First thing, is know what "the other side" is REALLY talking about (ie. Banks, loan companies, etc.).

ASSET -Bottom line an asset is anything that PUTS MONEY INTO YOUR HANDS/POCKETS.People tend to think of an asset of something that they have/own (ie. House, Car, clothes). These are'nt assets. Unless you're making money from them. When the bank tells you your home is an asset they are right....it's just thier asset NOT YOURS! They are making money off of your mortgage payments. Now if you rent/lease/sell said home, then it becomes YOUR ASSET.

LIABILITIES - Basically the reverse of what I wrote above. The banks assets are your liabilites and vice versa. Open up a CD, money market, any bank "gimmick" where the bank pays YOU dividends/interest..that is your asset, and their liability. So when speaking with a banker, mind how you interpret their words. They're tricky lil bastards.

I'll try to add more tonight, when I get back. Gotta few high school graduations to attend this evening..........

quote:

ASSET -Bottom line an asset is anything that PUTS MONEY INTO YOUR HANDS/POCKETS.People tend to think of an asset of something that they have/own (ie. House, Car, clothes). These are'nt assets ... LIABILITIES - Basically the reverse of what I wrote above. The banks assets are your liabilites and vice versa.

Preach, bruh.

THE TWO MOST COMMON INVESTING SECURITIES: CORPORATE

EQUITIY: This is stocks. Stocks are measured as SHARES. 2 types of stocks are COMMON and PREFERED. I deal with common stocks because, well, they're common.

When a company CHOOSES to distribute profits to shareholders it's call a DIVIDEND. This is when a stock because becomes an ASSET on a continual basis. The only other time a stock becomes an asset is by CAPITAL GAINS or simply selling the stock at a higher price than when you bought it. Hence that whole buy low/sell high mantra you always hear. Alot of wealthy people have thier wealth tied up in non dividend paying stocks because if the stock is rising in price, they don't pay taxes on it because the stock is not yet an asset, because they hav'ent sold it yet. It's sort of a quasi-tax shelter thing. So thier wealth is not really tangible but "on paper". Most of my portfolio is dividend stocks because I like to see a ROI (return on my investment).

DEBT: The other investing security. This is pretty much BONDS. The company, Government, whoever, is BORROWING MONEY FROM YOU! It is saying not only will it pay you back your money (the PRINCIPAL) but will make interest payments TO YOU in the interim. Basically, you take the place of your bank, and whomever issues the bond is taking the place of YOU. The loan relationship in reverse. I like bonds and t-bills as FIXED INCOME INVESTMENTS. Because they're relativily safe money coming to me on a regular basis, like a second pay check.

REAL ESTATE--THE BUZZWORDS OF THE LAST FIVE YEARS

I don't think I have to explain about buying a house/Land and renting/leasing/selling it. We all have that concept down I think. Here are some alternatives in the real estate investment market for the not so wealthy people (ie. US..LOL)

Want the physical property but you can't afford the God outrageous price tag? Look into "OPT" aka....Other Peoples Taxes. There are basically 2 types: Tax Lien Certificates/Sales and Tax Deed Sales. These are offered varying to each state. I have a list of every state but I don't have access to it at this time. I'll try to post it at a later date.

Tax Liens: This is paying other peoples property tax. The county gets your money and the "right" to the property passes to you. If the owner pays their taxes (late of course), the money comes to YOU, with an interest/penalty payment added on to it. Pretty good deal. Now according to the state, after a pre determined length of time and other judicial hoopla, if the owner DOES NOT pay the property tax, YOU get the property. It's a can't lose deal and it's kept pretty secret.

Tax Deed sale: Also involving property taxes, but this is the outright foreclosure of the property and selling of the actual deed of the property to the investor by the county/city/state. Generally below market value.

There is also another route involving the stock market. REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS aka REITS.Cant afford to actually buy a skyscraper/shopping complex or some other Donald Trump like building? This gets you in. Baically a group of investors own a piece of said property and of course a piece of the profits. Reits tend to have very good dividend payments and you're in the real estate game, WITHOUT all the hassles of dealing with physical real estate. I have about 4 Reits in my own portfolio. Plus I am the landlord of a rental property that I got at a TAX DEED SALE.

