Posts on ways to reduce investment risk, how to hire a wealth manager or financial advisor, wealth building steps, startup investing, small business investing, advanced investment strategies, alternative investing strategies to build wealth and make living off investments possible after retirement.
Last week as I picked an abundant fig harvest, I couldn’t help but think about how much my fig harvest parallels the wealth building fundamentals I’ve learned (many the hard way!) from investing in dozens of different assets and strategies over the past few decades as a personal investor. These wealth building fundamentals are …
Wealth Building Fundamentals Inspired by My Abundant Fig HarvestRead More »
Proactive investors buy defensive investments to manage risk, particularly as financial markets become less stable or overvalued. What are defensive investments? Defensive investments are assets that tend to increase or maintain their value during financial threats such as high inflation, recessions, Black Swans, and bear markets. Defensive stocks, Treasury bonds, T bills, gold, money market funds, puts and …
Does everything you need to know about investing really fit onto one side of a cocktail napkin as touted by more than one wildly famous financial author? Well, the answer depends on: Your personal wealth plan How long you have to save and invest Your net worth How much money you need to retire …
Beginner To Advanced Investing Strategies | What’s Best for You?Read More »
The All Wealth Portfolio is popular among sophisticated DIY investors looking to increase returns while lowering risk without a financial advisor. In this article, I’ll share the All Weather Portfolio pros and cons, the portfolio ETFs and allocations, the performance, and a chart of the portfolio allocation which I created for you. This popular …
All Weather Portfolio Pros and Cons | ETFs | Performance | Chart | VideosRead More »
Creative income streams have been the saving grace for my family. I think they can be for millions of retirees willing to think and act outside the box. In this post I’ll share what I’ve learned after testing and implementing over 15 creative income streams from investing, consulting, online business and real estate along with my husband. While I’m …
There are two major reasons you invest; for cash flow or for capital gains. What’s the difference between cash flow and capital gains investing? Cash flow investing buys assets that generate income while capital gains investing buys assets with the expectation they will increase in value. There are some important nuances with both …
Difference Between Cash Flow and Capital Gains with ChartRead More »
There are simple ways to make money when stocks drop using more traditional investing methods and there are also more advanced strategies to make money when stocks drop. In this post, I will cover simple to slightly advanced strategies that both investors and many wealth managers use to make money in down markets for their …
The simplest way to avoid losing money in the stock market is to simply not own stocks. But stocks can be a profitable passive investment for busy investors who understand stock market losses, are aware of stock market cycles and have chosen how much stock market risk they want. That’s what this post is about …
Stock market returns by decade are often used as markers for measuring past performance and estimating future performance more reliably for retirement planning purposes. And we all know that stock market gains can be excellent passive wealth builders in most decades, so let’s see what happened last decade, and how can we use that data …
Stock Market Return 2010 through 2019 and Why You CareRead More »
A lot of investors get confused about wealth building vs income but these terms are the starting point for investing. Don’t get me wrong: More income is always good to have! And it can be saved to build wealth over time. But, as you’ll see below, it can make sense to forego a focus on …
No one wants to run out of cash. By cash, I mean that super safe stash you keep in a money market account that won’t fluctuate in value the way stocks do. But just how much should you keep in a money market account? It depends on some personal things like your investments, portfolio allocation, dependents, …
How Much to Keep in Money Market Accounts | 15 Factors Read More »
Consistently saving money and investing it in stocks and bonds builds wealth over many years. The problem is that this strategy usually takes at least two decades, and most people don’t begin this discipline until it’s too late to save enough to retire comfortably. Alternative wealth solutions exist, however, for anyone willing to think and invest outside the …
Updated: February 12, 2020 One of the biggest dangers for soon to be retirees and recently retired folks are bear markets. We saw this in the first 2000 decade when stock returns were negative for the 10 year period, something no one had planned for in retirement. Yet we know stock markets build wealth over time and that bear markets …
