The Simplest Way to Invest #3

In the previous post, we tried to create a portfolio using the Market Price / Book Value ratio. We looked at the results of an imaginary ₺100,000 investment in a period of one year and five years.

This post is going to be about the P / E ratio. This ratio, which is defined as the price-earnings ratio, is the ratio of the price per share of a company to the profit per share.

XYZ has one million shares -one million lots- in circulation. XYZ made a million dollars profit this year. So what is the earnings per share? It is a dollar. Let’s say one lot of XYZ is trading at $ 30 on the stock market. This stock you bought for $ 30 will bring you one dollar of profit according to the profit announced in a one-year period. Do you think this is a sensible investment? Of course not. This means that I will invest 30 dollars and only make a dollar profit. In that case, it will take 30 years for me to pay off my investment. That’s the rule. But of course, even a share with a P / E ratio of 180 can make a premium, increase or decrease. Why is that? Because the profit to be announced in the next balance sheet will increase, as a result of their follow-up, investors notice this in advance and start investing. So could there be another reason? Yes, it could be just a speculative increase. Think about it, you will make an investment. An airline stock catches your eye. This is when the Covid-19 cases are on the rise. The shares are on the rise; P / E ratios are very high and P / B ratios are also high; But there can be no sectoral expectations, you are in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is not possible for an airline company to make enough profit to raise its shares in this environment. Here you need to understand that the rise of this stock is speculative and perhaps even manipulative. There will be no stability in speculative ups. Risk is high due to lack of stability. You can buy the stock at a high value and watch its value decrease. So, we need to understand whether the increase or decrease of a share is speculative.

Let’s create our portfolio now. I will create a portfolio from the end of 2014 and the beginning of 2015. We will be watching a one-year performance. Just like I did at the P / B ratio, this time I will select four companies. The companies I choose will be those with the lowest P / E ratio. Remember, a low P / E ratio means the stock is cheap. Well, is there a rule that if it is less than 1 as in the P / B ratio, it is cheap, and if it is higher than 1, it is expensive? Nope. The basic rule here is that the P / E ratio can be at the smallest values higher than 0. Where the price of all is 190, 150 is cheap. If the price of all is 5, 8 is expensive. So, when looking at the P / E value, we will look at “others” and say something relatively. Here, taking “others” as other companies in the same industry will give a better, more reliable result.

For the above timeframe, the four companies I will add to my portfolio are: TUPRS, YKBNK, THYAO and ALBRK. (These are stock exchanges in Turkey.) 

Warning: This is not investment advice. The chart below is from 2015 and is without details. It was created to give an idea. The following companies are in Turkey.

Blue Line: My Portfolio

Orange Line: BIST100 (the average earnings of the 100 largest companies on the stock market in Turkey)

As you can see, the portfolio I created using ONLY the P / E ratio performed very superior to BIST. As my portfolio started the year with an index of around 3800; It ended the year with an index of around 6500. BIST started around 350 and finished around 420. While my portfolio made my ₺100 roughly ₺170; BIST’s overall index made ₺100 to ₺120. The inflation value for 2015 was 8.81%. Therefore, I have achieved a very superior performance as a result of a year investment with the P / E ratio. I was able to make a profit well above the inflation rate. Without tiring myself, without getting lost in many fundamental and technical analysis terms, without watching the indexes on the screen for hours; I could only create a portfolio that I controlled from balance sheet to balance sheet, month to month. This is actually the nature of the investment. Investing is not about trading constantly, but about making a satisfactory profit at the end of a certain period by investing money in the right places.

I will check my portfolio again at the beginning of 2016. I will examine the P / E and P / B ratios of the shares of four companies in my portfolio. I will examine other companies in the same sector, if the P / E or P / B ratio has increased too much and there are no new investments that may come from the company whose shares I bought, I will remove this company from my portfolio. I will look at the stocks of other companies. Since I know that this process will take some time, if I start all this work in early December 2015, I can start 2016 with solid research and knowing what changes to make in my portfolio. In this way, I can maintain around 70% profit per year with simple techniques. If I keep this investment for five years and keep my profit rate of around 70% by making the right moves, my ₺100,000 could reach around ₺1,500,000. Moreover, 70% rate is not bad annually for someone who is interested in the stock market, but it is not exactly what is desired. We expect 100% annual return in the stock exchange. But for this, we know dozens of techniques and follow closely. Therefore, it is not bad to have a 70% return without spending that much effort.

