theKimsta.com

Trading Business Plan - The Way To Trade Like A Pro!

2008-06-03T22:38:00.012+10:00

My research and observations overwhelmingly indicate that to make a good living out of the share (stock) market, a well thought-out trading business plan is a must have.

All top traders seem to have their own trading business plan. It allows them to trade in a business-like and professional manner. I am convinced that it is the only way to make consistent and significant money in this industry.

As I am planning to get back into trading in the next couple of weeks, I have created a new business plan for it.

Having a business plan is all well and good, but it would be of no use if I don't have the discipline to execute it. I have been burnt a few times from trading in the past, but I realise now it was because I didn't have the discipline to stick to what worked for me. So hopefully I have learnt from past mistakes!

theKimsta Trading Business Plan

1. Objective

a. To make consistent and significant money trading in the Share market in a professional and business-like manner.

2. Initial Setup

a. Effective Date: 01/06/2008.

b. Starting Capital: $10,000 cash (to be transferred from cash savings account).

3. Trading Platform

a. Leverage using Contracts For Difference (CFD).

4. Return Objective

a. To make at least 52% return on capital per annum (or 1% per week, on average).

5. Risk Management

a. Maximum Risk per Trade (RT) = 5% of position.

b. Maximum Risk on Capital per trade (RC) = 2% of capital.

c. Position Size (PS) = Risk on Capital per trade (RC) / risk per trade (RT)
E.g. PS = (2% x $10,000) / 5% = $4,000 per trade.

d. Stop loss must be placed at time of trade based on RT (5%).

e. Trailing stop loss should be set at RT (5%) with 2.5% increments.
That is, stop loss should be moved up at every 2.5% gain in price.

f. Stop loss must only be moved up with share price, never down.

g. Do not add to a losing position, unless intentionally scaling in to fill a predetermined order.

h. At least 50% of trading capital must be maintained as spare equity.

i. Maximum number of open position (OP) at any one time is given by:
OP = (50% x capital) / (Average Margin* x position size).
E.g. OP = (50% x $10,000) / (10% x $4,000) = 12.5
*Average Margin is assumed to be 10%, that is, 90% Loan-to-Value Ratio (LVR).

6. Trade Duration and Direction

a. Trade duration can range from a several days to several weeks.

b. Trade position can be either in the “long” or “short” direction.

7. Share Selection

a. Shares from the ASX200 index only, with CFD margin of 5% or 10%.

8. Trade Strategies

a. Dividend Yield Play (DYP) - in a bull market.

b. Trend following, using multiple moving averages (MMA) and Renko chart patterns.

c. Candlestick chart patterns.

d. 50% Retracement patterns.

9. Time of Business

a. Research, analysis, and order placements should be conducted after normal working hours, e.g. around 7-10 pm during the night.

b. Avoid trading or monitoring market prices during business hours, unless not at work.

10. Monitoring & Record Keeping

a. Records of trades shall be kept in a separate spreadsheet (e.g. shares, position size, open date, exit date, brokerage, interest, dividends, etc.).

b. All expenses relating to trading business should be kept for tax purposes.

11. Tools And Resources

a. BullChart charting software, plus end-of-day data subscription.

b. IG Markets CFD trading website.

c. Ex-dividend watchlist email service.

Progress Report - May 2008

2008-06-01T17:01:00.001+10:00

Capital on 31 May '08:

Share Trading: $250
Net Value of Managed Funds: $17,960
Cash Savings: $26,944
Internet revenue: $458

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL Equity: $45,612
============================================

Notes:

Net Value of Managed Funds ($17,960) = Market Value ($37,860) - Debt ($19,900)

Monthly Change:

Share Trading: -$250
Managed Funds - Performance: +$510
Managed Funds - Savings Plan Contribution: +$1,000
Cash Savings - Interest: +$152
Cash Savings - Contribution: +$688
Internet Revenue: +$249

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL CHANGE: +$2,349
============================================

Notes:

Total F.A.S.T. Method savings contribution for the month is $1,688 = Manged Funds Savings Contribution ($1,000) + Cash Savings Contribution ($688).
Internet Revenue ($249) = AdSense ($8) + Internet Research work ($241)
Cash Savings interest rate is 7.00% p.a.

Remaining:

A further $954,388 is required within 115 months in order to reach a capital of $1,000,000
An average monthly income of $8,299 is required from this point forward

Summary:

Account increased by $2,349 due to improving managed fund performances and contributions from salary of $1,688.
The Australian share market gained 1.0% during the month.
Keep moving forward in order to increase income streams and accelerate wealth creation.
Next month's F.A.S.T. savings plan contribution is $1,739.

[Go to April 2008 Report]

Activity Summary - May 08

2008-06-01T14:38:00.000+10:00

Website Improvement:

Added "Bookmark" button to facilitate bookmark and sharing of articles.
Added Ratings feature from Outbrain.

Traffic:

Total Hits to website: 5792; Unique Visitors: 3954
Hits increased by 3994 (+222%) during the month
Average 128.8 hits per day during the month
Traffic sources: StumbleUpon (78.3%), Direct Hits (16.9%), Google Search(2.4%), Blogger (0.7%), Del.icio.us (0.5%), Facebook, TopBlogArea, Yahoo!

Search engine keywords:

creative ideas to become millionaire
john demartini "forced accelerated savings"
how to become a property millionaire quickly
"forced accelerated savings"
anthony robbins audio blogspot
anthony robbins wholesale products
common ways rich people make money
"forced accelerated savings technique"
factors to consider for buying house
self made young millionaires

General:

F.A.S.T. Savings Plan contribution into managed funds and cash savings account of $1,688
Completed H&R Block Tax Course, had exam on 31/05/08. Potential part-time employment with them if my course mark is 80% or more.

Keep Moving Foward

2008-06-01T00:42:00.008+10:00

I came across this inspirational quote last night while watching Disney's animation, Meet The Robinsons (2007):

“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious... and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

- Walt Disney

There is a great lesson to be learnt here:

As long as we keep moving forward despite unfavourable circumstances, we keep moving forward despite failures and setback, and we keep moving forward until we achieve our dreams and visions, anything is possible in this world.

Remember to Keep Moving Forward in all endeavours of your life.

Free Download: As A Man Thinketh eBook

2008-05-25T14:16:00.010+10:00

I referred to the book, As A Man Thinketh, by James Allen (1864-1912) in the previous post on Convert Your Skills, Knowledge, Passion And Talents Into Cash. As A Man Thinketh, published in 1902, is a powerful philosophy that will make you achieve perfection through the purity of thought. More than that this little book will help you convert your thoughts into concrete actions that will result in the achievement of anything that you deeply desire in your heart.

In this book Allen (pictured left) propounds that a man is his dream. He goes on to explain that what a man thinks about is what he becomes. In the book, readers are introduced to the effect of thought on circumstances; effect of thought on health and body; thought and purpose; thought factor in achievement; vision and ideals and serenity.