Bear markets are a fact of life for stock market investors but they don’t have to be detrimental to your net worth. After investing through several bear markets, both alone and with financial advisors, I’ll share how to prepare for bear markets. While I’m an AFC® (Accredited Financial Counselor), I write from my own investing experience of 40 …
How to Prepare for Bear Markets | 11 Steps [Video, Chart]Read More »
Many investors have concerns about passive investing in stocks and bonds based on standard asset allocation models. Or maybe they have seen that passive investing won’t get the results they need to reach their financial goals. Many investors turn to more advanced investment strategies in an effort to increase returns without increasing risk. Popular …
Advanced Investment Strategies (You Won’t Hear from Your Advisor) | VideoRead More »
Managing risk in the stock market becomes more important than ever after age 50. We all learned this from the “lost decade” when the stock market (S&P 500 index) had an annualized negative return of 2.72% (excluding dividends) in the first 2000 decade. If you’re wondering how to manage risk in the stock market, being aware of your risk, …
For those planning to retire soon, retirement can feel scary from both a financial and a lifestyle perspective. Fear of retirement boredom is a very legitimate reality, especially for certain personalities. Here are 7 ways to address that subtle and almost embarrassing fear that you could be bored to tears in retirement. Read my own …
Every time I hear someone confidently tell me that they are invested in “safe stocks” so they’re not concerned about a “stock market crash,” I silently shudder. Are stocks safe for retirement? It all depends on your risk tolerance, net worth, stock market valuations and other factors explained below. After investing for almost 40 years …
Are Stocks Safe for Retirement? 8 Important Factors Read More »
If you’re concerned that investing in traditional stocks and bonds with a common asset allocation won’t provide a comfortable retirement for life, you’re not alone. We had those same concerns over a decade ago, along with millions of other investors over 50, and here’s what we discovered. Alternative retirement investment strategies can result in higher …
12 “Slightly” Alternative Retirement Investment Strategies Read More »
Updated May 6, 2020 At the end of the strong bull market of the 1990’s, a few brave financial experts predicted the next decade would not be a good one for stock investors. What will stocks do over the next 10 years? Ray Dalio, Warren Buffett, Rob Arnott, Liz Ann Sonders and John Bogle have told us what …
After surviving a few bear markets over the past 40 years as an investor, I’ve learned many lessons from them. Reducing risk in stocks before bear markets take full hold helps investors protect their net worth as well as have capital to invest in stocks again once unusually low valuations are reached. This sounds almost too obvious to write, but most investors don’t take …
Reducing Risk in Stocks | 13 Lessons from Past Bear MarketsRead More »
You may have noticed that you’ve gotten both capital gains and dividends from investing. Are dividends or capital gains better? While I wouldn’t turn down either, dividends are better when you have decided to live off investments, and capital gains are better for building wealth. The Difference Between Capital Gains and Dividends While making money …
Toward the end of bull markets, it’s smart to see what stocks went up in past bear markets for recession proof investment ideas. Stocks that went up in 2008 include Dollar Tree, Amgen, Hasbro, Dwight & Church, Celgene, Gilead, Walmart, McDonald’s, Ross Stores, Budweiser, AutoZone and H&R Block. Stocks going up while the market is …
Stocks That Went Up in 2008 | Plus ETFs, Bonds, GoldRead More »
Updated: September 4, 2020 One of the best ways to lower stock market risk is by owning assets that go up when stocks go down. What goes up when stocks go down? Treasury bonds and gold usually go up when stocks go down. Assets that are inverse or short stocks go up when the broad …
What Goes Up When Stocks Go Down? 7 Hedging AssetsRead More »
You may have heard that selling covered calls can increase earnings from stocks. How do covered calls work exactly? Covered call writing is a strategy where a stock investor sells call options that give the call option buyer the right to buy the stock from the stock investor at a set price and within a certain …
Selling in the money covered calls can be an excellent income generating strategy for those living off investments. An in the money covered call strategy involves selling a call option with a strike price lower than the cost of the underlying stock. This strategy is commonly used when the call writer expects the stock price to decrease, …
In the Money Covered Call Strategy | Benefits and ExamplesRead More »