You may have noticed something. Return on investment with P / E was better than return on investment with P / B.

THE SIMPLEST WAY TO INVEST

THE SIMPLEST WAY TO INVEST #2

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The Simplest Way to Invest #2

In the previous post, we talked about the importance of risk sharing and the need to create a portfolio to share risk. We said that the first step in creating a portfolio is to look at the P / B ratio of the shares we will buy. This ratio helps us to understand whether the lots we will buy are cheap or expensive. You can check the previous post for detailed information on this subject. In this post we will examine a sample portfolio.

Warning: This is not investment advice. The chart below is from 2015 and is without details. It was created to give an idea. The following companies are in Turkey.

In the first quarter of 2015, while looking at the P / B ratios of the company shares, I saw that the P / B ratios of ECILC, DOHOL, VESTL and TRGYO companies were low. This means their shares are cheap.

The blue line in the chart below shows the average earnings of these four companies ECILC, DOHOL, VESTL and TRGYO over 2015. The orange line shows the average earnings of the 100 largest companies on the stock market in Turkey (BIST100).

As you can see, the index created with these four companies has gained value in a year. I formed the index of the portfolio by looking at the values of the last four days of the stock exchange’s closing in 2014. The index of the portfolio was roughly 1480 at the time, while the BIST was around 400. By the end of 2015, while BIST did not even reach 500, the portfolio I created approached roughly 2300. This means that when 100 thousand Turkish Lira was invested, it became 155 thousand Turkish Liras at the end of 2015. If this performance continues for five years, when 100 thousand Turkish liras are invested, it becomes approximately 1 million 280 thousand Turkish Liras in five years. However, this portfolio may not show the same performance for five years.

When we create a portfolio, we need to check the P / B ratios of the companies we buy from their shares, and when we determine that the ratio has reached saturation according to itself and the sector, we need to sell our shares. Now we can get our profit. Then we can buy another cheap stock with a low P / B ratio and add it to our portfolio. If the P / B ratio of the company whose shares we bought does not reach saturation for many years, we can continue to make profit without effort.

Here, it is necessary to mention the loss of value of money. Suppose we buy 100 thousand Turkish Liras worth of shares and sell our shares for 1 million 280 thousand Turkish Liras at the end of five years. When we look at the inflation values between 2015 and 2020, we see that the purchasing power of 100 thousand Turkish Lira at the beginning of 2015 is equal to the purchasing power of 550 thousand Turkish Lira at the beginning of 2020. Still, we made 175% profit.

In this example, we saw that we made a profit without tiring ourselves on an investment we made just by looking at the P / B ratio. If we make the right investment and follow it correctly, we can easily make a profit. To be able to do this, there is no need to stress, watch the stock market for hours, sit in front of the screen all the time, learn technical analysis terms…

If you want to start investing, you can start by trying to identify stocks with a low P / B ratio. If you don’t have any experience yet, create a portfolio and follow it without buying shares. Or buy one lot from each of the companies you choose. This will cost around $ 25-50 on average. Follow the lots in your portfolio for a few months with online banking. By taking such small steps, you can start investing and gain experience.

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The Simplest Way to Invest #1

People think investing is dangerous, risky or scary. But the only thing to do is to learn how to invest without worrying. Investing cannot be learned overnight. Still, it is something you can move forward quickly. It is possible to create the right portfolio by looking at very simple indicators and making very simple analyzes.

You need to create a portfolio for risk sharing. Professional investors say “don’t put all your eggs in one basket”. Because if all your eggs are in one basket, you may lose all your eggs when something happens to your basket. In this case, you have nothing else to compensate for your loss. Novice investors often make this mistake. However, when things go wrong, you should be able to balance the loss from one investment with another. If you have many baskets, it won’t be a big problem if one of your baskets falls. That’s why we must diversify our investments and create a portfolio.