COMMODITIES

Physical, tangible items that have value to people, ie. precious metals, land, oil, you get the idea. Right now this market is HOT on a global scale. I have recently started to invest in precious metals. But not in the modern most used way. I believe that the old school is the best school in this case. I'm buying gold and silver coins, but not to "buy low/sell high". I'm buying them as a WEALTH PROTECTION AND STABILIZATION MEANS. Basically as a another means of SAVING. The american money system is what is called "fiat". It's a fancy term for our dollars is Parker Brothers Monopoly game money. We are no longer on the gold standard, meaning our money is backed up "by the full faith in the government". If your screwing your face up at that statement, this means you've seen the stupidity involved in this and you have a chance at success now.

Gold and silver have been the historically means of money thruought history and even today. You can find the most racist, ignoranat asshole on the planet and that person will spit on you, your values and race but they'll still accept your gold/silver! I have no faith in the dollar and rather than stock up on pieces of paper that one day will probably be useful to wipe my ass with, I'd rather have something that will stand the test of time no matter what happens. Do I care about the flucuating prices of gold and silver on the world market? NO. Because, no matter how high or how low the market price is, precious metals will NEVER LOSE THIER VALUE. EVER......

My next few posts will be devoted to creating an investing mind-set. This is where I might get a little rough verbally, because this is one of my major pet peeves with people. So I'll apologize in advance and hope for the best.

You should always be thinking of ways to INCREASE your money/cash flow. I'm sorry, but for all you current "hip hop heads" out there, please explain to me the purpose of spending your rent money on an outfit and looking like something that got tossed out of a Sean "Diddy" Combs video? What is the point of buying up a tricked out Escalade and you know you have to work about 70 hours overtime to pay for it AND it decreases in value every freakin second? To much FLASH and NO CASH = DUMBASS.

quote:

Tax Lien Certificates/Sales and Tax Deed Sales.

I've heard about both of these, but always at about 4:00a.m., in one of those "I-Made-Millions-From-The-Comfort-Of-My-Kitchen-Table-While-wearing-My-Pink-Fuzzy-Slippers" paid advertisment.

I, even, met someone in Hawaii that told me about these strategies [but then again, he was staying in the same hotel as me and was waiting for a cab to take him to the same golf course I was going to, only the club was sending their limo for me. Plus, HE sounded like one of theose commercials]

Do those strategies really work?

quote:

Plus I am the landlord of a rental property that I got at a TAX DEED SALE

I guess so. But How'd you hook into it? Resource material please.

Yeah those late night infomericals are a trip. They give out the broad based idea but they don't tell you that it's not that easy and there are laws pertaining to each state that you have to follow. Most of this type of investment information can be found on the website of the Secertary of State of whatever state you want to invest in. A great book that I used to learn more and research tax liens/deeds is "Profit by Investing in Real Estate Tax Liens" by Larry B. Loftis. He is a Florida lawyer that does this as well. He breaks down the statues of each state and gives phone numbers and websites of contacts in public offices. Its not as easy as walking in and getting a lien/deed. Its a bidding process and it involves LOTS AND LOTS of research. Now some states offer over the counter buying and he lists those as well. The book can be found in Barnes and Nobles and I found it to be very informative and accurate. Espcially when it comes to Ohio.

Be back, Nightly Business Report is on...Gotta go...

*Got some time before the taskmasters return soooo*

Another mentallity lesson. NEVER PANIC. You start letting emotions dictate your investment strategy, you're DONE. TOAST. FINITO. The past two weeks have NOT been kind to the stock market. You're seeing people sell and jump out of stocks as if the Y2K scare was around the corner again. Well, I take that back. You're seeing CERTAIN people hop out. The super rich are actually BUYING stocks. Foreign investors are BUYING stocks. And a few folks who have figured out that this is a good buying opportunity are BUYING stocks. I had a conversation last night with a guy who sold when the market went down after 9/11. 2004 hit, he was regretting it like you would'nt believe. He had calculated that had he stayed in and kept doing what he was doing (he had some pretty damn good investments at the time), he would of made 18% MORE than what he lost during the downturn. Fundamentals always come out on top. Yeah this is a lesson I too, had to learn the hard way. But I learned. Thats why dividends or ASSETS *see above* are the key. Rememember our BRAINS are what we use to THINK with, not our FEELINGS.

