Thursday, January 10, 2013

Discover The Top Performing Mutual Funds

When it comes to investing in mutual funds, everyone wants to find the best ones available. But how do you know just which fund to get behind? Making the wrong choice could result in you losing more money than you make. Researching to find the best fund will heighten your chances of being successful. But beware, the successes of today and yesterday are not guaranteed in the future.

Thousands Of Potential Funds To Choose From

Investing in mutual funds can be overwhelming. There are so many to choose from, thousands in fact. Comparing and deciding which ones suit your financial needs could take a lot of time. This can be a very time-consuming task, and tedious as well. And that is just the beginning; once you narrow down the search, then you must evaluate the ones with the most bang for your buck, and determine the risk factor for each one.

Narrowing Down The Best Of The Funds

Working without the help of the Internet would take a huge chunk of time away from you. Online, you can discover lists of the top performing past and present funds. This in no way guarantees the future performance, however - it is only an archive of what is and has been hot. These are just the current and past trends, not a prediction, so you need to remember to always take what you learn with a grain of salt.

Current And Past Fund Trends Available Online

Tomorrow is a brand new day and anything can happen. Mutual funds are like the weather, it can be sunny today but cloudy tomorrow. The sky has clouds some days, no clouds other days, sunsets, sunrises... Change is the one thing on which we can depend. Mutual funds can be inconsistent. You may only enjoy right now, as tomorrow is a new day. The gains and losses over time can be all over the place. So hold on, because this is will be quite a ride.

With Mutual Funds There Are No Guarantees

Investing in any fund can be intimidating with so many options to choose and so many companies to represent you. There are no guarantees; the fund winning today could be a dud tomorrow. Never base your future investment on only what you see today. Think about what was hip 10 years ago, is it still in today? Check to see trends, but don't live and die by them.

By Connor Swinney

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Australia, Dubai is Calling You

Originally built on the oil industry, today Dubai’s economy is a different beast. While still producing tens of thousands of barrels of oil each day, this now global city enjoys its main revenues from real estate, construction, financial services and trade.

Location and Connectivity With the creation of the UAE free zones, Dubai is an amazing place for Australians to start up a business in. Naturally, the location would allow you to export to Africa, but it can also generate business easier for you with Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan too. You’ll also be closer to India for doing business and to other countries in the Arab world. There are few better connected places in the world than Dubai. Home to the Emirates airline, which will be code-sharing with Qantas from early 2013, Dubai boasts one of the world's biggest and busiest airports. It operates as the hub for Emirates, so whether you need to fly to Europe, North America, Africa or the Far East, you can get there (and quite often on a direct flight).

Exports and Imports Exporting and importing won’t be a problem either, for Dubai boasts the largest man-made harbour in the world. You should be able to ship out and ship in comfortably. But nice harbour, nice price, since there are no levies on imports and exports. Free zones were designed to encourage foreign trade, so if you’re looking at international trade services, it’s the place for you.

Foreign Ownership One of the best things about these zones is the change regarding foreign ownership. The international market is growing in business; pursuing this business opportunity as a career gives you an opportunity to learn and obtain an education in foreign ownership. Before, a UAE national had to own at least 51% of the business. Now you can make it 100% Australian if you wish. On top of this, a business in a free zone is exempt from taxes and customs duties, allowing you to invest much more of your start-up capital, not to mention of your profits, into your business. Sound good? While building up your business in the free zone, you’ll more than likely wish to promote it. You won’t have to worry about restrictions, though, for there aren’t any on sponsorship. Once your business is booming, you'll want to expand. There aren’t any restrictions on recruitment either, so if you choose to go from 1 employee to 100, Dubai shouldn’t have any problem with that.

Events and Trade Shows Dubai hosts various trade expos and events, giving you a great opportunity to showcase your business to trades near and afar. In Dubai alone, there are more than 70 shopping malls, so people have good reason to call it the shopping capital of the Middle East. The great thing about the free zones is that they have created opportunities for a wide range of businesses, especially international trade services, with the city being a major IT and financial services hub. Whichever niche you decide to specialise in, the chances are there’ll be a free zone that makes it possible.

Tourism Tourism has become an important part of the Dubai economy, to the extent that the city expects to accommodate over 15 million tourists by 2015. Think of the money to be made if just a fraction of that number turn to your business.

Rounding Up Australians looking to start a business should definitely consider Dubai. The absence of taxes and customs duties, and the removal of levies on imports and exports, make life easier for you. Then you have the infrastructure and communications to make the business possible. And moving from Australia to Dubai, you’re moving from one great place to live to another, of course!

