Investment and its Importance

Investment is important from many points of view. Before doing investment, it is essential to understand what is investment and its importance? 

"Investment is an act of investing money to earn the profit. It is the first step towards the future security of your money."

Need of Investment

The investment can help you in the future if invested wisely and properly. As per human nature, we plan for a few days or think to plan for investment, but do not put the plan into action. Every individual must plan for investment and keep aside some amount of money for the future. No doubt, the future is uncertain and it is required to invest smartly with some certain plan of actions that can avoid financial crisis at point of time. It can help you to bring a bright and secure future. It not only gives you secure future, but also controls your spending pattern. 

Important Factors of Investments 

Planning for Financial investment - Planning plays a pivotal role in all fields. For the financial investment, one must have a pertinent plan by taking all rise and fall situations of the market. You should have a good knowledge of investment before planning for financial investment. Keen observation and focused approach are the basic needs for successful financial investment. 

Invest according to your Needs and Capability- The purpose behind the investment should be clear by which you can fulfill your needs from the investment. In investment, financial ability is also a component that can bring you satisfaction and whatever results you want. You can start investment from a small amount as per your capability. You should care about your income and stability to choose the best plan for you. 

Explore the market for available investment options - The investment market is full of opportunities, you can explore the market by applying proper approach. You can take help from financial planners, managers who have thorough knowledge about investment in the market. Explore the possibility of investment markets and touch the sublime height of success by the sensible investment decisions. 

By taking help from an experienced, proficient financial planner and traders can also give you confidence to do well in the field of investment. Now the question strikes the mind that what are the types of investments?

Types of Investments 

Mutual Funds- Basically the mutual fund is a managed investment fund in which money is pulled from the investors to buy the securities. Commodity Market is a popular place of traders to invest their money. In Multi Commodity Exchange market, you can invest in crude oil, precious metals as gold, silver and base metals as copper, aluminium, nickel, zinc and many more. While in National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange market, you can invest in all agricultural commodities as soya bean, cotton, sugar cane and many more. 

Stock Market- It is the place where various people trade globally and earn the maximum return on investment. However, it is essential to know the bull and bear of the stock market for investing in it. The Stock market for investment also includes the equity market and nifty market. You can invest in equities and nifty market and get good amount profit by focused approach and keen analysis of market trend. 

Bonds - It is the best ways to gain interest on your principal amount. The interest and period of time depends on the agreement. In this, a holder lends a particular amount to the issuer (borrower) for a fixed period of time. At this time, you will get the interest from the borrower and after completing that fixed period of time borrower will return back your money. A long term tool for financial investment. 

Fixed Deposits - The Fixed Deposit (FD) service is provided by various banks that offers investors a higher rate of interest on their deposits as compared to a regular savings account. Fixed deposits have the maturity date to gain the return on investment. 

Real Estate- One can also invest in the real estate and deal with the residential and commercial property. This is also a trending way to earn a good return on investment. 

There are various financial planners, financial managers, trading tips provider who can give you numerous options for investment in the market. But it is essential to choose the options wisely. 

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Eugene_C._/1291199

Protect Yourself and Your Loved Ones From Financial Predators

Do you have an income, a home or have a financial nest egg? Are you divorced or widowed and have received any kind of financial settlement or insurance payout? Are you looking for a new start in life or a financial investment opportunity? Are you a caring, conscientious, moral, or spiritual person or have an emotional void? If you answer yes to most of these questions, you meet the criteria to be a target for a predator or con artist. Especially in these times, financial predators are sharpening their tools to get at your funds. 

What they are looking for: 

The main thing that attracts a recession predator is your money and whatever you have that can translate into money. Even the stolen hoards of these predators have taken a hit in the markets, so they too will be looking to replenish what they have lost. Make no mistake, these people check you out well before they meet you. This is an actual, well established and corrupt business model with a beginning a middle and an end that can span anywhere from a few months to several years. These people know how much to take from you without triggering the judicial and tax system resources toward investigation and prosecution and you will never get your money back because these predators will make sure you will never have the resources to go after them. 

How they target you: 

If you are between the ages of 40 and 70 you could have the most to lose. If divorced, you may have received substantial assets, have felt wounded and unappreciated by your ex and are open to the sweet talk and affections generated by the predator. If widowed, you may be facing loneliness and the void of not having your partner around in your day to day routine. Because of the times during which you grew up, especially if you are a woman, you may have the self-image that you may be inexperienced or incapable of handling significant amounts of money. This is the perfect setting for the con and his cronies to arrive. A simple search of death notices, wills, divorce court records, land titles and church events is how the predator trolls for the next victim. 