I'm going to be busy for the next few days, so any questions/comments anyone has, we can make the next few posts a Q&A session. Ummm..I'm not good at "budgeting" because I believe in the maxim "if I don't need it, I don't buy it".

I should have made a post about interest rates but I've been on a rather hectic schedule here so maybe we can work that in if the Q&A thing gets going. C'mon make me work my "mental muscles".....

Just did a boneheaded mistake. I got back in town last night, went online, got stupid happy and sold a stock. As of right now, it is up another 7 percent. Never drink and invest folks...NEVER DRINK AND INVEST. It's more dangerous than driving while drunk.

@ Kweli4Real (for suggesting) and xxGAMBITxx (for initiating) this thread!! This is a wonderful thing!

I can't really sink my teeth into it right now, but I'm sure I will have a bunch a questions for you soon!

quote:

Originally posted by EbonyRose:
@ Kweli4Real (for suggesting) and xxGAMBITxx (for initiating) this thread!! This is a wonderful thing!

I can't really sink my teeth into it right now, but I'm sure I will have a bunch a questions for you soon!

My pleasure. I've never been comfortable hoarding information that people can use to better thier lives. Don't be afraid to hit me up. *Of course it would be nice if the city would fix the power lines so I can get my home internet back up and running.... *

Big day in the stock market. About 96% of my stock portfolio was in the green. ...and on the day the fed interest rate was raised to 5.25%...wierd but fortunate. Usually if rates go up the market gets a stomach ache..but thats the way the cosmos works sometimes. Because of this I'm not reinvesting my dividend payments but putting them in the cash markets (CD's, money markets, etc.,,) to take advantage of the higher interest rates. Basically taking some risk out of my money (hey, I got bills too y'know.. )....but still sticking with the market long term. Real Estate is about to catch hell, but I'm hedge pretty good against that. It's been a good day....

Interest Rates: You've heard about them, you've been screwed over by them. It's time to make rates work for you. Simply put, interest rates work against borrowers and work for savers!

If you keep lots of debt, especially unsecured debt such as credit/charge cards..rates will treat you like you're a droid fighting a Jedi Knight...you gonna get dismantled; but if you like to save money, rates will help you earn more money without working for it. It all depends on which side of the spectrum you're on. Years ago I shed alot of debt and got rid of all credit cards but one (which I barely use). Now instead of Visa increasing a "balance due" on me, I have statements from money market accounts and CD's telling me how much more money I have due to rising interest rates. Forget all that crap you hear on the t.v. shows " Rates are increasing, it's time to panick America, you're debt will go up and you're stocks will shrink". To a certain extent this true, but I love when stocks lose value for a certain amount of time..means I can buy them cheaper than before. As for debt increasing...I don't play that game. I know the system is out to screw me, so I learned how to play the game. Rates go up, I still smile.

Gambit, your thread has sparked an interest [for me] in investing, I decided to put forth an effort to educate myself in this area while also reading your thread. I've taken to heart your tips & advice.

Here's what I've done [on my own] so far:

1) I'm reading two books, one is called: 'Real Money' sane investing in an insane world -- by James J. Cramer. Love it! great book. I also now listen to his radio show in mornings.

The second book I'm reading is called: 'Girl, Make Your Money Grow! By Glinda Bridgforth & Gail Perry-Mason

I like this book because it's geared toward African American women.

2) I opened an account [$500] with Ameritrade. So far I haven't bought any shares yet, but I'm excited about all this. . .mainly because it really is to my best interest to give it a try.

Thank you for bringing this topic to the table, and for sharing much needed information.