Quotes from As A Man Thinketh:

A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts.
Cherish your visions. Cherish your ideals. Cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts, for out of them will grow all delightful conditions, all heavenly environment, of these, if you but remain true to them your world will at last be built.
The soul attracts that which it secretly harbors, that which it loves, and also that which it fears. It reaches the height of its cherished aspirations. It falls to the level of its unchastened desires - and circumstances are the means by which the soul receives its own.
Every action and feeling is preceded by a thought.
Right thinking begins with the words we say to ourselves.
If anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.

As A Man Thinketh is partly responsible for the creation of the entire Personal Development industry. Most contemporary PD authors and teachers credit this little book for providing foundation to their principles. Earl Nightingale, widely regarded as the father of modern day personal development, called the ideas in this book, "the strangest secret". The secret, he said, is "we become what we think about".

Youtube Video - James Allen and The Law of Attraction:

This book is now in the public domain within the United States and most other countries, which means it can be downloaded and shared for free.

Free Download: As A Man Thinketh eBook!

Convert Your Skills, Knowledge, Passion And Talents Into Cash

2008-05-24T14:06:00.018+10:00

Becoming rich in money starts with becoming rich in your thinking. This is the first essential step to becoming a self-made millionaire. Being rich in our thinking is a habit that we can all get ourselves into.

The great philosopher, James Allen wrote more than century ago, "all achievements, whether in the business, intellectual, or spiritual world, are the result of definitely directed thoughts". He also wrote in his classic book, As A Man Thinketh, that "man is the master of thought, the moulder of character, and the maker and shaper of condition, environment, and destiny." I suggest you read that quote again and again until you fully understand it because it is a profoundly powerful message. I believe that the achievements of the entire human civilisation are possible because our forefathers subconsciously believe in that notion.

To put it in more relevant terms, we control our fortune by controlling our thoughts.

Let's see how we can put this philosophy into practice in real life. As Dr Demartini suggested in one of his seminars, we need to think that we are already wealthy. However, that wealth is just in other forms at the moment, such as your skills, knowledge, talents, passion or values.

In order to generate money from the other forms of wealth that we already have, we need to be able to convert them into the form we want, that is cash.

So you ask, "how would you go about converting the other forms of wealth into cash?". For that you need to thoroughly and objectively evaluate yourself first. You need to ask yourself questions like:

"what am I good at doing?"
"what is unique about me that nobody else have?"
"what is my passion or interests?"
"what do I know a lot about or are an expert at?"
"what do I value most?"

After you find the answers to these questions, you will know what you are capable of doing and in which area you can concentrate on to convert your skills, knowledge or other assets into cash.

Here is a possible scenario: let's say that you found out you are good at talking and expressing yourself in front of other people and have an expert knowledge of psychology. (Remember that these skills and knowledge are already a form of wealth for you - they are your assets)

The million dollar question is: how would you convert good speaking skills and expert knowledge of psychology into wealth? Well my friends, if you look hard enough you will find many potential opportunities! You could become a professional, motivational speaker traveling from state to state, you could become a business coach or a personal development coach, you could write a book, an email newsletter or even a blog about psychology, you could do interviews about it on TV, radio, magazines and the Internet, etc, etc. This is just a brief list of potential opportunities, I'm sure you could add many more to the list if you think about it further.

Once you understand the process, you can easily find ways to convert other forms of wealth into cash.

As you can see, this is a very practical strategy and it is one that could put you on the path to achieving your goals very quickly.

Related article: Free Download: As A Man Thinketh

My F.A.S.T. Savings Plan In Action

2008-05-19T00:17:00.012+10:00

Today I am implementing a regular savings plan based on Dr Demartini's F.A.S.T. method which I talked about in the post on "Dr Demartini's F.A.S.T. Savings Plan Will Make Millionaires". But instead of putting money away for savings on a quarterly basis, I will do it on a monthly basis. It will supersede my existing savings plan.

The amount to be put up for savings will be according to the following table, which I have created (click on image to enlarge).

If you look closely, the savings amount is not constant but increases by a rate of 3% per month (the F.A.S.T. rate). This means that if we started this savings plan at $1,500 in January 2008, we would need to be able to save $1,688 in this month and $2,076 in December 2008.

I have chosen the F.A.S.T. rate to be 3% per month so that it allows me to become a millionaire within 9 years and almost a multi-millionaire just one year after that (provide I can follow the plan closely). Varying this rate affects the savings plan significantly.

The money saved up monthly is expected to be put into a low risk, low fee, savings account, which is currently earning a nice 7.00% p.a. But let's assume the average cash interest rate for the next 10 years is 5% p.a. (in Australia).

The beauty of this strategy is that it forces us to look for new ways to increase our income all the time in order to meet the savings requirement of the plan, which can get pretty demanding by the 4th or 5th year.

So, the first couple of years of this plan is manageable, but soon enough I will have to increase my income significantly. It will be a good challenge!

Note: If you want the MS Excel version of the above table please contact me.

Related Article: Dr Demartini's F.A.S.T. Savings Plan Will Make Millionaires

The Tallest Building Rule: An Accurate Economic Recession Indicator?

2008-05-13T08:01:00.007+10:00

Source: MoneyWeek.

I have heard of this "economic indicator" before - it says that during or upon the completion of the tallest building in the world, the economy turns and goes into a recession. Apparently, this indicator has been pretty accurately over the last 100 years. The US economy is arguably in a recession now or entering into one and the building of the new tallest building in the world, the Burj Dubai (left), may have predicted it!

Below is an article from the MoneyWeek website which describes the concept behind the indicator pretty well.

In 1999, Andrew Lawrence, then of Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, created his skyscraper index. He suspected that construction of the world’s tallest buildings coincided with the business cycle – and he was right.

The indicator was “nearly perfect”, showing “an unhealthy 100-year correlation”, suggesting that the construction of ever-taller buildings was a good warning sign of a looming economic slowdown.

So with Moscow the latest city to unveil plans to build the world’s tallest building, at a time when fear of recession is gripping the US and, increasingly, the UK, perhaps we should take a new look at this idea.

Bradford Lee Gilbert designed and built the very first so-called skyscraper in 1887 as a way of tackling a client’s unusually shaped six-and-a-half metre plot on Broadway in New York. The solution was to build an iron bridge truss, but stand it on end so that the real structure of the building started several storeys above the kerb – producing the best design to maximise occupancy and rentals.

New York’s press ridiculed Gilbert's idea. Fellow architects pronounced the building unsafe. Building experts said it would blow over in the wind, if it ever got off the ground. New Yorkers themselves were aghast at the notion of a building that would tower above their side-walk to a height of 160 feet. A fellow engineer and friend begged Gilbert to abandon the idea, pointing out that if the building really did fall over, his legal bill would ruin him. Lawyers confirmed this, but Gilbert knew better, arguing that the building’s structure, with wind bracings from top to bottom, meant that the harder the wind blew, the safer it would actually become. To put the matter to rest Gilbert requested the top two floors of the new building for his offices.

