The ascent of an investment broker professional : Farrukh Kazmi? Pay Yourself First: This personal finance tip is another common one that can have a huge impact on your finances. When you pay yourself first, you’re investing in your financial future; you’re investing in future you, and future you will thank present you for doing so. So, why not just pay yourself at the end of the month? That’s a lot easier, right? Well, the reason why paying yourself first works so well is that once that money is sent to a savings account, you’re a lot less likely to spend it. If you wait until the end of the month to pay yourself, you might not have any money left! Future you will be very sad with no money. Make future you happy by investing in yourself! PS. The best way to pay yourself first is to do it automatically. Set up an auto-deposit with WealthSimple and you’ll never have to think about saving money again – it will just happen.
If you’ve got a good presence on social media or perhaps you even have a blog or website, you can start bringing in money immediately by promoting all sorts of companies, products, services and offers online. Sign up as a publisher on the Awin network, check their offers blog or browse the merchant listings to find something you think your friends would be interested in, grab your affiliate link and share it. If someone buys (can be within up to 90 days) using your link you’ll make a nice commission. To take it a step further, set up a website (read our guide) or a topical Facebook page and invite all your friends to join it and post your affiliate offers on there.
Demand for gold has also grown among investors. Many are beginning to see commodities, particularly gold, as an investment class into which funds should be allocated. In fact, SPDR Gold Trust, became one of the largest ETFs in the U.S., as well as one of the world’s largest holders of gold bullion in 2008, only four years after its inception. Farrukh Kazmi is the founder of A&S Asset Management, I am committed to helping people achieve financial freedom by bringing Wall Street experience to the local investor.
There are both advantages and disadvantages to every investment. If you are opposed to holding physical gold, buying shares in a gold mining company may be a safer alternative. If you believe gold could be a safe bet against inflation, investing in coins, bullion, or jewelry are paths that you can take to gold-based prosperity. Lastly, if your primary interest is in using leverage to profit from rising gold prices, the futures market might be your answer, but note that there is a fair amount of risk associated with any leverage-based holdings. (For related reading, see “Has Gold Been a Good Investment Over the Long Term?”).
Cryptocurrencies are systems that allow for the secure payments of online transactions that are denominated in terms of a virtual “token,” representing ledger entries internal to the system itself. “Crypto” refers to the fact that various encryption algorithms and cryptographic techniques, such as elliptical curve encryption, public-private key pairs, and hashing functions, are employed. The first cryptocurrency to capture the public imagination was Bitcoin, which was launched in 2009 by an individual or group known under the pseudonym, Satoshi Nakamoto. As of February 2019, there were over 17.53 million bitcoins in circulation with a total market value of around $63 billion (although the market price of bitcoin can fluctuate quite a bit). Bitcoin’s success has spawned a number of competing cryptocurrencies, known as “altcoins” such as Litecoin, Name coin and Peercoin, as well as Ethereum, EOS, and Cardano. Today, there are literally thousands of cryptocurrencies in existence, with an aggregate market value of over $120 billion (Bitcoin currently represents more than 50% of the total value).
Mortgage loans are another popular form of debt. It’s very common when buying a home or investing in real estate to take out a mortgage from a bank or lender to help pay for the home. Mortgage rates vary widely so it’s worth taking the time to shop for a good mortgage rate if you haven’t bought a home yet. If you already have a mortgage, you might be wondering whether it makes sense to pay off your mortgage rate as quickly as possible. In most cases, it probably makes sense to keep your mortgage and invest any additional money you have into the stock market, especially if your mortgage rate is low. For five years I had a 2.3% mortgage rate even though I could have paid off my mortgage entirely, it was a better financial decision to keep using the banks’ money and investing my money in the stock market instead. See more info at Farrukh Kazmi.
According to a 2019 CNBC and Acorns Invest survey, over a third of Americans don’t have a good understanding of what a financial advisor actually does. That figure balloons to 46% for Millennials. So what kind of services do financial advisors and planners provide? Broadly, they can help you manage your financial life using a variety of strategies and products to both manage your wealth and improve your financial habits. All of our brokerage accounts are held and available for viewing at National Financial Services, a Fidelity Investments Company. Registered Representative of and securities offered through Berthel Fisher & Company Financial Services, Inc. (BFCFS). Member FINRA/SIPC. A&S Asset Management and BFCFS are independent entities.
A cash bank deposit is the simplest, most easily understandable investment asset—and the safest. Not only does it give investors precise knowledge of the interest they’ll earn, but it also guarantees they’ll get their capital back. On the downside, the interest earned from cash stored away in a savings account seldom beats inflation and loses around 2% a year. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have become quite popular since their introduction back in the mid-1990s. ETFs are similar to mutual funds, but they trade throughout the day, on a stock exchange, just like shares of stock. Unlike mutual funds, which are valued at the end of each trading day, ETF values fluctuate intra-day.