A Stock Market Introduction

There's no doubt about it, the stock market has made many people very, very wealthy. There are many people who trade the stock market on a part-time basis to supplement their income while others trade stocks on a daily basis as a full-time career. The reality though, is that it's not always quite so rosy all the time. Many people do end up losing a lot of money in the market. The stock market itself can even be a catalyst to a recession or even a depression as happened with the Great Depression. The stock market is something that almost everyone pays attention to, but not everyone universally understands how it works.

If you watch the evening news, you've probably noticed that the stock market is constantly a topic of discussion. The stock market even has a TV station, CNBC, that is focused entirely on the stock market and topics that are related to it. There's simply no denying that the stock market is a huge force in the world's economy. Today's stock market essentially forms the structure that supports the global financial market as we know it. If financial institutions didn't have the ability to trade stocks, they would quickly go out of business, dragging entire sectors of the economy down with them.

The stock market, on its most basic level, is a large market where anyone can purchase one or more shares of a company. Companies offer up shares of their stock for investors to purchase so that they can raise operating capital and to fund expansions. From time to time a company that is in great financial condition with strong cash reserves will buy back its stock and return to being a privately owned entity.

Anyone can buy and sell in the stock market. You don't have to have special knowledge or be technically savvy. A common practice for many people is to buy stock with the intent of holding it on a long-term basis to fund their retirement. Still, there are others who prefer to buy and sell the same stock in the same day for fast cash. The investment strategy doesn't really matter. The end result is always the same....to make money.

Dividend capturing is another way that some people make money from the stock market. Dividends are periodic payments that companies pay out to the company's owners (its stock holders). With dividend capturing, an investor will time the purchase of a company's stock to coincide with the dividend payout. Once the dividend is received and as long as the stock has not decreased in value, the stock will then be quickly sold and the process will be repeated with another company's stock. Then again, there are some people who buy stock from companies that issue dividends and then hold it for years. The owners of such stock can receive dividends over and over again throughout the years.

Perhaps the simplest stock market strategy that people use to profit in the market is called "buy low and sell high." In this basic strategy a person will purchase a stock when it is believed to be at a low point and then hold it for a period of time while it increases in value. The stock will then be sold for a profit at a later date.

Understanding the stock market is not that hard. Anyone can learn how to buy and sell in this market with a little bit of self-study. In time, you too can be actively investing in this exciting market.

source: infobarrel

5 Investing Tips to Survive the Debt Downgrade

So the Debt was Downgraded....

How you can STILL be a successful investor

Doom and gloom is particularly hard to deal with because it becomes a pervasive force, blanketing the whole economy with a shroud of malaise. It is easy to fall into the trap of taking all your money out of the market. To a certain extent, this mentality is to be expected. Phrases such as "debt downgrade", "double dip recession" and "permanent unemployment" have a nasty ring to them. With the market falling over five percent in one day, some "investment experts" on cable television have fanned the flames by encouraging investing to flee the market and eat their losses. The reality is that this is a perfect time to start investing in the market. Whether you have a portfolio already, or you are waiting on the sidelines, the single greatest opportunity to increase your net worth may be at hand.
1) Be Conservative Without Being a Miser
Just because there is tremendous opportunity right now in the market does not mean you should jump headfirst into the first opportunity you see. There are many good opportunities, but take the time to find the truly great opportunities. Why settle for decent returns when you can do better? This is why you should be conservative even while looking for opportunities to invest. Do not lower your standards for high quality companies. In this market, you WILL find the great value bargains.
2) Don't Ignore the Fundamentals
Going off of the conservative mindset, make sure you still check the companies fundamental valuations before putting your money into play. While much of the stock market declines can be attributed to general economic malaise, some companies still deserve to be trading at rock-bottom levels. In particular, pay attention to things like Free Cash Flow, Entity Value, P/E, ROE, and ROIC. Don't change your investing philosophy in mid-stream just because the market is down.
3) Look for Dividends, But Also Growth
With unpredictable prospects for strong future U.S. economic growth, many investors are fleeing small cap growth stocks in favor of the older established names that are paying a cushy looking dividend. While this is not a bad idea to protect your wealth and earn some cash on the side, it is not a strategy in and of itself. Many investors treat growth stocks and dividend stocks as if they are mutually exclusive. They are not. You may have to settle for slightly lower dividend payments, but there are many quality growth stocks in the market that are trading at discount valuations, yet still command a steady dividend payout.
4) Don't Watch CNBC
Stop watching the economic "experts" predict the future. They are wrong, most of the time. Develop your own strategy for investing.
5) Adopt a Long Term Approach
It may seem scary to see all that red ink on your portfolio statement, but be prepared to take some losses for a while. Even as you buy more de-valued stocks, don't panic if they drop lower and do not immediately go up. Even if the market has not hit the floor yet, it is still a good strategy to buy all the way down until it does. Think about where your portfolio could be in 2-5 years, not the next few weeks, or even the next 3-6 months.