The rest, of course, is history. Since then, successively taller buildings have come in waves – the most infamous being the Empire State Building, which opened for business in May of 1931 to great fanfare, but was practically empty. This is hardly surprising: as any decent architect could tell you (although economists these days seem strangely unaware of the fact), tall buildings are just built to make the land pay.

As a general rule, a skyscraper is a speculative project, built mostly by developers with other people’s money. Such buildings will only be built when credit conditions are easing, or at their easiest – in other words, when developers are most flush with funds.

So what will happen this cycle? Already, the construction of more record-breaking buildings is coinciding with the end of yet another 18-year real estate cycle, just as has happened in every cycle since 1837. It can also be seen that the geographic location of the tallest buildings usually experiences the severest slump in the years after the general downturn. This does not bode well for Shanghai or Dubai. In Shanghai, the 101-storey Shanghai Tower is due to open in spring this year, being built by Minoru Mori. While he is a rich man, a lot of debt – $7.2bn – is financing his ambition.

As for what is happening in Dubai, we know that development is proceeding at breakneck speed. While it’s not easy to come by information on what is happening there, a decent amount of debt and leverage is certain. It remains to be seen how a real-estate downturn in the rest of the world will play out there – but the omens aren’t good. The Burj (tower) under construction in Dubai was officially classed as the tallest building in the world on 21 July 2007 – the very day of the stockmarket high in New York, from which all the recent credit troubles have cascaded. An unhealthy correlation indeed.

Top 10 Methods to Increase Traffic to Your Blog

2008-05-12T08:01:00.004+10:00

Source: seo expert india

I have learnt that starting a new blog is not too different from opening a brand new shop. Just as customers are one of the most important things for a new shop to have if it were to be profitable, the same is true for traffic to a new blog if it were to be achieve any sustained success. Let's face it, you can't maintain a successful blog for very long if you don't have any one to read it, not to mention making some money from it as well.

From my experience and research, these are the top 10 most effective and cheapest methods for increasing traffic to your blog.

1. Comment of other blogs: It has been proved that commenting on other’s blog could increase traffic to your blog. Leave good comments blend it with humor, people love humor. When you find some controversial post simply put your comments in a memorable form, like you’re a grown up, controversies are the most effective way to become famous with least amount of effort but be sure not to fire people against yourself.

2. Submit your articles to Social Networking sites: Social Networking sites are the best places where you could submit your articles and get an instant boost of traffic to your blog. If people like it they will surely link to it, hence increasing even more traffic. While top Social Networking sites are the best ones, you must also consider to submit your articles to Niche specific Social Networking sites. This would give you considerably good amount of recognition for your work.

3. Comment on online communities: Join and take part in the online forums and communities. Don’t forget to add a signature with your blog URL. Your comments on these communities and forums would reward you in becoming a respected part of the community as well as get you work.

4. Bookmarking Articles: Ask your visitors to bookmark your articles. Sites like StumbleUpon, del.icio.us, Google Bookmarks and del.irio.us could provide you with loads of traffic.

5. Interact with blog commenter: Make friendly relations with your blog commenter. Make them feel at home and they will make you feel at home. It’s that simple. Always try to help your commenter with some useful resource, if that is not possible lead them to a place which would solve their problems, don’t worry about they leaving your site, if they like your help they will return.

6. Write with a Consistency: Write at least 3-5 resourceful articles a week. Doing this will let your visitors understand that you are a dedicated blogger, who cares to help. If you’re not consistent enough to write then why would your readers would be consistent to visit your blog.

The Great Einstein presents a different view on how to increase traffic!

7. Submit your blog on Blog Directories: Submit your blogs to Technorati, Techmeme, Blogcatalog and other blog directories. Blog directories are also a place where you could submit your blogs and get traffic, initially when your blog is fairly new.

8. Link to other’s Article: Linking in and out helps a lot. Firstly, it helps you in providing proof about your thoughts as well as helps you get people link to you for providing a resourceful article.

9. RSS Feeds: Always syndicate RSS through feedburner, why? Because they are the best. Syndicating feeds also results in increasing traffic, as the people who are in list of your feed would definitely come back.

10. Be Patient: This last tip is the most important one, this tells you to be patient. Whatever you do, be it building a big house or making a million dollars, everything takes time, so does our online venture. Consider this, if you have stepped in to Internet Marketing, then you didn’t get involved by chance. It’s that even your destiny wants you to get in it. If you’re patient enough to cross the initial period of failure then your future would be full of colors of success.

Add Popularity Rankings For Your Blog Posts

2008-05-11T17:03:00.005+10:00

Outbrain.com, which provides the excellent star ratings widget for Blogger and other blogs, has added some new features that makes this service almost irresistible for most bloggers.

First, you can now install the star rating widget to your RSS feeds that are syndicated via FeedBurner. That means your blog subscribers, who always stay inside RSS readers, will still be able to rate your blog posts.

The second feature is the Ratings Intelligence Reports for your blog - Outbrain aggregates ratings data of your blog posts from both the blog and the associated RSS feeds.

It then prepares a “real-time” report showing data about how your audience rated each post and a popularity ranking (what your audience likes best).

If you want something similar for your own blog, install this JavaScript code in your blog template, then add this feedflare to your FeedBurner feed (optional) and finally register your blog to enable Outbrain gather your Blog Intelligence reports.

And Outbrain ratings widget is also available with FeedBlitz RSS to Email newsletters - so that makes it possible even for your email subscribers to rate your blog posts.

It’s all pretty simple but at the same time, extremely useful.

Essential Wholesale Tips You MUST Follow

2008-05-09T19:41:00.006+10:00

1. Thorough market research => success
Meticulous market research doubles your chances of making a tidy profit from the wholesale goods you buy. Start off with a list of 5-10 different ideas. Then check completed listings searches on eBay to see what the item generally sells for and the sell-through rate for each one. Use Yahoo's free keyword tool http://inventory.overture.com to find out how many people are searching Yahoo for your product per month. You can double this figure for Google. Add the numbers together. If there are ten thousand or more searches per month for an item, this indicates a healthy market.

2. Calculate the REAL cost of your item
One big reason why people fail at the wholesale game is that they don't do the numbers. In other words, they don't treat wholesale like a real business. To accurately discover your true profit potential on an item, you need to add the shipping cost and insurance, eBay fees (or equivalent for other advertising), Paypal and/or credit card fees (these can be a real profit killer), packaging costs and labor involved packaging, and any storage costs to the cost of your item.

