The Basics Of Asset Management, Part I

Asset management is all about being more consistent and efficient about managing all of your assets,  and improving all areas of your financial portfolio which need to be improved.

Many people make the mistake of not managing their different types of accounts properly.

The most common mistake being made is in reference to people’s bank accounts.

 

BALANCING THE BOOKS

These types of mistakes could be prevented if people would take a bit more time to regularly record all their financial transactions, every day, or every week, and make sure to balance out their check books.

The whole point of your little check register is to have a little jotter where you can note down everything going in and out of your account quckly and easily, so you can then reconcile it all when your statement comes at the end of each month.

But you can also be more proactive about it. If you think  you might have missed a few items, go into your bank and ask them to give you a print out of the week’s transactions, and see if you’ve made a mistake, or can’t recall the purchase made.

Keeping a record of all transactions being made at all times is an essential part of good asset management.  If you make a cash withdraw, put it in the records.  If you’re busy and can’t do this every day, always request a paper record from the machine and keep the slip with your checkbook register.

Every check being written has to be put into your check book record so that you do not miscalculate, which could lead to being put into the red and being stuck having to pay service charges and other fees that  your bank may apply.

These fees are getting more and more steep depending on the bank, so don’t make a bad situation worse through carelessness. I don’t know about you but I can think of far nicer ways of spending $39 than paying it to my bank for an overdraft fee.

Good asset management will prevent things like this from occurring.

 

Continues in

The Basics Of Asset Management Part II

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Determining Where To Invest Your Money, Part II

(Continued from Determining Where To Invest Your Money, Part 1)

 

PRACTICE INVESTING ON THE STOCK MARKET

With access to the Internet, you can actually play the stock market with fake money to start with at some sites, in order to get a feel for how it works. Then when you feel confident, you can move on to the real thing.

To start with make-believe investments, do a search with any search engine for Stock Market Games or Stock Market Simulations, and start studying.

 

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

Other types of investments outside of the stock market, such as foreign exchange, also known as FOREX, also have make-believe accounts and simulations.

The great thing about FOREX is you don’t have to worry about which stocks to buy. Currency is traded in pairs, and the main pairs you really want to look at all have to do with the American Dollar.

So for example, the  American Dollar trading against the Canadian, or against the Euro, or the British pound. You can look at only 6 pairs every day, day after day, and make money, IF you are patient and learn how to spot and ride a trend.

And unlike the stockmarket, you can also make money in FOREX whether your pairs are going up or down. ll you have to do is predict the trend.

As a potential investor, you should read anything you can get your hands on about investing, but start with the beginning investment websites first, and go through them methodically so you don’t get lost or confused. It can certainly be a maze, so if you want to keep it simple, but have some moderate risk tolerance, go for FOREX.

 

CONSULT A FINANCIAL PLANNER?

Finally, you might want to speak with a financial planner. Tell them your goals, and ask them for their suggestions–this is what they get paid for!

A good financial planner can easily help you determine where to invest your money, and help you set up a workable plan to reach all of your financial goals.

Many will even teach you about investing along the way–make sure you pay attention to what they are telling you, rather than thinking you know best. Resist the temptation to try to get rich quick as well.  And always make sure you are not risking more than you can afford.

Knowing your investment goals, and where you want to invest, are two of the cornerstones to successful investing.

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Determining Where To Invest Your Money, Part I

 

There are several different types of investments, and there are many factors in determining where you should invest your money.

Of course, determining where you will invest begins with researching the various available types of investments, determining your risk tolerance, and determining your investment style once you have determined your financial goals.

 

KNOW YOUR INVESTMENT GOALS

Remember, without a financial goal, you will lack the clear vision to know what you want to achieve by investing. It would be a bit like starting to run a race, but not having any idea where the finish line was supposed to be.

 

SHORT-TERM VERSUS LONG-TERM INVESTMENT GOALS

So, what is your financial goal? Do you have a list of short-, medium-, and long-term ones? A new house will probably be more short to medium term than say, a college fund if your children are in diapers, or a retirement fund if you’ve just got your first job.

If you were going to purchase a new car, you would do quite a bit of research before making a final decision and a purchase. You would never consider purchasing a car that you had not fully researched, examined, determined if it was suitable for your overall lifestyle (eg, a two-seater sports car is not practical if you have 4 children and a Great Dane. Or even just the Great Dane!)

