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Best way to invest money

You see, there are many ideas of what people think money is.

Some say it is a form of measurement.

Yes, but a measurement of what? Wealth? In the olden days, people measured wealth by how many cows, sheep and horses they had. But do people measure wealth today by your cows and horses?

How about slaves?

Was there a time where manpower is considered a hot commodity? Are slaves worth anything today? Are your dollar bills sitting in the bank going to protect you if a recession strikes the country? No, wealth can not be measured by the dollar bill.

Some say it is a form of power.

Yes, money can give you power, but if you are stuck on a desert island forever with a trillion dollars, will that money mean squat to you?

If someone offered you water and a helicopter to fly out of there, you would trade all your money in a split second, so money is not an accurate measurement of power – it heavily depends on how and wisely you use it (hint!).

Many believe it is the root of all evil… and several others take on this belief without much questioning.

Now, now, now… money is NOT the root of all evil (otherwise, why do you think churches still accept monetary donation and charity?). The love of money is the root of all evil. Remember, money is an excellent servant but a terrible master. If you are trading your life away for the dollar, money then has power over your time and life.

And unless you have proper financial intelligence, the lack of money can spawn a lot of evil thinking and negative mindset as observed in primarily cheats, thieves, criminals, breakups, freeloaders, cheapskates, and more to name.

But what is money, really?

Money is an idea, backed by confidence.

While money has naturally been developed by merchants in the older days to replace the questionable barter system, money today is literally invented by the rich and wealthy.

Entrepreneurs are willing to part with their money to buy other people’s time. Other people’s time i.e. employees and self-employed people becomes their employer’s asset and the employers this priceless resource to go on to create more wealth for themselves.

And here’s the thing: as long as you work for money, you are enslaved by it! 80% - 90% of the populations today are being enslaved involuntarily.

What we don’t realize is that there is a part of our soul that cannot be bought at whatever price. Would you chop off your little finger if your boss offered you 24 months of your salary immediately?

You and I know we are worth more than that. But when you hear of cases of people selling their body parts for cash in some countries, we can have our eyeballs pop out of our eye sockets.

On the other hand, we occasionally DO sell out a part of ourselves for money like a donkey and a carrot. Best way to invest money, my personal favorite is to invest in properties and buy properties!

Keys to financial planning

Naturally, most if not all of us want and crave for something better. It is all part of us if we want a bigger car, a better house, buying good things for the family. We keep hoping for more but, in order to get what you don’t have, you have got to do something you have never done before.

That simply means:

Doing the same thing over and over again YET expecting different results!

As an employee, you can’t stay at the same job forever and hope that a miracle will happen and your boss will suddenly give you a raise. You will be lucky that there is no downsizing in your company. Switching to another company will only provide a short term solution to a long term problem.

Sure, you can take up a second or even third job, but do you have enough hours and stamina in a day to sustain it?

The bottom-line: Trading time for money isn’t wise financial sense in the long term. You keep on increasing the hours just to win the rat race, but in the end of the day, you are still a rat on the mill!

Increasing your wages only puts you in a higher tax bracket. Your salaries increase but so does your expenses on your house and car.

How will you invest in yourself when all the time you spend working for a company, working for the government paying taxes and working for the bank paying off your house and car? What if you fall sick and can’t work tomorrow? Will the government take care of your family?

I highly doubt so.

So isn’t it time you take your finances a tad more seriously?

How to build an energy efficient home

Are you ready to find out if in fact your home is as energy efficient as it can be?

Most of us have some big and some small things that they can do to better the cost efficiency of home.

Whether you just want to drop a few dollars off of your gas bill or you are looking for a better way to fuel your home altogether, doing just a few things can make a tremendous amount of difference in your home.

Why bother with cost efficiency?  You can afford the bills so why bother?

Fact is, you can attract pretty good, serious buyers for your home and house in the near future if you can learn to build an energy efficient home!

