“Having fewer nuts does not make us better squirrels…”
Given our druthers, most of us would choose to be financially independent, comfortable and free of worry about money. Most still have that choice. It’s not too late, but a shift may need to occur…
Though it’s always been available to ... Views: 991
“If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.”
With the exception of a couple of rare exceptions (lottery, inheritance, etc.), there’s really only three main areas a person can realistically choose from to generate wealth and true financial independence for themselves:
• Successfully ... Views: 1581
Consider this:
“The majority of wealthy people in the world have either made their money in real estate or invested in real estate after they built and operated successful businesses.”
Clearly many who wish to be wealthy and financially secure gravitate towards real estate as a means to ... Views: 1444
“Don’t buy a new car and then get rich. Get rich then buy a new car.”
The sentiment above is an endorsement for delaying gratification but also contains additional ideas to be considered and understood…
Speaking financially, most members of the middle and lower classes tend to operate ... Views: 1105
Conditions now exist for near risk-free real estate investing in some areas of the United States. This has created great income opportunities for knowledgeable investors (and their clients) that perform the proper due diligence, develop a sound investment model, engage/manage the correct ... Views: 1273
A recent study conducted by the Washington Economics Group ranks Memphis, Tennessee as the No. 2 destination for millions of baby boomers looking to retire, second only to Tallahassee, Florida, which ranked No. 1. Through analysis of baby boomer trends and preferences, as well as scientific ... Views: 962
According to first quarter data for this fiscal year 2012 in the state of California, roughly 55 percent of occupied housing is owner-occupied, with the remaining 45 percent being renter-occupied. Of those who are statistically classified as owning a home, over 75 percent carry it with a ... Views: 1285
Riverside and San Bernadino were recently rated as two of the most affordable regions in the state of California, undoubtedly due to their price collapses in real estate. This report came from the California Association of Realtors and actually used household income and home values as a measure ... Views: 1095
A bit of news you may have purposefully missed: the Senate recently voted 60-38 to reinstate the elevated loan limits for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Housing Administration. With the “limit” set at $729,750, prices are sure to stay inflated in bubble states like California and New ... Views: 878
Read any introductory college economics book you wish, most will tell you that there is no way the amount of public debt can outstrip the productive capacity of a wealthy, developed nation like the United States. Just five year ago this claim may have been plausible but at present the US has ... Views: 953
The Memphis-Shelby County Economic Development Growth Engine (EDGE) board recently met on Wednesday, Dec. 21 to grant a 15-year tax freeze to Valero Energy Corp. provided that the company follows along with planned investments and upgrades to its Memphis facility totaling more than $298 million ... Views: 792
The student loan market relentlessly makes it way to and past the $1 trillion mark, having outstripped credit card debt, estimated at around $850 billion. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the national student loan cohort default rate increased from 7.0 percent in the fiscal year ... Views: 973
Newspaper headlines of late are quick to detail what little sign of national economic stability they can; some job growth here or a sign of stock market recovery there. And while it may be true that the S&P 500 is up 77 percent from the lows of March 2009–especially good for big-time stock ... Views: 717
In a recent effort to encourage spending by consumers, the Federal Reserve promised to hold short-term interest rates near zero at least through mid-2013. A plan to lower long-term rates followed suit in September. Unfortunately these lower rates make it harder for savers to hold onto their cash ... Views: 691
These days the average American household has an average of $15,799 in debt, a number found by dividing the total revolving debt in the United Sates ($793.1 billion as of May 2011 as listed in the Federal Reserve’s July 2011 report on consumer credit) by the estimated number of households ... Views: 784
With the stock market tumbling, many investors are looking to stable cash flow investments backed by a hard asset such as real estate. Most investors realize that the ponzi scheme of the stock market keeps investors in high risk and highly volatile investments. Simply put, its gambling! The ... Views: 1119
In the year 2001, the national debt stood at $5.8 trillion. Today that figure has more than doubled to $14.3 trillion. This $9 trillion increase over the past ten years can be attributed to government expenses, particularly with the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, additional interest costs, and also the ... Views: 681
As part of a new government innovation program aptly named the Mayors Project, New York City Mayor and billionaire philanthropist Michael Bloomberg is doling out a combined $24 million in grants to five of his colleagues around the country. The grants will go to the mayors of Memphis, Tenn; ... Views: 693