Friday, January 4, 2013

Understanding Stock Market for Beginners

Most people have known a person who has made a lot of money from investing. They also know of a person who has lost their money from investing. The challenge is understanding which investments are worth taking a risk on, and which ones could rob you of your investment. You can increase your odds by doing your homework and using tips like the ones in this article to help increase your chances of success.

When you are analyzing a potential stock for your portfolio, it is important you pay attention to the PE ratio in combination with the total projected return of the stock. In simplistic terms, you should be paying about 50% less for a stock than its projected earnings. A stock which comes with a ten percent projected return should have a price:earnings ratio of 20 or less.

Buy a number of affordable stocks instead of several expensive ones. By purchasing a larger quantity of stocks, you will be able to sell and to manage them quite easily. Besides, you will not feel the same kind of pressure as you do when it is time to sell just a few expensive stocks.

Learn as much as you can about accounting and money, in addition to the stock market. Investing does not require a degree, but you will benefit from having a solid foundation of knowledge in these areas. An understanding of basic principles will help you make better financial decisions. Even investing gurus such as Warren Buffet espouse the value of educating yourself.

It is important for beginners to remember that success in the stock market should be measured in the long-term results. It might take some time before a certain company's stock begins to show some success, and quite a few people think they won't make any money, so they give up too soon. Patience is a virtue you need when investing.

Take the time to investigate which investment service you want to use. All it takes is one good service to make a huge difference. The right service should to assist you in picking profitable stocks, and offer useful trading and portfolio software options. When the profits start to roll in, the investment in the service more than covers the cost.

When choosing a brokerage for purposes of stock market investing, make sure it has a good reputation. You can hear a lot of promises from different firms, but they shouldn't be trusted100% because you never know what could happen. Yet you can find confidence by looking at different brokerage firm reviews online.

A good way of saving money when making investments is by trading stocks online. There are a number of online trading firms that provide more affordable services than traditional brokerage firms. Just be sure to shop around the Internet to find the best deal possible.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Ways to Become Debt Free

We live in a society where consumerism is often supported and promoted. In pretty short order, debt is accumulated and many people find they are in over their heads. Unresolved debt can cause an extreme amount of stress and anxiety. The best way to obtain debt relief is to have a plan. The following are ways that you can work toward becoming debt free:

Pay More than the Minimum Required Payment-

The first goal in credit card debt reduction is to get out of the habit of paying the minimum monthly payment. When you pay the minimum, which is typically only 3% of the total balance, only prolongs paying the debt completely off. The banks love when consumers only pay the minimum because they are able to continue to profit from the accrued interest. Instead of paying the minimum, pay as much as possible toward the balance each month. You may have to make a few sacrifices in order to have enough cash, but it will be worth it when you see your total balance decrease each month.

Cash Out Your Savings

Although depleting your savings may not be the wisest strategy, it may be a viable option if you have excessive debt. Keep in mind unpaid debt accrues interest so leaving funds in your savings account could mean that you end up paying more to resolve debt. As of right now, the interest earned on a savings account is minimal so the money may be best used to decrease or eliminate debt.

Borrow Against Your Life Insurance

If you have a life insurance policy with a cash value, you may be able to borrow against the policy. Because the interest rate, in most cases, is well below the commercial rate, you will be able to pace yourself to repay the loan. It is extremely important that the funds be repaid because if you die before it is repaid, the balance in addition to applicable interest will be deducted from the face value of the policy. This suggestion requires a great deal of thought, your age, health and overall financial situation must be considered before borrowing against your life insurance policy.

Borrow From Friends and Family

If you are fortunate enough to have family who will lend you money, you could make a dent in your total debt without the risk of borrowing against your insurance policy or depleting your savings. Although family may be more lenient than a traditional bill collector, keep in mind if the money is a loan, it must be repaid. Misunderstandings about money can cause a great deal of drama in a family so paying the loan back within the requested amount of time is best.

Get a Home Equity Loan

If you own home and have accumulated equity, you may want to consider a home equity loan or line of credit to pay off outstanding debt. A home equity loan is a tax deductible item, and you may benefit from the current low interest rates. Please be aware that the line of credit is also considered debt and if you use the funds to pay off revolving credit, you must make an effort to not get in deeper debt.