source: infobarrel

Creative Ways to Sell Your House Fast

There are creative ways to sell your house fast, without having to rely on the traditional ways, such as listing with real estate.
Most of these ways will of course depend on your situation, but do work.  It all depends on how creative you are willing to get and what type of house you are selling!
Sell Yourself With an Open House - This will take some work on your part, but many people feel more comfortable when at an Open House.  I know that when we were looking for a house, open houses were a great way to get to know the area and also be a bit nosy!
You will get lots of "tire kickers" who are basically neighbours who are somewhat nosy and want to see what you have done with the place.  But chances are that you will get interested people too, who enjoy an open house as there is not the same pressue as with "one on one".


Hire an Inspector - You need to start by really cleaning the house, and doing any repairs and fixups.  This is really important.  The best way to start this process, is to be pro-active and hire a qualified home inspector.  Yes, this will cost you up front, but you will be given a report.  On this report will be things that are in need of repairs and anything that may be coming due for repairs.
Do, the repairs necessary, and keep this report, so that you can show serious prospective buyers that you have done an inspection by a qualified inspector and have made repairs to the house.  This way if they do end up hiring their own inspector, you can feel confident that they will not find anything new, and the potential buyer will feel more confident about the house, especially if it is an older one.
Stage the House - You can do this yourself.  Get rid of any extra furniture, by renting a storage unit.  You can get these on a monthly basis, and by cleaning out as much heavy looking furniture as you can will give your rooms a larger feel.   Take down photographs, and leave the walls with just a few pieces of art.
Paint most rooms a neutral colour such as beige, ivory or pale yellow, rather than a deeper colour which can make a room feel smaller and dark.  The owners to be will probably put their own touch on it anyways, but this way they don't have to do it right away.
Find All Papers That Pertain To the House - Such as electric bills and gas bills, and tax bills for example, so they can see the running costs of this house.
Talk To Your lawyer about what you will need to know about selling your house private.  In Ontario, the prospective buyer will need to create an "offer to purchase" through their own lawyer, so it is good to know ahead of time, just how the purchase should go when selling private.
When purchasing our latest home.  We actually bumped into someone at an open house, trying to decide what to price their own home at.  We followed them to this home and after inspection decided it was just what we wanted.  We haggled on the price right then and there, and then made a list of things that would be included and we both agreed to.
We then went to our lawyer with the list and the legal address, and had a legal "offer to purchase" created that we then delivered to them, and the lawyers took care of the rest.  There were no real estate fees involved at all, just the usual legal fees.
Low Commission Real Estate - There are many services around now, that will help you sell your house for a low commission.  It all depends on how much of the work you are willing to do.  
From personal experience, I have found the local paper doesn't really work, unless you are advertising an OPEN HOUSE and put Private Sale beside it, so that they know it is being sold by you and not real estate.  To just state a house is for sale, just doesn't seem to get the calls.
Garage Sale - No you won't sell your house in a garage sale, but it is one way to get potential buyers to see the house.  You can have a sign saying House for Sale on your front lawn at the garage sale, and if you can find the help for the day to man the garage sale, you can also have this as an open house day. 
All you need is one serious customer.  Yes, you will get many "tire kickers" but chances are that there will be a serious buyer in there.
Word of Mouth - let family members and co-workers know that you are selling your house privately and if they are interested to let you know.  Word of mouth works quite well.  In our case a family member bought our house.  As long as everything is done legal and up front with no added surprises, it will go through with no hitches. 
Price it Well - Make sure you do your homework on pricing your house.  If you want to sell quickly, then the obvious way is to offer it for a better price, but make sure and list the good qualitites of your house, such as close to schools, and shopping to make the price competitive and worth checking out.
Since you will not be paying real estate fees, then you can afford to drop your price a bit, but have a bottom line in mind, so that if anyone starts negotiating, that you know the lowest you will go.  You and your partner need to be on the same page for this.
Third Party Appraiser - I have searched out private buyers before, and many times have found them to be too high.  Don't get emotional about your house.  This is business, and if you want to stay competitive, it is worth having a third party appraiser let you know how much it is really worth in todays market.
An appraiser will cost you a few hundred dollars, but they do their homework and they don't work for real estate companies, they are their own company and will give you a realistic price.
If you want to do this yourself, there are creative ways to sell your house, you just need to be prepared to be hands on and involved, but you can save yourself time and money in the end.

source:infobarrel