3. Verify ALL suppliers found on the Internet
Getting caught out by scammers is a common stumbling block for people new to wholesale. If you are searching for suppliers off your own bat (rather than using a wholesale directory like SaleHoo), it is CRITICAL to check authenticity before making a purchase.

Always take the time to:

Check that the website gives a full business name and a registration number.
Check for a legitimate contact telephone number - this will involve ringing the number. Do not accept a mobile phone number alone. All real companies should have a land line number.
Go to http://www.whois.sc/ and search for the name of the website. A legitimate company will have a domain expiration date in several years time. Most legitimate companies reserve their domain names for 3-5 years or more at a time.
AVOID suppliers who won't agree to use secure payment methods such as Escrow.com, Credit Card and Paypal Verified.
Still uncertain? Ask other sellers what their experiences have been with the company you are interested in on eBay forums.

4. Chinese suppliers give the competitive edge
Chinese suppliers are an essential source for anyone wishing to make money selling online. Manufacturing costs are currently extremely low in China, thus it is the secret to gaining a competitive edge. Dealing with China does have risks, but these can be alleviated if you place a small order first, use secure payment methods, get shipping insurance for 110% of the cost of the items, and use suppliers with a good reputation.

5. A common stumbling block for liquidation and closeout
Always obtain the reasons for liquidation and closeout sales before you buy. Liquidation and Closeout sales can be a fantastic source for cheap products, but you usually have to buy by the pallet load and these can sometimes include broken or returned goods that aren't in saleable condition. To be safe, ask specifically whether broken items and returns are included before you buy.

6. Negotiate on shipping and save
Shipping economically is critical to importing success. Profits can easily get swamped in shipping costs, so take time to get a good deal on shipping. If possible, negotiate CIF (Cost, Insurance & Freight) or DDP (Delivery, duty paid) shipping terms with your supplier as this takes much of the risk - not to mention organization - off your shoulders. FOB (Freight on Board) is the most common shipping term, but don't be afraid to negotiate for better.

7. Drop shipping - can you really afford it?
Drop shipping sounds great in theory - someone taking care of packaging, wrapping and postage - but it can be difficult to profit from this method. Think about it, drop shipping can add another $2-10 to your costs - sometimes even 10% of the cost of the item. By the time you add in eBay fees and any other costs, you may find it is not worth it.

8. Warehouse storage checklist
Asset management is the most important consideration when locating warehousing to store your items. Believe it or not, items can go missing while in storage, causing massive disruption for you. When comparing warehouses, ask questions specifically on how you will authorize the release of stock (by phone or fax?), what will happen if you need to cancel an order, frequency of damage claims, dust management, and whether there is an area you can use to photograph items.

9. Powerseller wealth
It's a fact - eBay powersellers are able to command higher prices for their items than ordinary eBay sellers. To get the best profits on your wholesale items, you need to aim to get and maintain powerseller status.

10. Growth with a website and eBay store
The way to increase profits from wholesale is to build your own website and/or open an eBay store. This allows you to cross sell items plus it also makes it easier for people to find what they are looking for. For example, if you sell shoes, then customers can easily navigate to browse all black shoes in size 9 and so on. Always include a sentence at the bottom of your descriptions encouraging visitors to check out your other listings - most people will.

If you are looking for genuine and trusted wholesale suppliers then look no further than SaleHoo! SaleHoo's directory contains over 4000 drop ship, wholesale and closeout suppliers that are independently reviewed and rated by eBay Powersellers and Industry experts. SaleHoo also purchases off them and reviews each supplier in depth afterwards.

Join SaleHoo Today for their Special Startup Offer!

Free Seminar: Unlimited Power 2008

2008-05-05T22:28:00.007+10:00

BASED ON THE STRATEGIES OF WORLD NO 1 PEAK PERFORMANCE COACH - TONY ROBBINS

A ticket to Unlimited Power is worth $995, but you can attend at no charge!

Simply, follow the link to the official page to register: UNLIMITED POWER 2008.

Based on the technology of World No 1 peak performance Coach - Tony Robbins, Unlimited Power is truly the ultimate event. It will give you the chance to mix with some of the top business people in Australia. Already attending are Australia’s best sportsmen and sportswoman and the leading entrepreneurs, marketers, sales people, real estate agents, doctors and dentists. I do hope you will be able to join them. They have registered because they want to find out how to ensure their continued success is unstoppable. Don’t you deserve that winning edge too?

Led by a dream-team of world-class success coaches you’ll plug into the full potential your life has to offer and discover how to achieve intensified actualisation.

In this electrifying 2-day event, you will:

Discover and learn how to tap into your greatest passions
Activate the driving force that moves you to action
Redefine your ambitions and what success really means to you
Reinvigorate every aspect of your life from health to wealth
Break through to an undreamt of level of achievement
Identify and replace limiting beliefs to gain sustainable results
Reignite your passion for your career, your finances, your relationships
Build a plan and create strategies for sustained momentum
Develop a clear understanding of what you truly most want in your life

You’ll look back to this 2 day event as the moment your life got energized!

Appearing at these state capitals – Put these important dates in your diary
Dates and venues subject to change

Melbourne
Saturday 17th & Sunday 18th May 2008
Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre

Sydney
Saturday 24th & Sunday 25th May 2008
Sydney Masonic Centre, Banquet Hall

Click here to register (it's free): UNLIMITED POWER 2008. Or get more info here.

P.S. I will be attending this seminar, so see you there!

Top 10 Tips for Selling on eBay

2008-05-04T20:41:00.004+10:00

Written by SaleHoo.com © All Rights Reserved

1. Start Small
If you're anything like me, once you have a good idea you want to put it into action immediately! Although you probably know in theory that any business takes 12-18 months to become established, somehow you still hope that you can get there in 2!

But, one mistake entrepreneurs consistently make is to throw their life's savings into buying case loads of stock - before they even know how eBay works. It's easy to be lulled into a false sense of security on eBay after buying just one or two items. For buyers, eBay is meant to be user friendly. For sellers, things are a little more complicated. All powersellers agree that there are new things to be learned all the time and you'll be surprised at how much more you know after several months selling small, inexpensive items.

Be prepared to spend the first couple of months buying and selling a variety of inexpensive items you can purchase with your loose change. Keep track of what sells best and work on narrowing down the possibilities to a few strong products. By this stage you will also have experienced the best and worst situations eBay has to offer, so you will be much better prepared to crank things up a notch.

2. Respond to questions as quickly as possible
Most people use the Internet because it provides what they need instantaneously: information, contacts, gifts, advice, and so on. Therefore I can't emphasize enough the importance of checking your emails as often as you can and replying to queries as quickly as possible.

3. Organize your time and keep to a schedule
If you are holding down a full-time job and working after hours to get your ebay business in motion, then it's vital to have a list of what you need to get done and stick to it so you make the most of the precious time available. Once you are working on eBay fulltime, this becomes even more important! It's all too easy to reach the end of another day and find that you have got hardly anything done. So keep a planner or diary and make a timetable of what needs to be done and when.

