selling and renting property. But if all you do is roll your dice and move your piece without a clear strategy, there's very little chance to win, just like in life.

Similar to Monopoly where you shouldn't start the game without reading the rules, in real life investing you shouldn't start buying houses without first figuring out a few things. In particular, you should sit down and think through your real estate investing objectives. Then, do some research to find a market with good fundamental economic conditions, and finally find and evaluate a property to find one that meets your objectives.

A property that meets your objectives will most likely provide steady rental income that can carry the property in times of economy fluctuations. If you find such a property, buy it and hold onto it, using the extra rental income to finance other real estate purchases.

In Monopoly, the most desirable piece of land is Boardwalk. Sometimes people don't spend any money in Monopoly because they are saving it all for the chance to purchase Boardwalk. However this is a mistake- while you hold out for Boardwalk, other players who bought other properties early in the game are making steady income. If you wait for the perfect 'landing spot' or the perfect market, you'll find that it might be too late to get in the game.

That's why you need to focus on buying an investment property that meets your needs, not your ideal. You don't have to be born under a lucky star; you just have to have a clear vision of what you can live with. There is money to be made and lost in any type of market.

Essentially, there are two parts to being successful at buying real estate: 1. realizing that now is always the perfect time to buy, and 2. finding a property that will pay for itself through good times and bad.

I haven't even mentioned the fact that current market conditions are great for real estate investors to find deals in. Interest rates are low, prices have come down, there is a ton of inventory on the market AND homes are very slow to sell. It's really the perfect time to buy but I am not really trying to convince you of that. I am just trying to convince you that, even if the property you buy today goes down in value tomorrow, you will still be successful as long as you buy one that brings in enough rent to cover it's costs. If you can find deals like this, NOW is ALWAYS the best time to buy. - 23222

About the Author:

Learn How to Retire with Real Estate with Julie's free Buying Investment Property Starter Tips Guide. Learn how to create financial independance, positive cashflow and massive wealth with tips like: How to find quality rental properties, finding and keeping great tenants, and easy ways to make more money with real estate.

Forex Training: The Key To Success

By Jacob Tremblay

Forex trading is just like anything else in life - to get good at it, all you need is practice. Of course, sometimes you don't have the time (or the money!) to get the practice you need. In that case, the only thing to do is to get some proper training. If you can find someone to teach you the system, or a good quality forex robot with lots of information and advice, you can ramp up your skills in an incredible amount of time.

Today's internet is filled with helpful articles, the library is stuffed with books, and there are so many courses on offer from so many places that it can be impossible to know where to start. Too many people get swamped by the sheer volume of information, and end up with so many conflicting ideas and suggestions they become completely paralyzed, not knowing where to start. The solution to this, if you really want to succeed, is something I call "information overload".

Information Overload is the process of completely immersing yourself in the data. Studying it constantly, and making it so much a part of your life that when it comes time to use your knowledge, you almost instinctively know what to do. I won't lie to you, this a hard path - but the rewards are worth it. If you just want quick, simple success, you can get a for robot, which will do most of the work for you. And yes, they do work, but for myself I prefer to be the master of my craft - not just someone using a tool.

The first step in information overloading is to find an initial source. So head down to your nearest library, and find the shelves with the Forex training books. I'm sure there are some. Once you've found them, just close your eyes and pick one randomly - that's your first information source. Go check it out.

Great! You've picked out a book, and now you just have to read it. This trick here, is to read it fast - keep it with you all the time, and every spare moment (on your break, in a line, during commercials on tv...) you read it. Even just a little bit, even just a paragraph or two, it all counts. And, most importantly, read it just before you fall asleep - several pages, at least. This is essential.

The reason for this is that whatever you are thinking about as you fall asleep, is what your unconscious mind thinks is important to you. The purpose of all this reading is not to try and learn forex, just to get your brain accustomed to constantly having Forex-like information going through it. So keep reading, and don't worry if there's something you don't get - just ignore it and keep going, until you finish the book.

Once you've finished the book, you can go get another one. Just keep doing this, randomly taking books and paging through them, until you've had enough exposure. You'll know when this is, because you're mind will start producing facts and figures you weren't even aware you know. Someone will say something about Forex you couldn't have got before, and you'll suddenly realize you know exactly what they mean. You may even start dreaming about foreign exchange. Don't worry, this is totally natural, and you're doing well.