How they meet you: 

Once they know your inheritance or divorce settlement, your address and other basic information, they can position themselves to accidentally meet you. The coincidental meeting can be at the home you are building or a renovation, a volunteer event, the supermarket, the hospital, a funeral, dance clubs or at a singles event at church. Predators are poised to be that most kind and helping hand of your dreams just happening to have all the time to dedicate to you. 

How they take advantage of your good nature: 

The predator presents him/herself as always being helpful, going beyond the call of duty to be that amazing caring and supportive knowledgeable person. They are determined to be your best friend, soul mate and are always reminding you that destiny brought you two together. They tell their sad tale, how things didn't work out for them and how they have been in the same boat. You build quality time together. The predator then starts to monopolize your relationships, slowly dividing you from your trusted friends and family, doing it so gradually and subtly that you never see it happening. 

How they drag you into their net: 

Suddenly the predator has an emergency. Whether it is automotive, a job loss, business difficulties, encumbered assets, apartment eviction, flood or fire, these are all things that they supposedly had no control of. They need help now and you are their best and only friend. They then use your moral conscience against you. Since they have helped you during your times of need, it is your turn to help them. The situation is crafted to make it look like it was all your idea to help. Paperwork, small IOU's are drafted and the first debts or loans are paid back. Then the loans get bigger and the trust and relationship card gets thrown in. You and the predator are now a couple deep in a romance. They convince you that paper is just meaningless and that you have a sacred bond of love and trust. You are now building a life together. The predator's friends and so-called business partners (who are all part of the game) can consist of a team of a lawyer an accountant and often some sort of psychological advisor, who the predator says they have known for many years. They include you in everything at first and all claiming to be looking out for your best interest, except that they just can't seem to get the contracts written up that show your ever growing investment. You now have no escape and they know it. 

How they control the relationship: 

You start to press for some written contracts just so that even you know where you stand. Suddenly the money becomes an issue and the predator team now creates staged events that show that the relationship just "isn't working". They are knowingly dividing your soul. You don't know which direction to go. You are trying to save your relationship as well as your finances. You still don't have your money back and they are continuing to use all your resources for their deals. It seems harder to get a rational conversation with the business partners who start to treat you like a mental patient, while they pretend to also have problems in dealing with the predator because of problems in your relationship. They continue play the good guy routine of "don't worry you will get your money back" while you still have nothing on paper. Then the predator tells you it's over, that they can't stand your bad attitude and that you don't have the same religious or spiritual connection. The predator complains about your constant harassment about money, that the "love" is gone and they are leaving and that it is your fault. Meanwhile the accountant and the lawyer have squirreled the money away. They give their predator/partner a well loaded credit and debit cards with instructions to withdraw only small amounts of cash so as not to attract attention (anywhere in the world) all of which, of course, you will never see. 

How they defend themselves: 

The predator claims everything you handed to them was a gift, not a loan. They claim to the authorities that your issue is merely a lovers' quarrel and anything you do is out of spite, jealousy and/or mental instability. Depending on their greed factor, their risks and how much they intend to cover their tracks, these people may actually decide to sue you on bogus grounds, possibly claiming that they own your house due to having lived together for over the local time limits for common law relationships. This means you will have to come up with even more time and money (and stress) to defend yourself. It's the finger pointing routine, a tactic to distract the spotlight from them and to further demoralize you. They don't ever really want to take the chance of losing in court or settle anything. Even if there is a court settlement, there is a very good chance that the monies have already been forwarded to other jurisdictions which in turn requires more litigation to recoup those funds. Usually the predator team will delay repeatedly until receivership kicks in rather than apply for bankruptcy so the accountant in the team can maintain the "cleanliness" of his professional standing. As part of the stalling tactic, they will delay discovery for examinations repeatedly and alternatively use a lawyer or self-represent themselves in court thereby using the judicial system to drain you from anything else you have. 

Keep your finances private and locked up: 

Although many times it isn't always easy to keep things private, it isn't necessary or prudent to broadcast your entire life on the web, or blogs or other social circles. These predators make it their career to look to getting your money. Having your assets placed in long term investments or insurance products that remove them from easy access is one way of protecting your funds. Having monies paid out as annuities is another method. Find a licensed financial and/or insurance consultant who will really take the time to understand you and your situation and who has the intestinal fortitude and knowledge to help you protect yourself from getting drawn into anyone or anything that is ultimately not in your best interest. 