4. Do take professional photographs from the beginning
The old saying remains as true as ever: A picture speaks a thousand words. A bad picture can look unappealing and unprofessional. Plus, if the buyer can't really see the item properly, they may be put off bidding because they can't tell if it is what they really want. So right from the beginning, work on creating the most professional pictures you can, even if it means spending money on a photo tent and better lighting.

5. Don't put all your eggs in one basket - use other ways of selling apart from eBay
eBay is not the be all and end all of selling online - although it is one of the best ways to start. As soon as you can though, try thinking of other ways you can increase your web presence. Perhaps you could place a classified ad in Yahoo or write about your auctions in a MySpace blog. There are plenty of cheap and easy ways to build up your profile.

6. Do keep a constant look out for other products to sell, while also monitoring carefully what you are already selling.
Don't become complacent! Even if your items appear to be stock standard - such as chairs for instance - make sure you keep looking at what other sellers are doing, emerging trends, magazine articles, home decor programs, and more. There may be another related product opportunity just waiting to happen that you completely overlook if you keep your blinkers on.

7. Do keep in contact with your wholesale supplier regularly to ensure you are aware of any stock issues.
A backorder can create a lot of extra work for you soothing customer's ruffled feathers. And if they want their order refunded, it costs you money too. So make life easier for yourself by regularly touching base with your suppliers and ensuring communication lines stay open.

8. Do carry out regular keyword and market research
Keyword research is the way to ensure your potential customers find you successfully. Set aside some time each day for marketing and research to ensure that you're keeping at the top of your game.

9. Do use software to help organize your sales
It's hard to part with the initial investment when the business is still finding its feet, but the right software will make life so much easier. My eBay quickly becomes unwieldy when you are selling more than 15 items, and software ensures that you avoid making costly mistakes, such as under-ordering stock, forgetting to ship to a customer, and so on.

10. Don't offer free shipping as a gimmick unless you can afford it
Free shipping is a very effective way of attracting more people to your listings. However, before you consider offering free shipping, think carefully about your profit margins, how much your item weighs, and the fact that shipping will vary depending on how far away you are sending it. Offering free shipping is a good move if you can absorb the cost in your profit margin, but it could easily become crippling if you apply it to a variety of items of different shapes and sizes.

About the Author: SaleHoo is one of the fastest growing product sourcing portals on the internet. It contains a database of drop ship, wholesale, closeout and manufacturing suppliers offering thousands of product suppliers to consumers! Located at http://www.salehoo.com, visitors are allowed to sign up for unlimited and lifetime access to the completely searchable database of products and suppliers. The database is regularly updated, ensuring that the latest retail products are always available for purchase and SaleHoo carries the BBB Reliability Seal!

Join SaleHoo Today for their Special Startup Offer!

Progress Report - April 2008

2008-05-01T19:15:00.009+10:00

Capital on 30 April '08:

Share Trading: $500
Net Value of Managed Funds: $16,450
Cash Savings: $26,104
Internet revenue: $209

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL Equity: $43,263
============================================

Notes:

Net Value of Managed Funds ($16,450) = Market Value ($36,350) + Excess Equity ($11,800) - Debt (31,700)

Monthly Change:

Share Trading: -$1,000
Managed Funds - Performance: +$1,650
Managed Funds - Savings Plan Contribution: +1,000
Cash Savings - Interest: +$148
Cash Savings - Contribution: +$500
Internet Revenue: +$191

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL CHANGE: +$2,489
============================================

Notes:

Total savings contribution for the month is $1,500 = Manged Funds Savings Contribution ($1,000) + Cash Savings Contribution ($500). Funded by salary contribution.
Internet Revenue = Adsense + Internet Research work

Remaining:

A further $956,737 is required within 116 months in order to reach account of $1,000,000
An average monthly income of $8,248 is required from this point forward

Summary:

Account increased by $2,489 due to improving managed fund performances and savings from salary of $1,500.
The Australian share market gained 4.6% during the month which subsequently affected my managed fund investments and account accordingly.
Additional income streams are required in order to accelerate wealth.

[Go to March '08 Report]

Activity Summary - April 08

2008-05-01T19:01:00.000+10:00

Website Improvement:

N/A.

Traffic:

Total Hits to website: 1798; Unique Visitors: 1101
Hits increased by 584 (+48%) during the month
Average 19.5 hits per day during the month
Traffic sources: StumbleUpon, Google Search, Yahoo! Answers, Referrals, Direct Hits

Search engine keywords:

investment strategy to be a millionaire
how many times millionaires fails before success
creative ideas that made people rich
crazy ways people make money online
black ways to make money online
audio awaken the giant within
become rich with mutual funds
12 year old millionaire online yearbook
"worlds youngest millionaires"
"global replica" affiliate
"anthony robbins" audio
youngest millionaire
crazy ways to make big money
youngest millionaires
blog rich become

General:

Savings Plan contribution into managed funds ($1,000)
Attended Dr. Demartini's Secrets to Financial Mastery seminar
Started Online Reselling business using ebay and wholesaler's drop shipping facility

Dr Demartini's F.A.S.T. Savings Plan Will Make Millionaires

2008-04-30T11:55:00.010+10:00

It is undeniable that in order to build up your wealth and maintain it, you need to have some sort savings plan in place. In Dr. Demartini's Secrets to Financial Mastery seminar on April 29, he introduced a powerful savings strategy that can potentially make you a multi-millionaire in next to no time, that's if you have the ability to follow it.

Although the concept behind the Demartini Forced Accelerated Savings Technique™ (F.A.S.T.) is very simple, the outcome can be very powerful. It basically involves saving an amount each quarter and then incrementing that amount by 10% every quarter. That's as simple as I can describe it.

Let's use some numbers and see how this technique works. We start with a savings amount of $1000 in the first quarter and will increment it by 10% every quarter. The incremental rate is the key to the "accelerated" part of the F.A.S.T. technique, as you will see below.

After the first year we would need to be able to put into our savings at least $1,331 per quarter. In the following years, we need to be able to save $1,949 (Y2Q4), $2,853 (Y3Q4), $4,177 (Y4Q4), $6,116 (Y5Q4).

For most people this savings strategy is a big struggle by the end of the fifth year, where you need to be able to save at least $6,116 per quarter. If you have a family to look after, it is likely that you won’t be able to put this much away solely from your fixed-income wage. This is when you are “forced” to increase your income streams in order to meet the savings requirement, and that is where the beauty of the F.A.S.T strategy lies.

An important fact presented by Dr. Demartini was “demand drives supply”. You will find that as your demand for more money exceeds your existing supply, you will start to look for other opportunities to increase your income. You start to tap into your creatively in order to produce additional income streams, for example, you might realise an opportunity to start a home-based online business. It is only when we start looking seriously that the opportunities present themselves.