As the first step in creating a portfolio, we should look at the P/B ratio of the companies we will buy shares. This ratio helps us to have an idea about whether the lot we will buy from that company is cheap or not. If the ratio of Market Value (P) and Book Value (B) is less than 1, the share is cheap. When it is higher than 1, we say the share is expensive. But of course this is not always the case. Sometimes, even if a company’s P/B ratio is 4, we consider that company’s stock cheap. Because the industry of the company may have started to improve. As a result of this, all profit rates and market values of companies in that sector increase. While the ratio of the company we are looking at is 4, the P/ B ratios of other companies in the sector may have reached values such as 8, 10, 15. Then we can think that the share of this company is cheaper than other companies for now and will be valued. However, the reason why a company’s stock is cheap is important. Is this company not yet valued in the industry or does this company have a problem? Did the company borrow money but couldn’t pay its debts? Was there a negative news in the media? Does the company have foreclosed assets? Is the owner / CEO a bad reputation?

It’s easy to learn all this. After typing the name of the company and “P/B ratio”, search on google. In the results, there will be sites showing the company owner, company executives and company partners. You can also search those names on the internet. Explore, find the site you can read most comfortably. What you have to do is google the code of a company that has publicly listed shares on the stock exchange. On the Internet you will find announcements, postings and notifications made by the company. Check them out too.

Let’s say you looked at company executives, company’s announcements and investments; you did not see anything negative. While the company’s P / B ratio was 4, the others in the same sector were 10, 15. If you haven’t seen anything negative, you can say that the shares of this company are cheap for now even though the P / B ratio is higher than 1. The cheaper will be valued. You can now add this company to your portfolio for medium term investment. But remember, don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

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How Can You Prepare Yourself for Economic Changes and Your Retirement Days? Don’t Stuck In Case You Lose Your Job

I met a few people on social media recently. The lives of these people and what they do in one day seemed very interesting to me. Let me introduce two of these guys to you:

At first glance, these guys are firemen. So, they are public officials. They probably didn’t have any higher education. They only work two days a week. They have employment security, regular salaries and retirement plans. They also invest professionally three days a week. Their “side income” is quite high. These people have made great fortunes with their investments. Lastly, they can relax and spend time with their families two days a week.

One of these men buys old houses and rents them out. Currently, he owns forty-five houses with a monthly return of ten thousand dollars after paying debt installments, taxes, maintenance and repair costs, management and insurance expenses. His salary as a fireman is approximately 1200 dollars. He is five years into retirement and his goal is to increase his annual income to two hundred thousand dollars when he is 56 years old. Not bad for a public official with four children.

The other person does company analysis and deals with stocks and long-term transactions. Its current portfolio is over three million dollars. If he turns it into cash, he gets ten percent interest per year, which equates to three hundred thousand dollars. In all market conditions. But be sure his annual income is much more than that. Not bad for a public employee with two children.

Both of these men could have retired in their forties after twenty years of investment. But they chose to work and take advantage of retirement as public officials. Now, they have the advantage of operating in both areas, both as employees and investors.

I know many people who have a lot of money in their retirement accounts but don’t feel secure. They make up their retirement savings from the money they earn by working. Unfortunately, they know very little about investment. They wouldn’t know what to do if their savings melted away and their working life ended.

In times of major economic changes, wealth changes hands. Regardless of your economic situation, it’s important to invest in financial education. Because when time and conditions change, it is necessary to be prepared for the new situation. So you won’t be afraid. Although no one can see the future, it is good to take precautions and be prepared for all conditions. Therefore, it is necessary to start obtaining information as soon as possible.

Economic changes have already begun due to company sales and mergers. A businessman who recently sold his company had fifteen million dollars in his account, but those who worked with him had to look for new jobs. In such cases, anger is felt along with sadness at farewell parties. Employees realize that they make their bosses rich, not themselves, in return for years of hard work.

The truth is that bosses are not supposed to make their employees rich. Their responsibility in this regard is only to ensure that salaries are paid. Being rich depends on everyone’s own will and effort. What to do to become rich starts when the salary is received. If a person is not good at managing finance, he cannot continue to have wealth, even if he has all the money in the world. He eventually loses it all. The important thing is not to gain wealth and prosperity, but to sustain them.

If you can manage your money wisely, educate yourself about being an investor or a company owner. So, you are on your way to achieving personal wealth and financial freedom.