Many people will be shocked to learn that they can lose up to 25% or more of the energy in their home without the need to.  You literally could be flushing your money down the drain.

The good news is that making your home energy efficient does not have to be overly challenging.  It also does not have to be overly costly either.

There are some changes that will cost a decent amount of money to implement into a home.  These are usually the things that need to be taken into consideration if you plan to save a great deal of money.

As you will see in these series of tips I’m giving you here, there are plenty of things that you can do to better your home’s ability to use energy more wisely from just about every aspect you can imagine.  But, in our initial series, we need to take the time to really analyze if in fact making the change is worth it.

There are some products and some companies that do promise that you will save a great deal of money and you wind up investing a great deal to wind up not saving anything.

The best thing for anyone that is looking to improve their home’s ability to use energy wisely is to take a good look at what the product or need is, how it is used, the cost of the product and the cost of the installation and then determine if in fact it has the potential of making up those funds through energy savings.  Some won’t.  Others will.

Throughout these posts you will learn things that you can do right away to improve the energy efficiency of your home.

You will also learn different ways to save money on everyday needs that you have.  You will find yourself saving money and living in a more efficient and environmentally friendly home.

First Step First.

One of the first things that you should do when looking at your ability to make your home more cost efficient is to know just what you are currently paying.

By taking the time to determine what you are currently spending on energy, you can better determine which areas you have the potential to save with.  In each area of the country, there are different rates, different co ops and a wide range of different types of fuel to take into consideration.

It is up to you to find out what you are paying based on your monthly bill payments.  Look at those payments and notice two things.

•    What is the amount that you pay per unit that you use of that fuel type?

•    What is the amount of that fuel type that you use per month in units?

Your goal, then, is to notice how you can change these.

Can You Lower The Cost Per Unit?

The first way to determine if you can lower you costs with your fuel usage is to determine if you have the most cost effective provider of that fuel.

In many areas of the country, there are several providers of each type of fuel that you need.  For example, you may have a choice in which gas company you use or which electric company that you use.  If that is the case, then you should determine which is capable of providing you with the lowest rate per unit of fuel used.

To find out if you have an option in this service, simply contact your local government.  They can easily tell you which providers are available as well as provide contact information to you.

Then, give each provider a call and ask them if they do in fact provide to your home.  If so, then ask what their rates per unit are, as well as any transfer or account set up fees that they may have.  Do this for all of the providers in your area until you find the most affordable choice.

By doing this, you can instantly save money without having to worry about investing anything but a few minutes of your time.

where is the best place to buy investment property

According to the old real estate saying, “The only three things that matter in real estate are location, location and location.” The fact is that a ten bedroom, eight bath home with cathedral ceilings and a swimming pool that is sitting next to a garbage dump is nearly worthless.

On the other hand a little one bedroom, one bath shack sitting in the middle of downtown Dallas would be worth a small fortune. So you can see that the location is of the utmost importance when you are considering a piece of real estate to invest in.

What is it that makes the location of a piece of real estate valuable?

The answer is fairly simply really. The value is based on nothing more than the desirability factor. Desirability is a fluctuating intangible that is really hard to nail down.

Property that is totally undesirable to one person might be just the next person’s dream-come-true. And this phenomenon is true for real estate investors and for home buyers and for renters. It is true for all aspects of the real estate market.

The main point for any real estate investor to consider first is what their strategy will be for making a profit on a property. Buying is only half of the equation and whether the location of the property is good or bad depends upon that profit strategy.

For example: If an investor is going to invest in a property with the intention of just waiting for the market to go up, prime real estate is probably the very best choice. Locations that are near entertainment centers or developing areas would be best because the likely hood that the property will increase in value simply by waiting is a pretty good bet.

On the other hand, if an investor is going to invest in a property with the intention of renting it and making a monthly income from it, he might be better off to look into urban properties. Urban properties wouldn’t be considered ‘prime’ real estate but they are ‘prime’ rental properties.