If your net worth isn’t where you want it to be, you may be wondering how you can build wealth in a way that won’t take decades. The best assets to build wealth fall into two categories, almost all quality assets that can be bought at low valuations, and assets that can be created. After …
Best Assets to Build Wealth | Charts, Videos, CalculatorRead More »
If you’re approaching retirement, that anticipated time when you can live off investments or at least work fewer hours own your schedule, you’re probably transitioning to income investing. You may be wondering how to buy assets that generate income. The way you buy income generating assets depends on the type of asset you’re buying. For example, …
Covered calls can be an excellent way to increase income from stocks but like all investments, covered calls aren’t perfect. The problems with covered calls include stock market risk, company risk, high capital, missing capital gains, taxes, and management. It is my belief that the benefits far outweigh the problems with covered calls for income …
In this time of low dividend yields, increasing stock income by selling call options on stocks you already own sounds pretty appealing to yield hungry investors. Are covered calls a good strategy? Selling covered calls increases stock income significantly while decreasing risk. They can be an excellent income strategy for stock investors willing to forego …
The more income streams you have the better, right? This is not necessarily true. How many income streams should you have? It have depends on your goals, available time, types of income streams, available capital, taxes, demonstrated success, income reliability, and desired lifestyle. In this post I’ll share what I’ve learned in each of these …
How Many Income Streams Should You Have? [Videos]Read More »
It can be challenging to choose the best opportunity to maximize your valuable time and capital. Investing in stocks has long been considered the best strategy to build wealth. But with the explosion of entrepreneurship over the past decade, one has to ask: Is it better to start a business or invest in stocks? Here’s …
Start a Business or Invest in Stocks: Which Is Better?Read More »
Most advice for how to increase net worth is geared toward investors with decades to save and compound wealth in the stock market. If you’re an investor over 50, it could be too late for that strategy before retirement. But you can increase net worth by taking advantage of cycles in stocks or real estate, …
How to Increase Net Worth Before Retirement [Videos]Read More »
Updated August 8, 2019 Investing in bonds definitely has risks, contrary to what many investors think. Just what are the risk of bond investments? They include interest rate risk, default risk, inflation risk, call risk and economic risk. The fact that bonds are used to offset risk from stocks, and the very long bull …
What Are the Risks of Bonds? Chart Stocks Vs BondsRead More »
Income investing comes with both risks and rewards, just like all investments. The risks of income investing in bonds includes interest rate risk, default risk, inflation risk and more. And for stock income investors, there is bear market risk and political risk. Both bond and stock income investors face company or entity specific risk and …
You may be wondering how to know if stocks will go up or go down so you can invest with less uncertainty about the overall direction of stocks. The short answer is that generally stocks go up due to a growing economy and stocks go down due to a recession. In this post, I’ll expand …
If you’re playing catch up retirement savings, here are 59 wealth building tips and solutions that can radically change late retirement planning. After personally making thousands of investments among stocks, bonds, funds, and real estate, both with and without financial advisors over the past 40 years, and creating alternative income streams to replace career income …
Playing Catch Up Retirement Savings | 59 Uncommon Solutions [With Videos]Read More »
Are you considering a new investment or evaluating investments that you already own? While there are some complex analysis tools, some of the best ways to evaluate an investment are based on simple and practical assessments. The criteria for evaluating an investment include meeting acceptable risk, goals, valuation, time frame, objectives, cost, and other assessments …
If you’re thinking of hiring a financial advisor, you may be wondering what unexpected problems you might face after you start working with him. Research shows some of the more common unforeseen problems after hiring a financial advisor come from higher than anticipated fees, poor customer service, lack of personalized service, poor investment track …
How to Avoid Problems When Hiring a Financial AdvisorRead More »
Investing can seem very complicated if you’re not familiar with all the financial lingo. If you’re wondering how to understand your investments, these 3 steps will get you well on your way. Your money is divided among into stocks, bonds and cash type investments based on your goals, desired risk and time frame. The stocks …