Get a background check done: 

You don't have to spend a fortune on this. You can hire someone or start to do some basic checking on your own. Running a basic check at the court house to see if this person and/or their associates have their names come up can be very enlightening. You can learn a lot about a person from how many times they are in court, who they took to court and who took them to court. Look for things like bankruptcies, receiverships, loan defaults, divorces, child support non-payments, restraining orders, assault, arson, stalking, fraud and other charges. It may reveal more about their stories to you than you wanted but it gives you valuable insight into their tales and what they are capable of. If this individual and their associates keep asking you for "business development", "marketing development" or "legal funds" and there is a pending or unresolved court case on the books, this is a definite red flag. Be sure to look into the business or corporate registration. If these folks have changed their corporation status and names coincidentally at the same times as the legal actions, you have another cross hair for the investigative scope. People like this cannot get "normal" financing for a reason so they prey on your emotion and good nature. 

Understanding the "ponzi scheme": 

The ponzi scheme or principle is the means by which these predators operate and facilitate the growth of their business. The predator and his team take the money from the first victim or victims and go through the scenarios discussed earlier. As monies are taken they are put into the multiple streams of outlays of cash which then circle around back to the predator's financial home tributary. As part of the planned demise of their company, corporate shares and assets are quickly dispersed and reassigned using the lawyer and the accountant. Among other things, this is known as receivership fraud. Once the predatory team feels that the dust has settled, the cycle begins all over again. The monies that are drawn out of this next victim are trickled back to the previous victim who is so demoralized that they are grateful to get anything they can. This then adds perceived legitimacy to the new victim of the scheme because the previous victim is then produced to proclaim that they did indeed get their money back. This further enables and supports (knowingly or unknowingly) the perpetrators of this scam. 

Final thoughts: 

The things a predator hates most are scrutiny, the truth and your friends and family. Predators usually have a track record of some kind. Do those background checks. Use the same things to evaluate them that they used to find you. Seek out and talk to the people the predator keeps ranting about. Predators usually say the same things about you once they find the next victim and will run a very aggressive and ugly smear campaign against you. To counter this onslaught you need the support of your friends and family more than ever. Together you can face down the predator and warn others of these individuals. Vera Saar is a strategist, career and asset management coach, education facilitator, project manager, engineer, visual artist and animator. Her interests extend to gardening, water ponds, martial arts, motorcycling, general well-being and ways to make our personal and world environment better. 

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Vera_Saar/137092

Importance of Investing In Yourself and Financially

I feel it is time to expand and talk about the subjects real dear to my heart. I am an investing enthusiast, I strongly believe in investing in your knowledge and then investing with your finances to enable a more prosperous future. 

Robert Kiyosaki, the man behind the Rich Dad series, has been a huge inspiration and he pointed out, in Rich Dad's guide to investing, that the three Es are critical when it comes to investing.

 1) Education

 2) Experience 

3) Excess cash 

That is the running order, notice that he didn't say excess cash, education then experience or experience, excess cash and then education. It is in that order for a reason, to highlight that education is of utmost importance when learning to invest for profit.

 Everyone wants to be rich, but wanting to be rich and working to become rich are two totally different things. Most people love the idea around being rich and being able to afford more than just to pay their bills. But most are unwilling to invest the most important asset when it comes to the subject of investing. As Rich Dad pointed out it's not the excess cash that makes you money, it is the education. So the most important asset a person can invest is their time. Their time to learn how to invest. 

To invest is to commit, to spend or devote for future advantage or benefit. So for people that want more than a life of living from pay-check to pay-check investing is the way to go. But be sure to follow the order Education, Experience and Excess cash.

 This formula of the three Es should eradicate the beliefs like "you need money to make money", "investing is risky" and "the best way to invest is by putting money in the bank". The last comment is the funniest of them all, some people consider themselves master investors because they save. They save a sufficient amount of money each month and have a low amount of debts so they consider themselves financially literate and money-savvy. Well that doesn't create wealth, that just means this person is cheap. When it comes to saving, we all need to do it, but if that is your only investing activity then tax and inflation will mess you up if human emotion doesn't. 

