Debt Free Article

The least you need to know

This debt free article covers the least you need to know about savvy investing, investing rich, investing with Uncle Sam, and money secrets. You will find the quick bullet point references to be very helpful for quick info regarding each of these debt free topics. There are more of the articles on our main page too. You can find the link at the bottom of this page or simply go back to the page where this article was located.

Savvy Investing

• If you want to make money on Wall Street, first you have to have complete understanding of what your investment profile is. Make certain that you take into serious consideration your risk tolerance, your financial goals (and dreams, your tax exposure, and your time horizon – which refers to is when you need the cash.

• The way you make money in investing is to purchase as low as you can and sell as high as you can.

• If you are investing in stock to receive cash dividends, you have to be a shareholder on the record date.

• You can make a good return off growth stocks if you invest fro the long term.

• Interest rates and bond prices move in opposite directions.

• Mutual funds typically involve less risk because your investments are diversified. Make sure you look for a no load fund that does not involve a lot of extra fees.

• Futures and options are not the faint of heart.

Investing Rich

• Pay yourself first. Before any other financial obligation, allocate a small part of each paycheck (or each month) to an investment for yourself and your financial future.

• Investing in many different investments products is a good way to reduce your risk. This is called diversifying your portfolio. Just make sure the investments coincide with your objectives in your financial plan.

• Be sure that you are staying informed about all of your various investments. That means doing homework.

• Investing in retirement accounts will help you plan for tomorrow, as well as reduce your tax exposure. What’s more, it is a very intelligent financial strategy because tomorrow will be here quicker than you honestly think it will be here. Do it.

Investing safely with Uncle Sam

• You could wing up in the poorhouse if your uninsured investments take an extra bad hit and make a turn for the worse.

• The higher the potential reward, the greater the risk. Investing in government products is safe, but the pay off is lower too.

• Treasury only money funds pay double what banks pay you on average Money Market Accounts.

• Interest on savings bonds may be tax exempt if the proceeds are used to finance higher education.

• Your FDIC insured bank deposits are protected up to $100,000 for each person at the same institution, and you can insure more savings at a different bank.

Money Secrets (the things your banker won’t tell you about)

• Banks basically earn their money by renting your money on savings, checking, and CDs at lower rates than they charge to lend it out.

• Banks are also making staggering profits by raising all their old fees and inventing new ones. Those who get hit the hardest are low balance customers who make lots of transactions that involve labor by bank personnel.

• Banks many times make interest rates work in their favor by pushing long term CDs when interest rates are low, and short term CDs when interest rates are high. They wait a while to raise savings rates after they increase their prime rate, as they pay you nothing on interest checking, Money Market Accounts, and passbook savings accounts.

• To get you to take out a loan, banks offer low ball introductory rates that suddenly rise after a few months. Increasingly, banks are lending to higher risk customers, but charging them much higher rates than what good credit risks pay.

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