Investment Strategies

Most people think it is rather obvious that we need to invest to make money. Many people look at real estate for investment properties or dabble in the stock market, but do we really know what we are doing? There has to be a good strategy to maximise our efforts. How does the "everyday man" find this strategy and who would be willing to help? This is a question I've asked for some time and been investigating.

You may think to find a financial planner or financial advisor. This is a good idea as these people will give you good advice, but it is important to realise that they will most likely have some sort of bias. For instance, superannuation companies, banks and real estate agents all have financial advisers that you can use. If your financial adviser works for a superannuation company, where do you think he is most likely to tell you to put your money? His advise is not bad, but it has a bias. So... where can we find unbiased advise?

There is one company that I have found that is able to give unbiased advise. This is JDL Strategies. You can have a look at their website here. This is an Australian based company, but I'm sure for my international readers, a bit of investigation should find something similar in your country.

The website has a lot of information about the company and even has free downloads in the "Cool Stuff" tab that will give you a lot of free information. The big question is, how does this company differ from the rest?

JDL Strategies have fingers in all the pies so to speak. This means that they don't have a bias, or preference as to where you put your money. They work out a strategy that best suits your financial situation. This is something I have just started with them, so I can not say that it will be a success, but while talking to the people there, you feel comfortable that you are investing your money the right way. I will keep you up to date in future blogs how successful this is.

So how does JDL strategies invest your money? They have three main focuses.

1. Aggressive Debt Minimisation
2. Pro Active Tax Planning
3. Intelligent Investment Strategy

When you are in debt, you are constantly paying interest which can be very frustrating to say the least. When buying a house, it is near impossible for most people to stay out of debt, so you need a strategy to pay off it off fast! You will save yourself thousands of dollars just by paying extra off your home loan than what your minimum requires. Even if it's only a couple hundred that you can spare each month, it will make a world of difference to the interest you pay over the term of the loan. This is an approach I have committed to that is an excellent debt minimising strategy. 

I am paying $600 more than my minimum repayments require per month and have been doing so for almost two years. By doing this I am more than $25,000 ahead of where I should be and will pay off my house in 13 years rather than 30 years. Paying off the house in 13 years is one thing, but the saving on interest is even more impressive. By paying $600 more than the minimum, I will be saving close to $300,000 in interest. That is an extra $300,000 in my pocket rather than in the pocket of the bank. Take that $300,000 and put it into an investment and you are on your way to making some decent money!

Tax planning is also a very important part of investing and is something you should look into quite thoroughly. If you plan your investments correctly, you can get a lot of tax benefits. The most talked about tax benefit when buying investment properties is negative gearing. This is where the interest you are paying on the loan per month is greater than income on that property from rent.  The difference between these two amounts is taken off your salary income resulting in a lower tax requirement.

After taking care of points one and two, point three can be developed. An intelligent investment strategy is key to success. This should be discussed with your financial advisor to get the best out of your situation. I will be discussing these property investment strategies including the various tax benefits in more specific detail in future blog posts so stay tuned for more!

Network Marketing

Network marketing is the first method for creating a pipeline that I would like to talk about. I have tried this method over a period of three years and found it didn't work for me. This is not to say that it does not work. That is not the case at all! It just didn't suit me. Let me explain.

The most famous network marketing system is Amway which many will recognise the name of as it has been around for more than fifty years. There are many other similar systems out there and they can generally all be found on Google. For those that think it's a scam (or that it doesn't work) I have to tell you that it does work and it is not a scam. If you look into it, you will see that the tax office even has a separate tax system for network marketing income. I am no longer affiliated with this system even though I did make some money. One of the biggest misconceptions with network marketing is that you have to sell the products to make money. This is also not the case.

How does it work?

A network marketing system has a range of products. These will most likely be household consumables that you would normally buy for the supermarket. Instead of buying the groceries from the supermarket, you buy it through the marketing system. By doing this you earn points and you get a small rebate. This is where most people stop and then say that network marketing is a scam and does not work. You need to go beyond this step.

Network marketing is all about creating a network, as the name suggests. You introduce people to this system and they also shop and earn points in the same way you do. All the people down the line from you also earn points. These peoples points are added to yours, earning you a bigger rebate. Once you have progresses further, you can start multiple lines which will then earn you a differential income which is where the big money comes in. I know this is a very fast explanation that won't make sense to a lot of people, but if it is a method that suits you, it is worth investigating further.

Why doesn't it work for everyone?

In my experience it takes the right personality to make this system work. You need to be willing to work at it no matter what. You need to constantly be introducing the system to new people as most people don't really take on the new method of shopping. This can be quite disheartening and the reason why most people, like myself, stop trying. While I was working the system, I did start to make money, but my network wasn't big enough yet to make the income consistent. If you feel that you are the sort of person that won't get put off by people telling you that you are in a scam, or people not really making an effort with you, you will eventually succeed in this business. I have seen people earn pretty decent income in less that a year of building a network and people that have been trying for many years only to be earning a small amount. This type of business is all about motivation and being thick skinned. Aiming for you goal and not giving up.

Why didn't it work for me?

I found that I was not passionate about the system. I believed in the system and understood how it worked, but didn't go out looking for people to join the network. In short, I wasn't being consistent. If you consistently build this network, it will have no choice but to grow and succeed. I went through phases of motivation where things would go well, so I'd work at it. When things didn't go my way, I would avoid it. This is a recipe for failure.