The government go through periods when they print more money and pump it into the economy, a process known as 'quantitative easing', so you saving money while they print out more means that the value of your money decreases. This is the number one reason why investing in income-producing vehicles is key, because with the economic mess resulting with the decline in state and private pension schemes people are going to be left to fend for themselves when they retire. So start investing, first in yourself and your knowledge, so you can have a more prosperous future. 

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Christopher_JL_White/93641

What is an Investment?

One of the reasons many people fail, even very woefully, in the game of investing is that they play it without understanding the rules that regulate it. It is an obvious truth that you cannot win a game if you violate its rules. However, you must know the rules before you will be able to avoid violating them. Another reason people fail in investing is that they play the game without understanding what it is all about. This is why it is important to unmask the meaning of the term, 'investment'. 

What is an investment? An investment is an income-generating valuable. It is very important that you take note of every word in the definition because they are important in understanding the real meaning of investment. 

From the definition above, there are two key features of an investment. Every possession, belonging or property (of yours) must satisfy both conditions before it can qualify to become (or be called) an investment. Otherwise, it will be something other than an investment. 

The first feature of an investment is that it is a valuable - something that is very useful or important. Hence, any possession, belonging or property (of yours) that has no value is not, and cannot be, an investment. By the standard of this definition, a worthless, useless or insignificant possession, belonging or property is not an investment. Every investment has value that can be quantified monetarily. In other words, every investment has a monetary worth. 

The second feature of an investment is that, in addition to being a valuable, it must be income-generating. This means that it must be able to make money for the owner, or at least, help the owner in the money-making process. Every investment has wealth-creating capacity, obligation, responsibility and function. This is an inalienable feature of an investment. Any possession, belonging or property that cannot generate income for the owner, or at least help the owner in generating income, is not, and cannot be, an investment, irrespective of how valuable or precious it may be. In addition, any belonging that cannot play any of these financial roles is not an investment, irrespective of how expensive or costly it may be. 

There is another feature of an investment that is very closely related to the second feature described above which you should be very mindful of. This will also help you realise if a valuable is an investment or not. An investment that does not generate money in the strict sense, or help in generating income, saves money. Such an investment saves the owner from some expenses he would have been making in its absence, though it may lack the capacity to attract some money to the pocket of the investor. By so doing, the investment generates money for the owner, though not in the strict sense. In other words, the investment still performs a wealth-creating function for the owner/investor. 

As a rule, every valuable, in addition to being something that is very useful and important, must have the capacity to generate income for the owner, or save money for him, before it can qualify to be called an investment. 

It is very important to emphasize the second feature of an investment (i.e. an investment as being income-generating). The reason for this claim is that most people consider only the first feature in their judgments on what constitutes an investment. They understand an investment simply as a valuable, even if the valuable is income-devouring. Such a misconception usually has serious long-term financial consequences. Such people often make costly financial mistakes that cost them fortunes in life. Perhaps, one of the causes of this misconception is that it is acceptable in the academic world. 

In financial studies in conventional educational institutions and academic publications, investments - otherwise called assets - refer to valuables or properties. This is why business organisations regard all their valuables and properties as their assets, even if they do not generate any income for them. This notion of investment is unacceptable among financially literate people because it is not only incorrect, but also misleading and deceptive. This is why some organisations ignorantly consider their liabilities as their assets. This is also why some people also consider their liabilities as their assets/investments. It is a pity that many people, especially financially ignorant people, consider valuables that consume their incomes, but do not generate any income for them, as investments. Such people record their income-consuming valuables on the list of their investments. People who do so are financial illiterates. This is why they have no future in their finances. What financially literate people describe as income-consuming valuables are considered as investments by financial illiterates. This shows a difference in perception, reasoning and mindset between financially literate people and financially illiterate and ignorant people. This is why financially literate people have future in their finances while financial illiterates do not.

 From the definition above, the first thing you should consider in investing is, 

"How valuable is what you want to acquire with your money as an investment?" The higher the value, all things being equal, the better the investment (though the higher the cost of the acquisition will likely be). 

The second factor is, "How much can it generate for you?" If it is a valuable but non income -generating, then it is not (and cannot be) an investment, needless to say that it cannot be income-generating if it is not a valuable. Hence, if you cannot answer both questions in the affirmative, then what you are doing cannot be investing and what you are acquiring cannot be an investment. At best, you may be acquiring a liability. 

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Eugene_C._Onyibo/1291199