Going back to the table above, we can see that from the 6th year onwards the savings amounts start to become drastically larger even though the rate of increase is still 10% per quarter. By the end of the 6th year we needed to save up $8,954 per quarter, and then $13,110 (in Y7Q4), $19,194 (in Y8Q4), $28,102 (in Y9Q4) and $41,145 (in Y10Q4), see the chart below. Only if you can create additional streams of income will you be able to put these amounts into savings. In most cases, the wage from your main job alone will not make you rich, you must create additional streams of income if you desire to become a millionaire and achieve financial independence within a period of 10-15 years.

[Click on chart for larger view]

When you put money into savings, it should be invested in the money markets, bonds, blue-chip stocks and/or properties in that order to minimise investment risk. It is reasonable to expect a long-term average return of around 10% p.a from these investments. If we apply this rate of return to our savings from above, with compound interest added, we could expect to have $1,147,972 worth of savings at the end of the 10th year using this strategy.

Depending on your lifestyle, $1 million in cash and investments in 10 years time may or may not be enough for you to retire on, but it would certainly help me achieve my quest of becoming a millionaire by 2018. If you were to continue saving with this strategy for just a few more years, you would have saved up an additional and staggering $2.5 million plus interest in just 5 years! Whether you can achieve these levels of savings directly depends on your ability to continue to increase your income streams.

As you can see, Dr Demartini’s Forced Accelerated Savings Technique is a potentially very powerful strategy in helping you achieve your financial freedom.

Related Articles: My Savings Plan In Action | Money Magnetism by Dr Demartini

How do I Find Something to Sell?

2008-04-29T20:11:00.005+10:00

Many people wanting to start an eBay business spend a lot of time fretting over what they will sell. Perhaps these questions are familiar: Where do I find ideas? Should I sell the most popular items? How do I know a good idea? These are important questions everyone faces.

eBay already contains so many items for sale that some sellers feel overwhelmed from the start wondering how they can possibly find a product idea when the market appears to be full anyway.

So where should you start then?

1. Your hobbies
This can be a great way of establishing a niche. Perhaps you love embroidery or making model airplanes? Chances are a lot of other people share this passion and are looking for related supplies. Crafts and hobbies is big market - however, before you jump in headfirst, make sure you do some research to back up the feasibility of your idea. eBay is a numbers game and no matter how great your idea is, it won't work if not enough people are interested. So be sure to use the completed listings search and test the market with some of your own supplies first.

2. Listen to what your friends and family are talking about
Sometimes the best ideas can arise from your friends and family. One seller says she overheard some women at the table next to her talking about the trouble they were having finding a particular brand of baby slings. This got her thinking, and, after a bit of research, she realized they were a foreign brand and hard to find in the USA. A wee bit of research later and she had found a supplier and was successfully selling online. So keep your eyes and ears open! If people you know are looking for a particular item, chances are others will too.

3. Research newspapers and magazines
Newspapers and magazines can provide a ton of information on trends and styles. Just browsing the headlines can often be enough to spark a new idea. Try sitting down with a pen and notebook and skimming the pages of popular magazines and daily newspapers. You should have a list of at least 10 ideas by the end.

4. eBay Seller Central
eBay itself has a fantastic resource in the Seller Central area 'What's Hot'. Every month, a list of super hot, very hot and hot items are published. This is a great way to find ideas but remember that everyone on eBay also has access to this information! The merchandising calendar is also a useful resource.

All successful sellers sell several products, rather than putting all of their eggs into one basket. Not only can trends change with the wind, but some products are only popular during a particular season. For example, dehumidifiers are more popular during winter than summer, while lawnmowers are super hot in spring and have a practically non-existent market in the winter.

5. Find out what your buyers are buying
A good way of expanding your product range is by 'spying' on your buyers. After making a sale, check your buyer's feedback and find out what other items they have been purchasing recently. This will help you get to know what your target market are interested in and expand your range accordingly.

Finding something to sell can seem daunting at first, but I guarantee that once you think of one idea, plenty of others will quickly follow!

How to Find Wholesale Sources for your Product

2008-04-28T22:03:00.020+10:00

Any seller serious about creating a long-lasting profitable business will realize the importance of finding a good wholesale source.

Unfortunately, it isn't the super-quick task most people would like it to be. Wholesalers aren't exactly squabbling over sellers; indeed, most don't make any effort at all to attract small to medium size businesses. Why? Because they are doing just fine selling to large retail stores with multi-million dollar orders.

So how does anyone find a good wholesaler then? The key is to do a lot of research. Begin with keyword searches in search engines using 'wholesale' in front of or after the name of the product you are looking for. Remember that there is usually more than one way of referring to a product. While you may be searching for 'throws', the wholesaler may be listing them as 'blankets', 'covers', and 'home decor blankets'. Or they may even refer to them by the name of the fabric they are made out of.

Ebay can provide some fabulous wholesale buys also. In fact, there is an entire category dedicated solely to wholesale lots! Just search for the product you are looking for with the keyword 'wholesale' or 'lot' in the search string.

If you still can't find what you are looking for, then try an online wholesale directory. Directories take a lot of the leg work out of finding suppliers. Good directories will thoroughly research all the contacts they recommend, removing the risk that you'll end up dealing with a fraudster. While directories don't automatically point you to the best supplier with the lowest prices for your item, it will give you a starting point.

Another way of finding wholesale suppliers is by contacting the manufacturer directly for the product you are interested in selling and asking them who their wholesale distributors are. This is a slightly scary option (particularly if the manufacturer is in a non-English speaking country!), but it can be extremely beneficial in the long term.

If you live in a big city, tradeshows are possibly one of the best ways to make wholesale contacts. A trade show is where related industries gather to showcase their products to potential buyers. Trade shows are not open to the general public, only to other businesses. Not only can you sample the quality of the product at a trade show, you can also talk directly to the manufacturer or product creator! Just make sure you come prepared and don't waste their time with questions you could have found out by reading the brochure!

Finally, it's important to realize that most wholesalers adjust the price per unit according to the order of the quantity. For example, throws might be $10/unit for an order of 15-30, $9/unit for 30-50, and so on. This means that as a small business, you might not be able to get the prices you were hoping for at first. It also explains why eBay powersellers are sometimes able to retail items for prices below your wholesale price. Once again, this emphasizes the importance of establishing a niche where there is less competition.

About the Author: SaleHoo is one of the fastest growing product sourcing portals on the internet. It contains a database of drop ship, wholesale, closeout and manufacturing suppliers offering thousands of product suppliers to consumers! Located at www.salehoo.com, visitors are allowed to sign up for unlimited and lifetime access to the completely searchable database of products and suppliers. The database is regularly updated, ensuring that the latest retail products are always available for purchase and SaleHoo carries the BBB Reliability Seal!