Clear Capital’s latest Home Data Index monthly Market Report named Memphis, Tennessee as one of the top 10 performing markets in the first half of 2011. The following is the complete list of high performing major markets based on data from January to June:
1. Washington D.C.-Arlington, ... Views: 709
With historically low mortgage interest rates accompanying super-low prices and a considerable supply of homes on the market, there is no better time to buy a home. In order to be successful it is essential to not think simply in terms of a shifting real estate market, but an evolving one in ... Views: 726
There has been major debate lately regarding the financial stability of the banks. Given the large bail out of the banks coming from taxpayer money and the massive under capitalization of some of the major banks it is apparent that there is a huge need for change in some of the bank’s capital ... Views: 711
Most of the population still believes in old financial philosophies that are no longer relevant and reliable. The vast majority of the working public thinks investing is risky and you should invest in mutual funds, diversify in stocks and bonds and hand your money over to a money manager. That ... Views: 1601
People constantly ask me how to choose a market to invest in and what factors must be considered before investing This is a very important question as real estate is very much market specific. It is crucial to analyze the market you are interested in. Job, population growth expectations, ... Views: 1513
There is a common argument in the investment community between people that invest in lump sum pay outs or those that focus on cash flow returns. I believe there are many reasons to concentrate on investments that produce cash flow on a monthly or quarterly basis. Essentially, if your goal is to ... Views: 859
(1) CONTROL - Many money managers will advise you to diversify your investments in paper assets such as mutual funds and cd's. Yet as investors search for investments with lower risk, they increase the level of risk for themselves by investing mainly in mutual funds. The problem being you have ... Views: 967
There is so much positive information going around about the Memphis Tennessee real estate market lately its staggering. From the influx of Electrolux, the appliance manufacturing company, to Mitsubishi opening a manufacturing plant in Tennessee bringing thousands of jobs, to Pass Pro building ... Views: 1180
There is so much instability in the current economy. The writing is on the wall for major changes in the U.S. over the next 10 years, and the global economy will also see major changes. The old ways of thinking which include investing in mutual funds, stocks, bonds and savings accounts are ... Views: 1849
There are thousands of so called financial advisors that tell you that you should invest in mutual funds, money market accounts, stocks, bonds and life insurance policies and diversify your retirement portfolio. This is some of the worst financial advice you can get and the general public has ... Views: 921
When dealing with real estate investments there are many steps to go through before investing. Here are my top 10 keys to a successful real estate investment.
(1) Education - If you are not experienced in real estate investments the very first thing you should do is to get educated. Take ... Views: 756
Most real estate investors invest incorrectly or at a higher risk level than needed. As we have just seen through this gigantic mortgage fiasco and the failing of multiple banks most people buy properties with the hope that they will go up in value over time and do not take into account the ... Views: 743
The U.S. government is already starting talks about the gradual elimination of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This can be good because there would be less government backed securities bringing some trust back into the market but could come at a cost. If this phase out happens it could raise ... Views: 684
The life of living off of debt is at its end and our previous lifestyles are catching up with us. The keeping up with the Jones’ lifestyles are over and leaving the economy in shambles after a decade of artificial debt backed spending not supported by current income levels. Now as commodities ... Views: 872
There are two very major differences between investing in stock and investing in real estate. When investing in stocks you are typically investing for capital gains versus cash flow and have no control. In stock you are investing for capital gains, for the hope that it goes up over time but ... Views: 966
Close to 7 million mortgages amounting to over a trillion dollars are being transferred by Bank of America into a Bad Bank Model in order to start dealing with the massive shadow inventory being held. They are putting these loans into a "Bad Bank" to liquidate them. This is about half of all ... Views: 960
Most of what has been drilled into our heads about investing in mutual funds, CD’s paying down our mortgage and diversifying is nothing but smoke and mirrors. The financial services companies like Fidelity, Charles Schwab and financial planners are the ones making all of the money. The problem ... Views: 844
As we all have come to be aware, taxes are our single largest expense in our lives. Our hard earned tax dollars go to bureaucrats that find many creative ways to spend it as well as many creative ways to continue taxing us. However, the really rich find different ways to not pay these taxes by ... Views: 788