The second stage of information overload, is directed reading. Now you've filled your brain with knowledge, it's time to start learning. Go back to the library, and this time take a look at the books. You may be surprised at how well you know them, and can understand what they're saying. At this point, just let your instinct guide you - don't listen to anyone else. Your subconscious is full of Forex knowledge, and it knows what you need to learn.

By now your brain is full of information about Forex, and all you're doing is awakening it. So go through the book, studying it carefully. This time, when you see something you don't understand, investigate it - find another book, look online, whatever. As you study, everything you already know subconsciously will fall into place, allowing you to go through the book with an ease you've probably never know before.

Well, you know know everything you need to master Forex, or anything else for that matter. Of course, for Forex in particular, there is plenty more advice I could give you - but this will do to start with. If you really want to accelerate your learning, I can also suggest you use a program to help you. Most Forex trading software comes with the option to simulate trades, and this is excellent practice - hands on experience is a great way to learn, and a huge help if your just starting out. So if you've got the money to spare, I would strongly suggest you find some decent Forex training software to help you out.

Here's to your success! - 23222

About the Author:

Author Jacob Tremblay is a long time stock market trader, who has now turned his hand to forex trading. Click to check out his site, where he provides reviews of various forex training and trading systems.

Secrets Of Warren Buffett

By Mike Swanson

Warren Buffett strategy is known worldwide for being one of the most successful at buying stock picks ever. His philosophy is based on the Benjamin Graham process of value investing. When he took control of Berkshire Hathaway in 1965 he invested $10,000, this investment today is worth nearly $30 million. If he has invested this amount in the S&P 500 it would have grown in value to $500 000!

Looking at numbers like this is it not surprising that the Warren Buffett legend has also grown to mythical proportions. But how did he do it? By value investing, he like many other bargain hunters, looks for product that are undervalued, finds them and invest in their stocks. The majority of other buyers don't see the investment value in these products, but Warren Buffett does.

Securities with low intrinsic worth are grist for his mill. He identifies these and predicts their worth by analyzing the company's fundamentals. The majority of buyers are unable to predict this and Warren Buffett seems to know that the market will eventually favor his investments.

He is not concerned with facts such as supply and demand. This is normally what controls markets, but Warren Buffett is not looking for short term gains, he is looking for long term, return on investment. The quote that best describes the way he thinks is: "In the short term the market is a popularity contest; in the long term it is a weighing machine".

Warren Buffett chooses stocks based on the overall potential of a company to make money as a long term prospect. Capital gain is not what he seeks and all the concerns he has are based on whether or not the company he targets is able to make money.

There are a number of questions he asks himself when evaluating the relationship between the price and the level of excellence of a stock. These include but are not limited to the return on equity in terms of performance, whether the business avoids excess debt, if the profit margins are high and are they increasing, how long it has been a public company and whether the company relies on a commodity for its products. - 23222

About the Author:

If you want to learn more about technical analysis and the stock market go to www.wallstreetwindow.com.

How To Get A Good Price For Your Gold Jewelry

By Zachary Callahan

When you're trying to sell gold for the first time you would be surprised at how difficult it can be. There are 100's if not thousands of gold buyers out there and it can be challenging even for knowledgeable sellers. But what you really must know are a few key important factors that will make it much less of a chore. In the following article I will explain how you can work out how much your gold is worth and how to sell it to a established buyer.

One of the first things you should know if you want to sell gold is how to figure out how much your gold is worth. To do this you need to know how much gold is in your piece of jewelry. You can find this out generally with a stamp or imprint somewhere on the item. For example in rings it is usually found on the inside of the band. The amount of karats can range from 24 down to one.

Another important thing you have to know is how much your gold weighs or gram weight as it is recognized. The more gram weight your piece has, the more it is worth. You do have to take into consideration though the karats of the piece. What this means is that a heavier piece will be worth much more than a thin piece even though they have the same carat-age.

Another very pivotal part of the selling process is the design and workmanship of the gold jewelry. Almost without question, an antique well-designed piece of jewellery will be worth more than any kind of jewellery manufactured by a machine. Hand-crafted pieces are particularly more valuable as the workmanship is much better. Quality hand-crafted pieces almost always last longer than any machine made piece of jewellery. The result is that old-fashioned and well-crafted pieces of gold jewellery are worth the most.

