Month: February 2017

Should I Invest In The Stock Market?

So, first off…if this is the question you have in your mind, you shouldn’t be saying “invest” but rather gamble. Before you stock market maniacs jump in and eat me alive let me explain. It is different to invest in a company that is in the stock market, registered under NYSE for example, and “invest” simply in the idea of the stock market. Investing in ETF’s ins’t really investing as you are putting money on something that has a trend of different stocks: it’s a collection of stocks.

If your idea of the stock market is you put in money, and that spits out cash for you, you are dead wrong. There are actually a couple ways you can play this game:

  1. Invest in the long run
  2. Do short term trades (day trading or swing trading.)

If you are looking to day trade, then again: it is not an investment. An investment is something you put money in, because you believe the company will do well in the earnings, many products will be sold etc. Putting money into a stock, because of some news out there that is pumping it, doesn’t mean you are investing in it – especially if you are planning to make a quick buck and run. I am not hitting on the quick buck game. I actually used to play it also, and made good money in it. But just know that that, isn’t called investing. 

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Saving VS Making

Yes, I know…I’ll bore you again about financials and financial education. However it is just so important – equally important as getting a college education. I mean you can learn about liberal arts and history and what not, but if you can’t understand money and how to deal with it, you are really setting yourself up for failure in your financial life. I mean think about it: almost anything you do in this life is surrounded by money. You don’t feel good and you need to see a doctor? You need to cough up some cash. You want that new line of clothing that Calvin Klein released, you guessed it: you’ll need to run your credit card like crazy.

Many times we have heard our parents and people that used to be our influencers when we were younger say: you need to learn how to save money. And although that is true because you can’t spend faster than you earn, it is also very false. It is very old school if you like. So prior to 1971, this piece of advice would take you real far. I mean it would probably be a good idea. I still don’t agree on trying to scrub pennies together to make ends meet (when you can go out and make more.) But let’s just say for the sake of the argument that it was a good idea prior to 1971. What is 1971? The year of course President Nixon took the US off the gold standard. Because of that, the USD gets inflated and loses value as years go on. So in other words, the Federal Bank is printing money like crazy and isn’t following the gold standard. Why on earth, would you want to save money, when it is being printed like that? I mean if you save let’s say $50,000 (which is very very low for savings but anyway) up to when you become 80 years old, that will probably be worth around $30,000 (depending on how early you started saving.) I mean it is foolish. No one can save their way to wealth. If you are planning to have a good enough retirement to enjoy your grand kids and have something to offer your family, saving is not the way. 

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Demolition

To follow up on the latest construction related article I posted, in this blog I will talk a little bit about demolition as a process. There has been a lot of talk about it lately, especially after the change in US politics which signal a more “pro infrastructure” future and better construction work.

Let’s start off with the basics: what is demolition? Well, demolition or demolishing something, is simply when you take it down to the ground. It’s the process during which (through various ways) you tear the whole building structure and basically destroy it. It is often used by real estate companies when they acquire some buildings and want to knock them down to replace them or put in new housing communities. But not only do companies use this process but so does your average American. There are many people that prefer to tear down their old home and build it from the ground, instead of trying to renovate it and make re-construction efforts. So it is something widely used and many times in cartoons you will see the classic wrecking ball going in and smashing the building into pieces. Of course, wrecking balls are used in demolition projects even today (not only in cartoons) but there is so much more to just smashing a building into pieces. I actually believed that buildings go down in explosions or huge excavators that take it all down at once. I couldn’t be more far from the truth…

A friend of mine that owns a demolition company out in Atlanta, GA (http://www.atlantademolitionservices.com) actually explained to me the details behind a demolition site and the tough work that needs to be done. Many times these tall structures are in the middle of the city with many surrounding buildings and people. So it isn’t exactly possible for someone to go in, and blow it into pieces when damage can be done to properties nearby. They actually need to take the building down floor by floor. So manually, people in that case, would need to go in and start removing all metal and concrete and dump all these in gigantic dumpsters. Then when most of a room would be clear, they would go in and knock the walls down. Rinsing and repeating this process, they would basically go from floor to floor until everything was done.

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DIY Construction VS Pay A Company

So in this post today, I will be comparing the advantages of construction when done by you personally and when it’s done by a professional construction company with years of experience under their belt. There are many times in our lives during which we think we can handle certain tasks. The older group in our audience (older with respect) were a very “do it yourself” generation. In fact, I remember my father who used to always walk around with a screw driver and a hammer. The good thing is, that was the correct way of doing things – and not the spoiled way of today “just call the guy.”

Having said that, there were many limitations to those generation in terms of the things they could get done. And obviously it depends on the construction you do or the type of work you need to get done. So for example, it makes sense that if you are planning to replace a roof with brand new shingles, you can do it by yourself but it would be wiser that you get a professional to assist you, and definitely a team of other workers with you.

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Should I take out a loan?

Wow! Today I’m on fire with all these blog posts. I’m really loving the value I am able to offer you all and always appreciate you guys coming back for more.

In this article, I am going to talk about some very common dilemmas most people have, when it comes to taking out loans, borrowing money etc. The most common way of borrowing money, is using our credit cards. Everyone uses a credit card. In fact, people with less money use it more because they think it’s a piggy bank. Taking out a loan, and the decision to move forward in such a way, is really important as it can affect your financial situation for many years down the road. If you are thinking of taking out a loan to go on a vacation, please get off my blog right now. I don’t need people contaminating the site with foolishness.  Continue reading Should I take out a loan?

Consultation On Real Estate

“New day, new opportunity…” that is how a close friend of mine views everything in life. To be honest, real estate isn’t all that different. Now when I mention real estate, your mind automatically goes to the big tycoons of New York City or the business magnates that are responsible for all the acres of housing that have been developed down in Florida. Although that is a perfect example of real estate in terms of the business side of it, you obviously can understand that real estate could mean that you own a small rental home. So it is something that almost anyone can get his hands on. I am not going to suggest that owning a home is real estate or real estate investing for that matter. As you probably are aware of, your home is the greatest liability you have, because it’s full of expenses and you need to keep feeding it (without it providing any income.)

So when we are going to talk about real estate investing, we are talking about apartment complexes, shopping centers, business locations, land etc. Because of the fact that everyone can pretty much get involved with real estate (since you could easily get your feet wet with low six figures,) there are also so many things one needs to know. Because everyone loves owning real estate, the competition levels increase so you have smarter buyers and sellers. So that means you need to become smarter too.

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Consultation On Technology

So, as I’ve mentioned before, I am capable of consulting you all on a series of matters and topics. Not because I’m superman (well maybe because of that also) but because I am in contact with a large network of people that specialize in each individual area.

Today, we are going to talk about technology, and I just want to let you know about my background in this space. My experience in technology mainly focuses on everything that has to do with online things so in simple words: the Internet. I am someone that simply geeks out on every new social media feature or anything like that and really just love the way our world is evolving around us. In fact, by taking advantage of technology and its amazing capabilities, I have spent a decent amount of time doing marketing work online. The space is mentioned as “digital marketing” but I like to call it online promotions.

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