You will examine the details, look at the performance history of the car, and take for a test drive. You might even get recommendations from friends and review sites online.

The good news is, investing works much the same way.

 

RESEARCH THE MARKET

You will of course want to learn as much about the investment as possible before plunking down your hard-earned cash, and you would want to see how past investors have done as well.

 

STOCKS AND SHARES

Learning about the stock market and investments can take a fair amount of time  depending on the kinds of investments you are interested in, and there can be all sorts of applicable fees, or even hidden fees you might not be aware of until you are actually investing online.

So any research you do before you risk one penny will be time well spent. There are numerous websites to help first-time investors, and you can even take courses online or at your local college.

Continued in:  Determining Where To Invest Your Money Part II

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Foreclosure Assistance to Help Save Your Home

 

For anyone who is undergoing a great deal of stress thinking that they might possibly lose their home due to falling behind on their mortgage payments, there are many options that could potentially save your home from foreclosure.

It is very important to seek foreclosure assistance available as soon as you think you are going to have a problem meeting a mortgage payment. Leaving it too late will remove many of your options.

One resource that you could utilize would be the many different online resources, where there is 24 hour foreclosure assistance available for people who are in need.

The online resources are government or nonprofit organizations which are available to everyone who is in need of assistance. They might even possibly be able to contact some of your creditors to discuss with them some type of payment plan, which could help you to manage your finances more appropriately.

The internet is truly the greatest place to locate all sorts of information about foreclosure, to educate yourself and know your rights.  Here at this site, we talk about foreclosure, and also the importance of having a budget which can help you formulate a plan for getting out of trouble with the mortgage company or bank.

In addition to looking up foreclosure information on the internet, Try going to the yellow pages on the internet or even in your home telephone book. Throughout the yellow pages you should be able to find more information about finding foreclosure assistance in the area which you reside in.

Another great resource for locating information about getting assistance with your foreclosure is right at your local library. Visiting the library regularly is a really good idea anyway because it is a good way to get access to new reading material, books and information, plus the internet, inexpensively. Let’s face it, everyone has to tighten their belts nowadays.

In the library you will have the opportunity to find many different resources about foreclosure assistance that could be very helpful to you. There will be advice in the self help section on budgeting, better money management, asset management, and even investing, which could be very beneficial for anyone in need of better financial advice.

But your first priority should always be to make sure you don’t end up homeless. No one wants that, certainly not the bank. They want the nice tidy income from the interest you keep paying them every month, which over 25 years adds up to a fair amount of money!

So, if you are in need of foreclosure assistance, put aside your pride and ask for help. Better to do it at the first sign of trouble and be prepared, than to hope things will get better and in the process make your situation worse.

Learning how to manage your money more efficiently will definitely be your first step in order to see how you can avoid foreclosure and make sure that you don’t ever get behind on your important monthly bills.  A good budget can also help you if you want to go to the bank with a plan on how you are going to make up the missed payment/s

It does not matter which resources you choose to gather your information from on foreclosure as long as it is current, reliable and trustworthy. Take the time to do the research you need on foreclosure and how to prevent it.  Take time to write out your budget.

Above all, come up with a realistic financial plan you can live with. You might not have the glamorous lifestyle you once had, but a few sacrifices here and there will be worth it if you get to keep the home you have invested time and money in, and can stop foreclosure before it ever happens.

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Free Asset Management Software

Can you get asset management software for free? The answer is yes but there only a handful of providers around. Whether it is free or not, it is truly something that companies need in order to prevent duplication. While most vendors sell these to companies, those who are unsure whether the system will work for them can avail of free trials which can be used for a short period of time.

If your company has an information technology department, then chances are they can probably make one on their own. However, not everybody can do that so you better read on to know which ones are giving this out for free.

One company that comes to mind which offers free asset management software is SysAid. You can download the freeware from their website and then use it. The only limitation is that their program can only work for organizations that have less than a hundred computers. If you are happy with their system, you can buy the full product by submitting your details. Then a company representative will get in touch with you.

Another company is Footprints. You can download their asset management software program for a 30 day trial period. Afterwards, you have to pay in order to continue using their services.

But asset management software can be used for others things than just monitor the inventory of a company.