Join SaleHoo Today for their Special Startup Offer!

Make Money By Selling Wholesale Products On Ebay

2008-04-27T21:46:00.009+10:00

This month I have started a new business venture! It involves reselling wholesale products on Ebay.

The reselling business has great potential for making money at home. The important thing is to sell products that are in demand and get it for a reasonably low price from a reliable supplier/wholesaler, so that you can make a profit out of every sale.

Ebay provides the perfect means for this type of business, as you can access millions of potential customers online for a relatively low cost. I have even set up an Ebay store to sell the products and appear more "professional". Setting up an Ebay store costs only $15/mth. You can see my store at Kimsta Technologies.

I have always wanted to start this business but one thing that held me back was finding good suppliers. It was hard to judge which were good or bad or just scams especially the suppliers from overseas, until I stumbled on to a website that supplied a directory of verified wholesalers. Knowing where I could obtained genuine suppliers cut out a lot of work and research for me and it gave me the confidence to start my online reselling business. In case you want to know what that website is, it's Salehoo.com. They charge a fee for their service, but it is a reasonable cost.

The next big step was deciding what product to sell. To make easier I decided to start out selling something that I have a passion for and know a lot about, as it would make it so much easier and would be an enjoyable experience too. So I decided to sell digital SLR cameras.

This type of business can be quite competitive, therefore, it is important to keep costs down in order to make a profit. Some suppliers have a facility called "drop shipping" that allows you to deliver the product directly to the buyer from your Ebay store. This means you don't have to hold any stock of the product that your selling, which allows you to saves a lot of capital and space, and keep costs down. The shipping cost would be paid directly by the buyer at the time of sale rather than you.

So that's the business plan in a nutshell =)

Dr Demartini's The Secrets to Financial Mastery Seminar

2008-04-24T00:01:00.004+10:00

Dr John Demartini is the best-selling author of the book and DVD called "The Secrets". Almost everybody I know has heard of this book. Well, he is going to do some seminars in Australia and I've been lucky to win some free tickets to see him on 29th April! That's pretty cool I reckon, as the tickets are worth $595 each.

From the promotion material below, it sounds good. Hopefully, I can learn a few ideas and secrets from this guy. Anyway, I'll write a post to summarise what I learnt from the seminar after next week.

"In May 2008 ... For One Day Only
'The Secret' Teacher Dr John Demartini Will
Be In Your City For One Very Special Purpose ...

... To Teach You How To Attract Wealth And Freedom Into Your Life By Using The 'Missing Secrets' That Were Not Revealed In The DVD!"

This is unlike anything you've seen before. It's not another share trading ... property investing ... network marketing ... online business or any other type of 'wealth' seminar.

This exclusive seminar is about teaching you how to use the most powerful wealth creation tools that exist ... the universe and your mind ... to attract wealth and freedom into your life fast (even if you've attended other wealth creation events but nothing has worked). Read on and discover ...

How to develop the same 'millionaire mindset' the world's wealthiest people use to amass huge fortunes (and how to train your brain to attract wealth to you).
The 'Missing Secret': A simple tweak that puts the 'Law Of Attraction' on steroids and allows you to attract wealth into your life effortlessly (what The Secret did not reveal)
How to remove your hidden beliefs about money that are sabotaging you from ever achieving the financial freedom you desire

And much, much more!

Free e-Seminar: "Mastering Your Destiny"

2008-04-23T22:40:00.009+10:00

Free material from Empowernet International.

“My name is Scott Harris & welcome to this e-Seminar”

As Tony Robbins says, “we really can be more than we think we can”, and his flagship event Date with Destiny® is about discovering within each of us, our ultimate purpose and potential. It’s about becoming committed to defining the person who is all you can be and… being that person.

Form the unique perspective of an extensively experienced Tony Robbins trainer who has undertaken the full Date with Destiny® participant’s process, these insights will help you consolidate the steps that take you to an extraordinary quality of life.

For all Date with Destiny® Graduates, this will be a review of an extraordinary experience – for others, it will be a revealing introduction to what is possible with ‘Mastering Your Destiny’.

STEP 1: CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD your ‘Mastering Your Destiny’ e-Seminar workbook – it’ll be a great help in capturing notes and thoughts as you listen to Scott

STEP 2: CLICK HERE TO LISTEN to ‘Mastering Your Destiny’ e-Seminar - available from 5pm AEDT, Wednesday 23rd April 2008.

*Leave a comment and let me know what you think of this material*

How To Lose Money Quickly

2008-04-14T23:59:00.003+10:00

Over the last couple of months I have been trading actively in the stock, indices, commodities and Forex markets using a type of investment product called Contract For Difference (CFD). You probably have heard of this as it has become very popular recently.

When you use a CFD you basically trade the underlying asset (e.g. shares, indices, commodities, forex) without physically owning them, which means you make a profit or loss from only the difference between what you buy the asset for and what you sell them for.

CFD products (outlawed in USA) are very highly geared. You could easily leverage you trading position by 20 to 50 times (which also means your risk also increases by 20 to 50 times). If you had only $500 to trade, for example, you could effectively take a $10,000 position in a CFD of a blue chip stock (that is, effectively take out a $9,500 loan to trade).

Due to the high leverage of CFD products, any small change in the price of the underlying asset will translate into a big change in your trading position. If you are on the winning side of a trade, you will make a huge profit and are laughing; but if you are on the losing side, you will make a huge loss that can send you broke and at the same time lose all your hair.

I haven't lost my hair (yet), but I haven't been doing great with CFD trading either since starting out in February with $2,000 in my trading account. As of today, it is worth only $500. The markets which I traded in were highly volatile and so small adverse changes in my trades led to big losses. In the end my trading account wasn't big enough to allow more room for price fluctuations or set bigger stop losses.

So from my experience, unless you absolutely know what you are doing with CFD trading, it is very hard to make money consistently. You need to spend a lot of time monitoring, researching and analysing the underlying asset for each trades. Otherwise, avoid CFD trading until you fully understand the risks and have enough time for it.

I will suspend my trading activities for a while and pursue other strategies for making money in the quest to become a millionaire by 2018.

Make Money Online With Paid Survey in the USA

2008-04-10T20:33:00.004+10:00

Source: Australian Free Paid Surveys

For our readers from the United States, you can make easy money online by participating in paid surveys, market research and online polls. Below is a comprehensive list of companies that are willing to pay for your opinions and feedback. It is free to register and you can begin to earn extra cash straight away.

Participating in an online paid survey can help supplement your income with the added bonus of being able to work from home. As long as you have access to a home computer and the Internet you can participate in a paid survey or online poll at any time of the day or night. Wherever you live across the US you can join the thousands of people already earning cash by sharing their opinions and having their say about the products and services they use. Register online today!

