Ladies- Top 7 Things to Consider Before You Start Investing

There is a lot of due diligence and groundwork that goes into understanding the financial markets before you start investing.  There are a few things you as an investor must consider before approaching any "Fiduciary" Asset Management Company or getting started on your own investment journey. 

Here are the top 7 things you should consider before you start investing to make more money: 

1. Pay Off Prior Debts

No investment can start without you actually paying off your debts and clearing your credit. A clean slate for all your debts is very essential to begin investing stress free, with a clear mindset and focusing on returns.

2. Create your Cash Emergency Fund Before you start investing 

It is very important for you to have a separate account prepared just in case of emergencies. There is no questioning the volatility of the market and you can't really depend on exiting from the market in profit when in dire need. Having an emergency fund lets you start your investment journey with a bit more ease. 

3. Create Financial Goals 

One of the most important questions often asked is how to invest money and earn quick profits! However, there is much more to investing than just expecting big returns. It is equally important to have your financial goals set it place and invest accordingly. Be it buying your home, education fund for your children or saving for retirement

4. Understand Financial Tools

There are so many options in the market which offer numerous benefits. The bigger question often is what you as an investor wish to achieve, quick profit, long term stability, lesser risk or just saving for the future? It's not tough to make more money with your investments as long as your priorities are already quite clear. 

5. Due Diligence on Investment Options 

Asset Management Companies have a variety of financial products that an investor can pick from and ensure that they make more money. If you want to know how to invest money wisely on the other hand then it is best if you do your due diligence on all the financial products in the market and then make an informed decision to earn profits. 

6. Research on market trends 

How to invest money wisely is indeed a question every investor should be asking themselves or the investment making company who is helping them build a portfolio. Keeping updated about the market, staying on top of news in the world markets and knowing the current business trends makes it easier for investors to pick their most optimal investment. 

7. Evaluate your risk tolerance

Every woman has their own risk bearing capacities. An investment making company will often ask you the risk level your profile fits in as an investor as it helps them decide where and how to invest money and earn quick profits. How to invest money is often a question answered at the expense of how much risk are you willing to take for the same, 

As simple and lucrative investing and making profit sounds, the truth is that unless you have a foundation in place and thorough research to build up, your investment portfolio won't be solid. Asset Management Companies are there to help investors with their portfolio, right from researching and investing to managing and reinvesting investors' wealth.

If you are new to the world of investing then these pointers will make sure that it doesn't seem intimidating anymore! 

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Linda_Terrill/2561984

Ladies- How to Start Investing Today With the Money You Spend Right Now

Many women enter a job market right after school and jump right into life feet first. Money comes in from a job, then goes right out to liabilities, food, entertainment... all necessities and pleasures in life. This is often called being stuck in a "rat race". Every month is the same thing... money comes in, money goes out. Once you're stuck in it, it's very difficult to get out. But not impossible. 

Now, money you make in your job is dependent on your ability to perform a task or function and amount of time put into that task or function. Essentially, it is trading time for money utilising a learned skill. But this can't possibly go on forever, can it? 

In addition not only are we paid less for the work performed, we generally take time out to raise children and/or look after our parents. And when we don't invest in things that will bring in income whether we work, not work or can't work any more, we don't have anything to help us live as comfortably as we are today.

Until most women get into a career role that offers good benefits (including a work related retirement fund), money is rarely put towards investments. Money is made and spent as fast as it's made, giving a women necessities and comforts of life at the time - and then some, but not allowing much for a prosperous future once our income stops. 

Every women at some point in their life must face the reality that a job or even a partner is not going to give us everything we want or need in life - especially a life after retirement age. Investing is something best figured out early in life. 

To understand how important investing is, you must first understand what investing is. An investment is a method of making money from a one-time effort. Sometimes this effort can be intense and take some time, but it can provide income for many years to come without having to put forth that same effort or time. 

If you research to buy a house to use as an investment, you only have to do that research one time. Once you buy an investment, it will make money for you with very little effort. If you write a book and sell it online, you only had to write a book one time-it will make money for as long as it is active on a website or in a bricks and mortar book store. If you research a company stock and find the right one, you invest some money in it, money then starts doing work and then making money without you having to do anything. 

These are just simple investment examples that do take some effort. The point is that making money from investments is a lot easier than making money at a job if you know what you're doing. A huge difference between an investment and a job is how much time and effort someone has to put into making money. The cool thing about investing in the stock market (whether it be traditional buy/hold/sell trading, retirement fund investing such as ISA's or 401K, or options trading) is that you only have to learn how to do it once, keep repeating what you learned, and let each dollar you invest do all of the rest of the work for you so you can enjoy life as it was intended.