The difference between someone who is rich and can maintain it and someone who is not, is basically the way they use their money and leisure time.

Learning to invest and allocating time and budget for it saves much more free time and money in the long run. Do your best while at work, but also make sure you make efficient use of your wage and free time after work. It is not very wise to enrich others with your lifelong labor. If you make a commitment to work for yourself, you can achieve financial freedom in time.

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If You Know the Tax Law, You Can Also Pay Less Tax

Today, being an employee in America means paying half of the labor in taxes to the state. In fact, this rate is almost the same all over the world. There are no other tax options for employees. Before the employees receive their salaries, the state receives 24% of it.

The only tax cut that the state provides to employees only makes them more into debt. So, the path to financial freedom for employees or self-employed people is much more difficult.

Accountants tell their wealthy clients that if they buy a more expensive house, they can get more tax cuts. This option makes sense for employees or self-employed people. However, employers or investors often do not heed it.

Tax Reduction May Cause Debt Increase

The income tax rate paid by employers or investors is very low. For this reason, it is much easier to increase the money earned as a company owner or investor.

Employees or self-employed people can only benefit from tax deductions by purchasing a larger house. This doesn’t give a person financial freedom. It only brings more debt.

Buying a more expensive home is not wise for employers and investors. Because for them it’s the same as saying, “Lend me a dollar and I’ll give you fifty cents back.”

World History Full of Resistance to High Taxes

America has a progressive tax system. This means that low-income people pay lower taxes and higher-income people pay higher taxes. However, the system does not work exactly like that. Millionaires and billionaires can be the least taxpayers.

The taxes collected in American history have been protested many times. There have been many rebellions against taxation. The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) opposed the heavy taxes collected from the British colonies in America. Later, Shays’ Rebellion appeared in 1876, Whiskey Rebellion in 1791, and Fries’s Rebellion in 1799. The reason for all these resistances is taxes.

Not only in America but all over the world, there was resistance to taxes from time to time. There have been more than three hundred and fifty resistance, civil disobedience or uprising against taxes imposed since the 16th century.*

Baby boomers begin retiring. What will happen now?

Especially in our modern world, taxes are needed. Problems arise if taxation is not carried out successfully and the collected taxes are poorly managed.

Baby Boomers are already retiring. Within a few years, millions more of them will retire and will cease to be taxpayers and enjoy social security benefits. This will increase the financial burden of the states considerably. So, in the face of rising taxes, the rich will seek other countries where they can invest their money.

How You Earn Money Determines Your Perspective on Taxes

There was an interview with an investor in the newspaper recently. The investor made a million dollars profit and paid no taxes. Because he was able to delay his tax since the money he earned was a capital gain. He was also exempt from tax when buying and selling real estate because he only exchanged property.

A few days later, I saw elsewhere that this same investor was captioned: “He made a billion dollars and admitted he didn’t pay taxes.”

What is written in this title is actually not a lie. However, at first glance, it makes you think that the investor is evading tax. But the investor did not do anything against the tax law.

Different ways of generating income.

This is a good example of the difference in tax perspective of those who make money in different ways.

The truth is that not all income is taxed equally. Some are less taxed and some are not taxed at all.

Those who have gained financial freedom, and especially investors, are familiar with the laws regarding taxes. Thus, it is easier for them to increase their money.

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Advices from Babylon for Those with Financial Problems

If you are having financial problems or want to have an idea about finance, the first book you should read is The Richest Man in Babylon. Below you can find some summary of the recommendations given in the book.

So let’s start.

You must secure your source of income for your future. Look at the old people, remember that after a while you will be one of them. Invest your savings very carefully so they don’t get lost. Save money so your family can meet their needs when you leave this world. If you make small payments regularly, you will be able to provide such protection. A frugal person would never delay putting aside a large amount for such a clever reason. Consult knowledgeable people for ideas. Listen to the advice of people whose business is related to money. 

Although advice is given for free, it is important to pay attention to what advice is sought from whom. The cost of seeking advice from someone with no experience in savings may be to lose all savings.

A small safe return is always better than risk. High interest rates can cause you to lose all your money. Stay away from them. 