Get Paid to take Surveys
Influence the development of new products and help improve existing ones. you can earn cash, prizes, gift certificates, free product samples, and more.
Ipsos Surveys USA
Make your opinion count! Win $5,000 for joining the i-Say Panel. Plus, each time you complete a survey, you have a chance to win cash.
Insight Express
Let your opinion be heard! Please take todays survey to help shape the world for tomorrow.
Survey Club
Get paid for quick and easy surveys - Free membership!
Survey Explosion
Survey Explosion has found a survey that will pay you $5 for just 1 minute of your time. Imagine getting paid everyday to take surveys like these. At Survey Explosion we scour the globe looking for surveys for you to take that pay you cash. Learn how you can participate now!
Panda Research
Get paid up to $5-$35 per survey and get offers you will love! Make cash instantly!
NPD Research
Join the NPD Research team today. Upon completion of your membership profile, you will automatically be entered in a drawing for a chance to win $1,000
The Survey Pro
Earn extra cash for filling out surveys. Get your list of US paying surveys for free!
PaidSurveys.com
Earn cash and rewards from over 25 survey companies - get started today - it's free!
ACOP Consumer Opinion
Join today and get paid cash to fill out online surveys! Typically, receive $4 to $25 for each survey you complete!
Survey Spot
Get paid and win prizes for taking online surveys.
Free Home Business Survey for Moms
Finally...you don't have to choose between making money and making time for your family! Build a full-time income and still be a full-time mom!

Make Money Online With EmailCash

2008-04-10T19:29:00.008+10:00

Email Cash is the best Australian site I've seen and been involved with, you get paid to take surveys, read emails, play games, shop with reward partners and more. Their surveys are frequent and enjoyable, and usually pay well for the time need to complete them.

Earnings are a based on a points system which are exchanged for cash, 100 points =$1.00. It’s not hard to see why they are so popular, they have over 400,000 members.

Fill out online surveys and be rewarded! You'll be paid in points for each survey you do, and those points can be converted to cash. Plus you'll be influencing the evolution of products and services of the future. You will be sent an email when a survey is available for you to complete.

Email Cash is an online rewards program exclusively for Australians, where you can earn rewards and have lots of fun. You need to be 13 years or older and have a valid email address.

As a member, you can earn reward points for doing a whole range of things, including online shopping, reading email, answering surveys via the email cash postman, clicking on links, and more.

Once you have accumulated enough reward points, you can convert your reward points to reward cash then redeem your reward cash for real money or great merchandise.

There's lots of fun to be had and a sense of community at Email Cash. Meet new people and discuss all sorts of interesting topics. You can interact with real people, and yet maintain safety and anonymity. Plus there's games and competitions, the Email Cash horoscope and lots of other things going on all the time.

Reward Points: 100 = $1.00 AUD
Payments: Cheque (minimum $30.00)
Referral: Yes
Members: Free in Australia only (13+ y.o.)
Comments: Remember to login each day and do the daily quick survey and click for 5 free points per day, takes no more than a minute.

Join EmailCash & Start Earning Money Now, it's FREE!

How I made $122,000 and lost $132,000 - A lesson in Assets vs Liabilities

2008-04-09T20:16:00.005+10:00

Just over 3 years ago I found myself with $75,000 to spend or invest. My partner and I needed a new car as the old one was 8 years old and not as reliable as it used to be, so we spent $40,000 on buying the latest model.

Our $75,000 was now reduced to $35,000.

We now made the wisest financial decision we have ever made (apart from buying our own home) and used the remaining $35,000 as a deposit on an investment property to help provide for our eventual retirement. The investment property cost a total of $178,000 including mortgage, conveyancing, and stamp duty costs.

Three years have gone by and this is what has happened.

The car has dropped in value by at least $10,000 and possibly more, but is providing good reliable transport.

The owner of the neighbouring property to our investment has put his identical property on the market for $319,000 which compares favorably with other properties in the area. As a conservative guess I would expect it to achieve a sale price of $300,000 or thereabouts.

This means that we have made around $122,000 on our original investment in the house and lost $10,000 on the car. It's actually worse than that. By buying the car instead of the neighbouring house we have forgone a possible $122,000 profit, so the car has has actually cost us $162,000! The old car is still running and in daily use.

The end result is that we have a paper profit of $122,000 on the house and a technical loss of $132,000 on the new car ($162k - $30k residual value).

The moral of this story is to put your money into things that increase in value (assets), and NOT into things that decrease in value (liabilities). You may not have a large sum of money to invest in real estate but there are other asset classes like coins or stamps where there are plenty of smaller investing opportunities.

If you can remember this story of buying a house versus buying a vehicle next time you make a major purchase, you can evaluate how the purchase is going to affect your future wealth. Do you really need a new vehicle or a wide-screen TV? Would a low-mileage second-hand car, and keeping the existing TV be sufficient? Making the right decision now will have a huge bearing on your retirement.

Learning to distinguish between wants and needs, and investing in assets is the key to wealth creation and a comfortable retirement.

Copyright 2005 by Robert Scott, LoanSense.com.au

Check out Robert's Home Loan Australia website that is dedicated to helping borrowers get the best possible deal on a Home Loan in Australia.

theKimsta.com

Trading Business Plan - The Way To Trade Like A Pro!

Progress Report - May 2008

Activity Summary - May 08

Keep Moving Foward

Free Download: As A Man Thinketh eBook

Convert Your Skills, Knowledge, Passion And Talents Into Cash

My F.A.S.T. Savings Plan In Action

The Tallest Building Rule: An Accurate Economic Recession Indicator?

Top 10 Methods to Increase Traffic to Your Blog

Add Popularity Rankings For Your Blog Posts

Essential Wholesale Tips You MUST Follow

Free Seminar: Unlimited Power 2008

Top 10 Tips for Selling on eBay

Join SaleHoo Today for their Special Startup Offer!

Progress Report - April 2008

Activity Summary - April 08

Dr Demartini's F.A.S.T. Savings Plan Will Make Millionaires

How do I Find Something to Sell?

How to Find Wholesale Sources for your Product

Make Money By Selling Wholesale Products On Ebay

Dr Demartini's The Secrets to Financial Mastery Seminar

"In May 2008 ... For One Day Only 'The Secret' Teacher Dr John Demartini Will Be In Your City For One Very Special Purpose ...

... To Teach You How To Attract Wealth And Freedom Into Your Life By Using The 'Missing Secrets' That Were Not Revealed In The DVD!"

Free e-Seminar: "Mastering Your Destiny"

“My name is Scott Harris & welcome to this e-Seminar”

How To Lose Money Quickly

Make Money Online With Paid Survey in the USA

Make Money Online With EmailCash

How I made $122,000 and lost $132,000 - A lesson in Assets vs Liabilities

"In May 2008 ... For One Day Only
'The Secret' Teacher Dr John Demartini Will
Be In Your City For One Very Special Purpose ...