Of course there is one HUGE problem that every women faces before she can invest. Where do you get money to use to make money? When living life in a "rat race", you eventually get caught up in an impossible circle that is very hard to get out of.

Don't worry! 

You have money... you just don't know it yet! 

There are ways to make a few changes in your life to start building up "capital" for investing - no matter what type of investing you are looking to start. It will be slow at first, but it will definitely morph into something you won't believe possible.

One way to build up investment capital fairly quickly is opening a "Round Up" Savings Account. This type of capital growing account actually helps you save and build money based on your every day purchases. You attach your bank accounts or credit cards that you spend money on to your Round Up account and for each purchase you make, this account rounds up to the nearest dollar and deposits that rounded up cash into an investment platform that helps your savings grow faster. Not much work, is it? This special investment account does the rest. 

For example, if you spent $20.57 on something, it rounds that up to $21.00. The round up, or $0.43, is placed in your account which is divided among several stocks based on account settings. 

If you make 50 purchases from your checking account in a month averaging $0.35 a round up, you will save $17.50 in that month. That's $210.00 in a year saved just by rounding up these purchases. 

Money invested in this round up account goes up and down with stock market movement. At 5% gain in a year, it will go up by $10.50 more. And some stocks that your money is invested in earn dividends that are automatically reinvested into your account. 

This doesn't sound like much, but over time, it will continue to grow. This is an investment in itself and can grow pretty fast if you are consistently adding to it. If you have extra money you'd like to save during a month, you can also make deposits to apply them to your account to grow your account even faster. 

A Round Up Savings Account is simply a stepping stone to get you to a higher level of investing, which can be a stock trading, option trading, a retirement investment account, real estate, or anything else you can invest that money in to make more money. 

Once you build up some good investment capital in your Round Up account, you can withdraw it whenever you want and use it to purchase assets (things that earn you money - unlike liabilities where you lose money) or to invest in stocks to make even more money over time.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Jason_Moser/18449

Ladies - Are You in Debt and Don't Even Know It?

Many women think that because they are managing to pay their bills and nobody is knocking on the door to take their stuff away that they are not in debt. Think again! 

To find out if you are in debt, you must calculate your net worth. Simply subtract the total liabilities from the total assets. For this exercise, it doesn't matter how big or how small the number. It doesn't necessarily matter if the number is negative. Your net worth is just a starting point to have something to compare against in the future. Repeat this process at least once a year and compare it with the previous year's number. By comparing the two, you can then determine if you are making progress

To Calculate Your Assets

• Start by listing your largest assets. For most people, they could include the value of their home, any real estate properties, or vehicles like personal cars or boats. In the case of a business owner, this list would also include the value of their business, which has its own more complicated calculation. Make sure you use accurate estimates of market values in current dollars.
• Next, you'll want to gather your latest statements for your more liquid assets. These assets include savings accounts, cash, CDs, or other investments such as brokerage accounts or retirement accounts
• Finally, consider listing other personal items that may be of value. These could include valuable jewellery, coin collections, musical instruments, heirlooms, or a rare wine collection. You don't need to itemise everything, but you can try to list items that are worth $500 or more
• Now, take all of the assets you have listed in the first three steps and add them together. This number represents your total assets

To Calculate Your Liabilities

• Again, start with the major outstanding liabilities such as the balance on your mortgage or car loans. List these loans and their most current balances.
• Next, list all of your personal liabilities such as any balance on your credit cards, student loans, or any other debt you may owe.
• Now, add up the balances on all of the liabilities you listed above. This number represents your total liabilities.

So What is Debt? 

As per Merriam-Webster, debt is an amount of money that you owe to a person, bank company etc. It can include the amount borrowed and interest accumulated. Debt can include credit card debt, mortgage debt, car debt, student loans etc. 

You can get out of debt if you are committed and diligent. It may take a while and if you stay focused on your goals, the rewards will be worth it. 

Here are a few tips that can help. Pick one, two, three or all four. The faster you work at this, the faster you will succeed. 

1. Control your expenses 

Since you have little control over the amount of money that comes in, you have to control the money that goes out. 

• List all your current income streams
• Make a list of all of your monthly expenses 
• Compare your income to your expenses 
• Stay on track and avoid any new debt 

2. Reduce spending on Credit Cards 

One way to get out of debt is to stop using your credit cards. The easiest way to do this is to keep them in the freezer and only defrost them for emergency situations

3. Lower Your Interest Rates

Credit cards have unbelievably high interest rates and you end up paying more in interest than the original amount you borrowed. You can get credit card companies to lower their interest rate. You just have to call and ask. 