If you don't have any gold jewellery that is handmade or well-crafted your alternative is to sell to a gold refiner instead of a jeweler or pawnshop. They will buy your gold jewelry based on the gold content of the item. You should have a good idea of what that will be by adopting the formula above.

Just adopt the advice numbered above and you will be well on your way to selling your gold jewelry safely. All you have to do is do your own research into all the different options you have like gold refiners or jewelers and then figure out your gold's value. If you do all that you can get the most cash for your gold.|get top dollar for your gold. - 23222

About the Author:

Zachary writes about gold and gold related news on his site that teaches people where to sell gold jewelry and how tosell scrap gold. If you would like to learn more about the selling of gold please visit his site.

The Correct Attitude for Successful Investment

By Damian Papworth

In the world of investments, attitude counts for a lot. Why is that, you may be asking? The answer is simple: in investing, it's important that your decisions be founded exclusively on information and reasons pertinent to that investment. You never want to put yourself in the situation where you end up making a decision on an investment based on completely extraneous and irrelevant matters. Hence the saying "Plan the trade, and trade the plan." I've listed some points which may help you with this.

1. Never invest money you need to use for your living expenses. Even if you don't need this money this month, next month, but you know you'll need it in 3 months, don't invest it. If you put money in any investment market that you need to pay for your living expenses, at some stage you will need to make a decision about that investment, due to your living expense commitments.

As an example, let's say that the money in question needs to go to a repayment on your mortgage loan which is due in about three months. Luck may just have it that the investment you made takes a sudden fall on the precise week of your repayment. In ideal circumstances you would let the investment continue its course, give it the time to bounce back; but since you are strapped for cash and have a payment looming, you close it. Ultimately, your decision was driven by factors irrelevant to the investment and a loss results. The lesson here is that one only invests money which they do not need to get by.

2. When making investments, it is often a helpful technique to imagine to yourself that that money has been completely lost the minute you invested it. The simple reality is that many investments look bad before they end up looking good, which is simply due to the normal fluctuations in investment markets. Countless investments have been ruined by people (myself included) who chickened out too soon and didn't allow the investment to come to fruition in time.

By telling yourself that it's lost money the moment you put it into an investment, you are adopting an attitude which will spare you from the nervous impulses that ruin many investments. Take my word for it: few things are as frustrating and disappointing as pulling out of an investment to incur a loss, only to see it bounce back for others later and go on to perform excellently.

3. Any and every investor needs to accept that failed trades are a basic fact of life. Everybody will make a certain amount of trades that run into losses. The important part here is the attitude that you adopt in the face of such losses: being a poor, vision-less loser in such events will prevent you from ever becoming a successful investor over the long haul. Following are two exemplary ways to contemplate an unsuccessful trade.

3a). Rather than considering your trades on a one by one basis, look at them as a complete group. For example, a certain strategy you use may make you a profit four out of five times, which is to say that one out of five times you run a loss. What you should do in this circumstance is rack up the net profit across all five trades, including the losing trade, and divide the result by five. The final figure would be your per trade profit. In this way, the losing trade is merely part of a broader winning strategy: 20% of the total net result is in fact due to the losing trade, because it is a necessary part of a broader strategy.

This way you will be encouraged to continue trading your successful strategy, rather than get discouraged when one trade goes wrong.

3b). Consider your losses to be tuition for your investment education. In case you are not one of them, most of the people in this industry have put down many thousands of dollars and dedicated many years of their lives on getting degrees in the matter. For those that jump in without such degrees, the education comes as part of the failed trades: hence, make sure you learn from each and every one of them! The right, professional attitude is necessary here, free of emotions, as otherwise you're sure to lose the long term profitability of such endeavors.

Investment work and the markets are known for being able to bring out people's best and worst features. Thus, controlling one's emotional and irrational reactions is fundamental so that they don't cloud decisions. As the saying goes: "Plan the trade, and trade the plan. - 23222

About the Author:

Damian Papworth makes investments for his way of living and his family. Not too long ago he researched baby high chairs. He put a website together with his findings on high chairs for babies.