Then there are real estate investors who are handy with their hands. They can make repairs and renovations to rundown properties themselves, sell it for a great deal more than their purchase price and make a very nice profit. The location that these kinds of real estate investors often find the best is in neighborhoods that are made up of mid priced homes in working neighborhoods.

There are many factors that real estate investors consider when they are deciding which property to invest in. One factor can be what I call the ‘snob’ factor.

It’s strange but people will pay a lot more money for a small property in the ‘right’ neighborhood than they will for a larger property in a less desirable neighborhood. However…one person’s definition of a ‘good’ neighborhood will not be anywhere close to another person’s definition of a ‘good neighborhood.

Then there is the ‘visibility’ factor. If a neighborhood or an area has become famous or even infamous, property values rise regardless of the location. Convenience is another factor when considering the desirability of the location of a piece of property.

People do like to live close to where they work and where their children attend school. Rising gas prices just might work wonders for real estate prices in inner cities.

The desirability of the location of any piece of real estate can be determined by a great many different factors for real estate investors and for home buyers and renters. If the location is desirable for the investor’s purposes he will invest.

If the location is desirable for a home buyer’s purposes then he will buy. If the location is desirable for a renter’s purposes then he will rent. So basically, you can roll all of the various factors for determining whether a location is good or bad into one simple work; desirability.

We are a nation of individuals. We all see things from a different point of view. Look around. There are people living everywhere. They live in big cities, small towns and in urban and rural areas. Who can determine what a ‘good’ location really is?

There is a proverb that says, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. The modern version would be ‘whatever floats your boat is good’. In real estate it would translate to ‘if the location serves your purpose then it’s a good location’.

Investment Propergy

Most investors are not interested in investing in urban real estate. This means that there is a wide open opportunity for those who ARE interested in investing in urban real estate.

You will likely hear umpteen reasons why you should NOT invest in urban real estate so let me give you a few good reasons why you SHOULD invest in urban real estate.

First let’s discuss the pricing of urban real estate. If you keep your ‘ear to the ground’ so to speak you can find some real hidden gems in the urban real estate market. Not every low price is a good deal, of course, and just like with every real estate investment that you ever make, you should be certain that you do your homework.

Really great deals turn up in every real estate market for one reason or another. Don’t miss those terrific investment opportunities simply because the property is in an urban area.

Then there are the Section 8 tenants to be considered. Here is an obvious advantage to investing in urban properties. Government subsidized housing is a 21st century reality and under Section 8 the government pays a full 80% of the monthly rent. These renters are often referred to as ‘Section 8 tenants’.  There is, of course, always a waiting list of potential renters and they all want to move into YOUR urban investment property.

That adds up to a very nice and sure monthly income for you. Renters don’t always pay their rent but the government does send checks on time and in full thus eliminating much of the rent collection hassle.

Let’s not overlook the fix and flip opportunity afforded by urban real estate investments. Okay, let’s face it.

Today’s real estate market could be better….a lot better…but just because the over-all market doesn’t seem to be all that healthy at the moment that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some great fix and flip opportunities out there and particularly in the urban areas. The trick to making a profit on an urban property is to sell with incentives included and, if it is a rental property, with a tenant already in residence.

Don’t forget about the good old government of the United States of America.

The government funds projects to rehab entire neighborhoods in urban areas and they do soon a regular basis. The local government gets funding and usually offers attractive incentives to developers and home owners investing in these urban neighborhoods.

Not only that but you can some really astounding interest rate offers that will let you keep your money in your pocket and out of and danger at all. This creates a win/win/win situation. The government gets to spend money which they seem to do so well. The inhabitants of the neighborhood get better housing and you make a nice profit. Everybody wins!

There is the tired old real estate saying, “The only three things that matter in real estate are location, location and location.”

That really is NOT necessarily true. Do you remember playing the board game Monopoly when you were a kid? Remember those first little properties that were located right at the beginning of the game?

They were cheap. They were REALLY cheap. If you bought one of those right out of the gate, so to speak, you could have a hotel up on it almost immediately and every player in the game was going to have to land on it and pay you.