Settle Your Debts

It may be possible for you to renegotiate the terms and balances of your debt with creditors. If you do not feel you have the skills necessary to negotiate, you can seek the assistance of a reputable debt settlement company. If you are handling the settlement, be sure to let the creditors know your situation. Inform that if you are unable to renegotiate and settle your debt, you may have no choice but to file for bankruptcy. Be sure to get all settlement agreements in writing and make the payment as agreed.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

6 Steps to Retire in Your 30's

The financial freedom of a modest, early retirement is actually achievable for many smart and motivated people in college or their early 20s. If you make early retirement your highest priority in life and follow a disciplined path to obtaining it, you should be able to leave work permanently in your 30s and spend your life and time at your complete discretion. Here's how to start moving in that direction.

1) Define the dream, while documenting the reality. How do you want to spend the rest of your life, post-retirement? Where do you want to live? What do you want to do? And most importantly of all, how much will it cost, year after year, for the rest of your life? This will tell you how much money you need to save and what kind of investments you're going to have to make in order to support your retirement lifestyle. Don't forget to include things like health insurance and the effect of inflation. Make a detailed spreadsheet to chart all these variables exactly.

2) Make a lot of money. Perhaps the quickest, high odds way to do this is by focusing on landing a high paying job. Consider the types of jobs that pay extraordinarily well in exchange for hard work, little psychological satisfaction, and a punishing lifestyle. After all, you're not choosing a career in the sense that most people are, seeking lifelong satisfaction, as you hope to be only in this job for a decade. Focus on jobs that will reward the fact that you are willing to work harder than anyone else. Some suggestions:

Investment banking - These Wall Street jobs can pay extremely well. In exchange, you sell your soul: the hours are a grind, the work is dull, and your boss is an egomaniac. But the goal is to get in, work hard and bank the money. Focus on delivering the results, and watch your peers melt away as they think "there's no way I can do this for 40 years" - you know you don't have to.
Sales (positions in high-ticket industries, such as many high-tech enterprise software companies) - Because your pay is directly linked to your sales, and your sales are in a large part proportional to how hard you are willing to work, you can earn a lot doing this dull job of sucking up to corporate IT drones.

Engineering - Software development, bio-tech, and other technical positions are high risk paths to wealth. Unlike the investment banking and sales which have high current income, many engineering jobs only hit the jackpot on chancy stock options. However, if you join early at the right start-up, you might be be able to Buy a Private Island after 4 years of work. But more likely, you will grind away endless hours for an incompetent 27 year old CEO and his insatiable venture capital masters before the company goes belly up, leaving your options worthless.

3) Lower your expenses. The #1 reason people in high paying salaried jobs are still working hard when they are fifty is because they can't keep their spending under control. To soothe their agony regarding their dull, demanding job, they placate themselves with toys that fail to make them happy: a penthouse apartment, a fancy car, a diamond ring. Resist the massive pressure to dress, eat and shop like your peers, and live a modest lifestyle. Focus on work, as your play will come later. Some keys to not spending:

Buy or Rent a modest apartment/condo. You will be at work all the time, so do not splash out on housing. Clean and small will do just fine. Studies show that homeowners have 5x the net worth of renters, so buy something well within your means as soon as it's financially feasible.
Don't eat fancy dinners. Unless you are a gourmet connoisseur, you have to admit that a $5 burrito tastes 90% as good as a fancy steak served on fine china.

Keep a budget. Track your expenses. Set goals for saving and celebrate when you meet them. Instead of unnecessarily buying a dress while window shopping, you might want to invest your money into more profitable ventures. Always make sure to stick to this budget.

4) Invest wisely. It is beyond the scope of this how-to to explain exactly how to invest your money, but do the research and find a way to make your savings grow and work for you. The richest people invest in real estate and the stock market. Remember that the more you play it safe, the longer it'll probably take you to retire; on the flip side, the more you gamble, the more you risk losing your money and having to spend another year or more at your high-paying but miserable job.

5) Keep your eye on the mark. Not everyone is cut out for the kind of life you're going to have to lead in order to reach such an early retirement. There will be many times when you feel like giving in and throwing in the towel. Have a very clear vision and several ways to remind yourself why you're doing what you're doing, because you'll need them.

6) Invest in your skills. Upgrading the skills you have increases earning power. The fewer the better. Find the skill in which can be upgraded both the most and quickest helps. At the same time invest in a new skill set. On the simplest analysis, better skills equate to better compensation which in turn equates to faster monetary growth rate for your savings, allowing you to work more skillfully at the same time frame for more money.

Sources and Citations- WikiHow