Is this the pipeline for you?

Do your homework and understand the system. They all normally have free seminars to explain Network Marketing. Ask lots of questions until you being to understand it. If you feel that you are motivated and willing to go for it, then this pipeline will work for you. Just remember that the system will only work if you commit to it 100%. This means that if you are introducing people to your network and telling them to buy groceries from the network marketing system, then you need to be doing the same thing. They will tell you to "sell yourself to the system". I know, it makes it sound like a cult, but its true. If you don't work the system, it won't work for you.

If you have had success with a network marketing system, please comment below and let us know of your success. Or on the other hand if you have tried and failed like me, I would love to hear from you as well. Please refrain from commenting if you think this method of extra income is a scam. As I have stated previously, there has been plenty of proof to show that this is a legitimate business opportunity.

Types of Income

I have read quite a few books and spoken to many people about this but no one summarises it better than Robert Kiyosaki.  His most famous book is "Rich Dad Poor Dad" and is definitely worth a read, but his book "Cash Flow Quadrant" is the one that really makes you realise what 90% of us are doing wrong if we want to get ahead in life.  I will summarise what his book reveals.

Above you will see the cash flow quadrant.  These letters represent a different method of income.
E - Employee
S - Self Employed or Small Business
B - Big Business
I - Investment
Most of us are caught on the left hand side of this quadrant.  On this side, we work for money.  More hours equal more dollars.  Most people start out as an employee working for someone or some of us get the great idea to start a business, thinking, "I want to be my own boss!". But at the end of the day, if you don't turn up to work, you don't get paid whether you're self employed or an employee. Robert Kiyosaki's book says that 90% of us are on this side, and we are all fighting for only 10% of the available income.  Doesn't seem fair, does it!!  I, just like most of you reading this, are also caught here.
The right hand side of the quadrant is where we want to be.  On that side is only 10% of the population, but 90% of the available wealth.  The owners of big business or big investors.  Whether they go to work, or go on holiday for a year... they will still be making money.  In fact, in many cases, these people could be earning more by the time the come back from holiday.  This is because their money is working for them.  They have the time to have a lifestyle rather than working every day just to pay the bills.
Somehow, we need to find a way for the everyday man to get from the left hand side to the right hand side.  Now... I don't know about all you people out there, but I don't have millions of dollars hidden under my mattress to buy a big business or invest in a way that I could stop going to my everyday job, so how do I get there?  You need a vehicle!!  The good news is, there are many vehicles out there.  The trick is to find the one that best suits you and one that you can commit to keeping up with.  This vehicle is what you can use to create that pipeline of income and what I am investigating and sharing in this blog.
In simple terms, a vehicle is a way to make extra income that you can ultimately use to invest.  It needs to be something that takes very little time, but still earns enough money to be worth while.  Let's face it, it's hard enough to fit in work, family time, seeing friends and still getting some sleep these days.  Everyone is so busy that fitting in much extra is hard.  This income will allow you to invest by buying investment properties, or playing with the stock market.  There are many ways to invest, but you need the extra income to do it.  I myself have tried a couple of vehicles, but they have not matched my personality and I didn't feel committed to them.  I am not saying that these methods don't work, because I believe they do, but in my opinion, they suit certain people.  Next week I will explain the first of these strategies, how it works and why it didn't work for me, but how it may work for you.

The Everyday Man Trying To Make It

Is it possible for the everyday man to get rich?  Can the everyday man retire early?  This is exactly what I would like to find out.  I am just like 95% of the population.  I go to work nine to five, have a mortgage and want to find a way to get ahead.  I am going to update this blog every Tuesday night.  I will start by talking through the ways I have tried to make extra income and then continue with what I am working on.  I will keep all my followers up to date on the success or failure of every venture.  Hopefully this blog will make life easier for my followers to make money as well.

First of all... just so you can see that I am a regular Joe, I will introduce myself and share a bit about my current situation.  I am 27 years old working as an engineer.  I am married to the love of my life.  We have three dogs and no kids just yet.  We have a house that we bought a year and a half ago and we are constantly saving money to spend renovating.  Our dream is to be financially free, to own a bigger house, on a bigger property in a nicer neighbourhood.  Somewhere where we can have kids and live a happy life together.  None of this will happen without money.  My wife works nine to five as well as an administrator.  Both of us would like kids one day, but we would like to be able to spend time with them instead of being stuck at work.  So... what is the secret?

Over the past few years I've done a lot of reading, talking to many successful people and even tried a few ventures.  I have learned a lot, but I still haven't found what I am looking for.  So... what is it that I am looking for.  Some of you may have heard about "creating a pipeline" before.  For those of you that haven't, I will explain it.  A regular job can be equated to a person going everyday to a well to fetch a bucket of water.  If this person doesn't change anything, they will continue to get up every morning having to go to collect the water.  Now, if this person spent some of their spare time building a pipeline between the well and their home, there will come a time when they no longer need to collect water in a bucket.  The pipeline, once created, will continually bring water.  Money works exactly the same.  While you are working your everyday job, you need to find some time to create an ongoing income.  Once this is set up, you are financially free.

Next week Tuesday I will explain different forms of income.  In order to make money work for you, this is the first thing that you need to understand.  Please subscribe to my blog and feel free to leave comments.  Hopefully I can find success and show to you all that the everyday man can make it.