It was a pretty good location but not an expensive one. It was one that you could afford to make improvements on quickly.

Remember? Think of investing in urban real estate like you would think of investing in Baltic Avenue or Mediterranean Avenue. You don’t pay much for the property but improvements don’t cost much either and you can make a profit easily and quickly. It was good strategy for Monopoly and it is a good strategy for real live urban real estate investing.

Urban property investments meet all of the criteria for sound real estate investing.

There is a good rental market in an urban area. There are lots of people who need housing and that housing is very often government subsidized.
Urban property is usually low priced and can even be purchased at extremely attractive interest rates as well.

The market is stable in urban neighborhoods. There isn’t a boom or bust mentality. Demand is not likely to decrease.

Investing in urban property can be a very good decision but you should always do your homework before you invest.

Why is real estate a good investment

Back in the days of the wild, Wild West, when easterners traveled across this vast country looking for opportunity in the newly opened territories, they were often referred to as a ‘tenderfoot’.

This wasn’t a complimentary term but it was a rather apt one. The easterners wore ‘city’ shoes that weren’t designed to withstand the rigors of the western terrain. Their hats didn’t have wide brims to protect them from the sun and their clothing wasn’t made of tough material like denim.

These new westerners didn’t know how to take care of themselves and because they didn’t know where and what the dangers were they didn’t have any idea how to avoid them.

If you are just beginning to consider the idea of investing in real estate you are a tenderfoot and you do need some instruction to avoid losing your shirt…and probably your pants, hat and boots, as well.

First you will need to determine what your strategy will be in real estate investing.

Do you want to buy a property, fix it up and sell it quickly or do you want to buy a property, hold it and wait for the market to increase?

Do you want to deal with renters? All of these questions are ones that you need to answer before you invest in any piece of real estate.

You will need to learn how to investigate the value of properties yourself. It isn’t fair to use the time of a real estate agent and have them show you property after property while you try to look for a good real estate investment.

There are several online sites that are helpful in determining the real value of real estate. DO NOT rely on tax values. They are not reliable and they are not accurate either. You can find a real estate agent that you can work with and you can find recommendations for such agents online.

After you have learned how to determine property values yourself and have chosen a real estate agent that you can work with, the next thing that you need is a good broker that you can also work with. Ask your real estate agent for the names of three mortgage brokers.

Then you will need to find out what interest rates and closing costs each one charges. (Check out your local bank or credit union as well). Take copies of your three credit reports and choose a sample property for each broker to run hard numbers on.

Now you are ready to actually make your first investment. You want to choose the lowest price house in the best possible neighborhood to put a contract on.

Let’s say the cheapest two-bedroom house in the best neighborhood in Fort Wayne costs $100,000 and the next cheapest, comparable home is listed for $140,000. If you buy the home that is priced at $100,000, you can raise your price to $130,000 the next day and make a dandy little profit.

Now let’s talk about closing the deal. First show the seller your pre-qualification letter from your lender. Then get the required inspections for termites and get your appraisal. Once you have all of your ‘ducks in a row’ so to speak, it takes about 30 days to make the final close.

A note here about any renovations or repairs that you might want to make to the property: Before you close, you might want to think about a Purchase and Renovate loan. A Purchase and Renovate loan wraps the cost of construction up in the loan so you don’t have many out-of-pocket expenses. This may require an estimate from a general contractor and plans from an architect as well.

Okay, now let’s go back to the first thing that you needed to do and that was to determine your strategy. Now is the time for you to execute that strategy that you have used to invest in this real estate. If you bought it with the strategy of flipping it when the market went up then you just simply wait.

If you bought it with the strategy of renovating and then selling then it is time to start your renovations. On the other hand, if you bought it with the strategy of renting it, it is time to start looking for tenants.

You see, the point of having a strategy for profiting from the purchase of any piece of real estate must be your first decision because everything that comes after that is dependent upon it.