I'll let you know when I actually start buying shares. OMG!!!!!! This is waaaay cool.

You have inspired me.

quote:

Originally posted by Fabulous:
Gambit, your thread has sparked an interest [for me] in investing, I decided to put forth an effort to educate myself in this area while also reading your thread. I've taken to heart your tips & advice.

Here's what I've done [on my own] so far:

1) I'm reading two books, one is called: 'Real Money' sane investing in an insane world -- by James J. Cramer. Love it! great book. I also now listen to his radio show in mornings.

The second book I'm reading is called: 'Girl, Make Your Money Grow! By Glinda Bridgforth & Gail Perry-Mason

I like this book because it's geared toward African American women.

2) I opened an account [$500] with Ameritrade. So far I haven't bought any shares yet, but I'm excited about all this. . .mainly because it really is to my best interest to give it a try.

Thank you for bringing this topic to the table, and for sharing much needed information.

I'll let you know when I actually start buying shares. OMG!!!!!! This is waaaay cool.

You have inspired me.

I am honored.

I like Jim Cramer, but be warned, the man is a financial genius but he tends to be all over the map at times with his advice. LOL He's very high energy!

I've never read the "Girl..." book but I think I'll go by Barnes and Nobles later on and pick it up. It sounds very interesting. Thanks.

Congratulations on opening up your brokerage account. I think you'll be happy you did it in the long run. Good luck and enjoy. The art of money making money is just too fun.

Originally posted by xxGAMBITxx:
Originally posted by Fabulous:

(snip)

I'll let you know when I actually start buying shares. OMG!!!!!! This is waaaay cool.

You have inspired me.

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I am honored.

I like Jim Cramer, but be warned, the man is a financial genius but he tends to be all over the map at times with his advice. LOL He's very high energy!

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The truth is. . .so far, I find his voice VERY IRRITATING. But I'm gonna 'try' to hang in there.

Yeah, I could detect a little of that "high" energy you're talking about. omg!!!!! he is definitely a little "out there," but he seems to be well respected.

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I've never read the "Girl..." book but I think I'll go by Barnes and Nobles later on and pick it up. It sounds very interesting. Thanks.

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I stumbled on this book while browsing the African American section in the book store. I was looking for a book on investments that I could read in my spare time.

Also, I had a few questions for you that I didn't ask because I didn't want to appear a 'total' DUMMY. lol. but I've gotten over that.

The books helped me appreciate that, when it comes to the topic of investments. . .I ain't the only DUMMY in town. lol

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Congratulations on opening up your brokerage account. I think you'll be happy you did it in the long run. Good luck and enjoy. The art of money making money is just too fun.

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Thank you Gambit. I figured $500 was a good place to start for a woman who didn't know what the hell she was doing. LOL.

Btw. . .here's an excerpt from "Girl, make your money grow!

Sisters can't Afford Not to Invest

The Sooner You Start, the Better. . .

We often talk to women who cite their age as a factor for not investing. They think they're too young or too old. Many teens and twenty-somethings enjoy the here and now, and feel that the need to save and invest for the future is still far away and not yet relevant to their remaining years. In contrast, the elderly often feel it is too late--too late to change their habits and too late to save an amount that will make a difference in the quality of their lives.

Even in the middle of our lives, we often hesitate and put off the day when we will begin saving and invest for the future, feeling that we must start with some larger amount of money than we currently have. We're struggling just to make ends meet, we can't imagine that there is any extra to set aside for the future. So we hope for a windfall that will give us instant savings without the need for a change in our spending habits. We tell ourselves that when the lucky break comes, then we will begin investing and building our future. The truth is that we can begin saving and investing at any age with small amounts, set aside consistently over time.(snip)

(snip) So here's to you, sister, as you tend your financial garden and give a whole new meaning to the notion of greens! Ready? Set? You "grow," girl!

*In a hurry, I gotta get to class*

Thanks Fab. I picked up the book this morning after work. My sister actually has it now, but I'm sure I can steal back my property by evening time.