For example: 

• On a $5,000 balance and you paid $150.00 per month at 20% interest, it will take you 50 months to get rid of your debt · You will pay $2,359.09 in interest. 
• On a $5,000 balance, if you paid $150.00 per month · 16% interest, it will take you 45 months to get rid of your debt · You will pay $1,656.82 in interest. That's $702.27 less! 
• And talk to your bank manager about the interest rate on loans and mortgages. If you don't ask, you will never get, as they will surely not offer. 
• Check out the different kinds of mortgages to see which one is better suited to your current situation. Ask about Variable Rate vs Fixed Rate Mortgages. 

4. Double Up On The Minimum Payments

It is amazing how much you can save by this one tip alone. For example: 

• If you pay the minimum on a $5,000 debt, it will take you over 300 months to get rid of your debt. You will pay over $9,194.47 interest
• If you pay double the minimum on a $5,000 debt. It will take you 120 months to get rid of your debt and you will pay $2,445.32in interest. 
• That's 180 months (15 YEARS) and $6749.15 less! 

I know you will tell me that you continue to have balances on your credit card because you usually don't have any free cash left after you pay all your bills and the minimum credit card payments. You must review your income and expenditure every month and find expenses that you can cut out. 

Every time you can do this, use the extra money to double up the minimum payment of the credit card with the most debt. Once that card is done, then do the same for the next card etc. 

For mortgages, consider making bi-weekly payments instead of monthly payments. Take a look at this example: 

•  You have a $200,000 mortgage with a Fixed rate at 7% on a 30 year term
•  If you have a bi-weekly mortgage payment, you will save a total of $68,925 in interest as opposed to making one payment a month.

 5. Debt Counseling 

If you are really overwhelmed with the very idea of getting out of debt, there are many government agencies and organisations that offer debt consolidation, debt relief plans and counseling to help you. They can help you avert bankruptcy and be free of collection agencies. They can get you down to one monthly payment for all your debts (make sure they are legitimate and operating in your best interests)

Because we all deserve to be financially free

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Carol_Ferguson/323793  

Women and Money - The Girls Want to Get a Grip While Men Want to Get Ahead

There's nothing like a pandemic for highlighting where we've been going wrong with our money management. But do recent events mean that both men and women will become more financially prudent? 

I am fascinated by the subtle, yet important, differences in men's and women's financial views. Women are very keen to get a better a grip on their finances, while men are set on making as much money as they can, focusing on maximising income.

Here are the top financial views: Women's top 5 money outcomes: 

1. Take charge of my finances more (66%) 

2. Get better value for money (63%) 

3. Plan my financial future (62%) 

4. Be more responsible with money (59%) 

5. Plan how to make more money (56%) 

Men's top 5 money outcomes:

1. Plan how to make more money (73%) 

2. Plan my financial future (70%)

 3. Get better value for money (70%) 

4. Take charge of my finances more (56%) 

5. Cut back on my personal spending (52%) 

When we think about how good we are with money, it's often our past money blunders that spring to mind. The time we blew a windfall on a fancy car, instead of paying off some debt. The money we left for too long in a poor investment fund. The years we delayed starting a retirement fund. 

When the economic climate is reasonably healthy, our finances can withstand those kinds of knocks a little better. It's when times gets tough that we are hit with the folly of our past behaviour. And of course, money we waste without thinking during prosperous times becomes a drain during leaner periods. 

Not switching a mortgage to a lower interest rate, for example, could cost thousands of $$$$ over the mortgage term. Even that daily cappuccino and magazine adds up to hundreds a year. I have also found many people will have a direct debit going out of their bank account that they should cancel, an online subscription they'd forgotten about or a charity donation they thought was a one-off that's been taken every year.

When discussing past money mistakes, its clear that a women's big mistake was not being as upfront as men about asking for money. Whether it was pushing the boss for a pay rise or negotiating better self-employed rates, many women had less because of a fear of asking for money or undervaluing what they had to offer. 

In looking at the differences between men and women's spending behaviour, Women tend to engage in more emotional spending. For many women that usually means they hit the shops/spend online when feeling depressed, unhappy or stressed. Women are also more likely to name kids' treats as one of their money weaknesses. This is another example of how, when it comes to money, women aren't so good at putting themselves first. After all, women are socialised to take care of others and pushiness is not a quality that's encouraged in girls, but it's clear that later on in life this can leave us poorer. 

Women (and men's) most common past money mistakes: 

1. Emotional spending 70% (men 61%) 

2. Reckless spending 64% (men 39%) 

3. Reluctance to ask for money 62% (men 47%) 

4. Spending on kids/dependents 46% (men 30%)

 5. Fear of money 44% (men 48%) 

 Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Karen_Pine/520953