It can help guide managementís decision in dealing with non-profitable assets. If there are certain offices that are not making money, it is best to just close it even if it means cutting a few jobs from the workforce. If there is surplus, the company can convert this to cash by selling these off to potential buyers. Also, if the current equipment is already outdated, there is reason to upgrade this to something better.

One other aspect of asset management software is its ability to catalog music, videos and pictures. Technically, such data are assets of the company and these are better known as digital asset management systems because everything is encrypted digitally.

This will enable the user to get this based on the format of their choosing. Some sites that offer this to users are YouTube and Multiply. But this could not be possible without the media, entertainment and advertising agencies that first used this as they needed to archive their vast video library.

It is forecasted that more companies will utilize asset management programs in the future. But those who decide to invest in such a system should remember that it is merely a tool that is to help the company. Somebody has to be trained how to use it so this can be accessed by every department via the intranet.

Are asset management software applications only for large companies? The answer is no because there are versions for personal users. These may be hard to find so it is best to just stick with web based applications.

The chances of getting free asset management software are very slim. But aside from the two mentioned, there are others to choose from so if you are in the market, it is best to look for these online. It is best to read reviews and blogs that are written about them or see it for yourself by trying the free trial version first before buying the program.

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Obama tainted by his own racism

Here is a good article on Obama vs Wright situation.

 

As the writer from the Washington Post says in this op-ed piece, we can see his ‘true colors’ at last, and his so-called important race speech everyone touted as being the greatest thing since Lincoln, has been exposed as the empty sham of a few good speech writers.

 

Obama, you were so close to Wright that to disown him would be to disown your WHITE grandmother? Why not ANY of your grandmothers? You are as tainted by racism as the people you’ve attacked for being racist!

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/01/AR2008050102900.html

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Different Types of Investments: An Overview Part II

(Continued from Part I)

 

If you are  not a conservative or moderate investor, then you are an aggressive one.

AGGRESSIVE INVESTORS

Aggressive investors commonly do most of their investing in the stock market, which is higher risk, especially in a volatile economic climate. As we write this, for example the Dow went up 400 points on Tuesday and has pretty much last all those gains when it plunged about 175 points again on Thursday and on Friday.

Aggressive investors also tend to invest in business ventures as well as higher-risk real estate. For instance, if an aggressive investor puts his or her money into an older apartment building, then invests more money renovating the property, they are running a risk.

They expect to be able to rent the apartments out for more money than the apartments are currently worth, or to sell the entire property for a profit on their initial investments.

 

KNOW YOUR MARKET

In some cases, this is a worthwhile gamble, but given the current property market, especially in certain areas, it might not be the most sensible place to put your money at the moment.

 

RISKS AND REWARDS

Before you start investing, it is very important that you learn about the different types of investments, and what those investments can do for you. Understand the risks involved, and pay attention to past trends as well. History does indeed repeat itself, and investors know this first hand.

 

401Ks

All of the funds you have the chance to invest in for your 401k retirement fund, for example, should have a full record of past history, both recently, in the past year, the past 5 years, and even the past 10.

 

529s

For those of us interested in saving for college, a 529 also offers similar investment choices, with different portfolios. Since we are based in New York State, we have certain options administered by Vanguard Funds.

 

OTHER HANDY WAYS TO INVEST

We could have opted for their choice, but with a little more time, effort, and research at the Vanguard site we are making that much more money, and with a credit card from Upromise which gives you money on all the purchases you use on the card, plus extra percentages for things you buy regularly, like household products, it makes it easy to save money and invest it even if you don’t think you can afford it with your present budget.

 

STABILIZE YOUR CURRENT FINANCIAL SITUATION BEFORE YOU INVEST

As we said in a previous article, make sure that you stabilize your current financial situation before you start thinking of investing, and remember how credit card companies make their money.

But investing in a 401k if the money is taken out as pre-tax dollars, and especially if your company gives you a match, is very worthwhile and easy. So is a 529, and you can get started with as little as $25.

 

KNOWLEDGE EQUALS SUCCESS WHEN IT COMES TO INVESTING

Educating yourself by looking at these options is the best way of dipping your toe in the water, and if you start making money, well, stick to your formula and do a bit more.

Above all, though, know your investing style and how much you can afford to invest, because it really means, how much time can you spend building your  portfolio, and how much can you afford to risk on different types of investments.

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