How to Understand Your Investments (Investing 101, Lingo Free)Read More »
You may be at a point where you’re wondering if you should manage your own money or hire a financial advisor. After using several financial advisors, and also managing my own money over the years, I learned that there are some good reasons to invest yourself. This includes lower costs, alternative investing, overall returns and …
Should You Manage Your Own Money (With Time and Cost Comparisons)Read More »
Most articles about wealth building after 50 have tips with a minimal impact on true financial independence. If you’re over 50 and far short of reaching your big retirement number, it’s time to take some serious steps beyond investing pocket change and cutting out lattes. While these aren’t bad ideas, they ’re not going to …
Wealth Building After 50 (No Penny Pinching and a Bit of a Rant)Read More »
When feeling uncertain or overwhelmed about managing your investments, you may consider hiring a financial advisor. I manage our own investments now. But over the decades I have hired and worked with 10 different financial advisors of various types. Despite the many pros and cons, the most important consideration in using a financial advisor, …
Pros and Cons of Using a Financial Advisor (with Cost Charts vs DIY)Read More »
Imagine if you were one of the very first investors in Facebook, Apple or Uber. If this seems crazy, remember that every company needs startup capital, and individual investors can now participate in startup funding easier than ever. Investing in startups for individuals now has many options, including online startup companies that match investors with …
The closer you get to retirement, the more important it becomes to avoid nasty, major stock market moves down, and capture those lucrative stock market moves up. But maybe you’re wondering how to know if the stock market will go up or down over the next few years with a higher degree of likelihood? While it …
How to Know If the Stock Market Will Go Up or DownRead More »
There is wealth building, and there is wealth keeping. Both matter. In this post, you’ll get 33 wealth building steps that are useful if you want to accumulate more wealth from any level, and to feel more in control of your financial destiny. My financial coaching clients often think the answer to building wealth will …
33 Wealth Building Steps That Will Shape Your DestinyRead More »
Investing in the stock market can be unsettling, especially after stock prices have climbed sky high. At any given time, I ask myself “How will a stock market crash affect me?” To get a very reasonable estimate for how much my net worth will decline in the next stock market crash I do this simple …
How Will a Stock Market Crash Affect You? [Infographic + Video]Read More »
Deciding how much of your net worth to keep in cash is a huge part of managing risk while building wealth, as well as contributing to a peaceful existence. The simple formula to figure how much of your net worth should be in cash is the amount you need to cover all your living …
How Much Of My Net Worth Should Be in Cash (Liquid Net Worth, Cash Percentage)Read More »
Do you live with an ongoing but subtle fear that you’ll run out of money? And does that fear get louder with each passing year? In this post, I’ll share how to not outlive your money. Taking action on the right steps for where you are right now will help calm your fears. Don’t Assume …
Updated 5-28-19 Do you worry about losing your money? Here are 10 ways to reduce investment risk so you can sleep better at night while still journeying toward your financial goals. While it may seem like you have to be an advanced investor to lower risk, these practical ways to lower investment risk are simple …
10 Ways to Reduce Investment Risk While Building WealthRead More »
Are you wondering what investment strategies you can use to lower your risk while increasing your returns? In this post, I’ll share five investment strategies that one of the top financial advisors uses to build wealth safely for his clients while also generating income. Many years ago, my dad taught me to investigate where and …
Investment Strategies A High Net Worth Advisor Uses To Lower RiskRead More »
If you’re wondering how to build wealth, you’re not alone! In this article, I’ll share five methods for how to build wealth. Each of these strategies I have personally done. While every attempt hasn’t succeeded, I’ve learned the most from the ventures that didn’t go well. It goes without saying that the more money you …
Article Updated August 7, 2019 Should your investment portfolio have 90% in stock and bonds and 10% in cash? Or should it have 60% in stocks and bonds and 40% in cash? The most common recommendation for the cash allocation in a portfolio is simply to use the percentage from a standard asset allocation model …
What Percentage of Cash Should Be in My Portfolio?Read More »