Wealth also grows from a small seed, like a tree. The first money saved is the seed of the wealth tree. The sooner this seed is planted, the sooner the tree of wealth begins to grow. If this tree is fed with regular accumulation, it will have a shade to lie under with pleasure as soon as possible.

Enjoy life while you’re here. Do not force yourself too hard or try to save too much. If you can only keep a tenth of what you earn, be satisfied with that. Do not be stingy while spending. Life is beautiful and full of things to enjoy.

It is necessary to spend only nine tenths of what is earned and accumulate the rest.

Personally, when I started using nine-tenths of my earnings, I didn’t feel like I had less money than before. And soon my money seemed to get more and more. Undoubtedly, the person who does not spend all of his earnings will get money more easily after a while. On the other hand, money escapes from one whose wallet is empty.

What do you desire most? Is it the fulfillment of all your wishes every day, jewelry, better clothes, better food, things that go as easy as they come? Or do you want more permanent things like gold, property, trade, income generating investments? The dollars that come out of your wallet allow you to get the first set of things, and what you leave in your wallet allows you to access the second set.

It is necessary to eliminate unnecessary expenses by making budget planning, so that you do not spend more than nine tenths of the money earned.

What we define as “necessary expenses” increases according to our income as long as we do not make the opposite effort. Do not confuse your desires with real necessary expenses. Each of us desires more than our earnings can deliver. Even if we use all the money we earn to meet our desires, we still have unmet desires. Man’s desires never end. Desires are usually instant pleasures, whereas accumulation helps for a lifetime.

We should make our money work for us. We should increase our savings with investment. 

The first principle of a good investment is the security of the capital. Is it okay to aim for a bigger profit if your capital is likely to be lost? Obviously not. Don’t let your desires to get rich quick get you on the wrong track.

When investing with the money you have saved, take precautions and do not trust yourself. It is much better to take the opinion and advice of those who are used to using money to make a profit. Such recommendations are free and their value is the amount you are willing to invest. Because it will save you from losing that amount of money.

One of the remedies for a weak wallet is to not let your wallet empty after it is full. Only invest your money in ways that your capital is safe and you can get it back whenever you want. Consult the knowledgeable and experienced people for ideas. Their knowledge and experience prevents you from making precarious investments.

Have your own house in a neighborhood where you can pay the mortgage instead of sitting in a rental.

Someone who acts by the rules of wealth should think about the upcoming retirement days, must make fundraising plans and her investment must be safe for years. She should arrange them in such a way that she can easily access the money when she needs to use it.

Look to create an income now for your old age and for your family’s needs.

Generalized goals cannot go beyond weak wishes. A man’s desire to be rich doesn’t make much sense. But a man’s desire to have five grams of gold is a tangible goal, and therefore it is likely to be achieved. After obtaining five grams of gold, he can find 10 grams of gold, 20 grams of gold, and a thousand grams of gold with similar methods, and then he will be rich. By trying to achieve a small goal, he learns to secure a large amount. 

Wealth happens this way: first with small quantities, then more can be achieved with large quantities. Goals must be clear and defined. If goals are too much, too complex, or too difficult to achieve, they will not serve their purpose.

Work by nurturing your own strengths, become wiser, gain more skills, and respect yourself. Thus, you can gain the confidence you need to achieve your carefully shaped goals and increase your earnings.

The wealth that comes quickly disappears in the same way. Wealth that comes slowly brings pleasure and satisfaction to its owner, because it is the product of knowledge and persistent purpose.

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You are the Person to Take Control of Your Investments

Rich people use much more leverage than poor people. If you want to get rich, you need leverage. If you really want to get rich, you need a lot of leverage.

We mentioned about leverage before. Now let’s talk about another thing we need to achieve a better economic situation, control power.

People who earn are careful about their thoughts. They don’t think they can’t. They don’t say “This is too risky.”. They don’t back down by saying “I cannot afford this.” Instead, they ask “How can I do this?” or “How can I reduce my risk?” or “How can I afford this?” People who invest to earn money are also extremely careful when choosing people for financial advice. Just as Olympic athletes should be careful when choosing foods that go into their bodies, investors who invest to earn must be careful with advice that will enter their minds. This process may sometimes involve cleansing your mind from old thoughts.

Control Power

Investors who invest to earn want control as well as leverage. People think investing is risky because they have no control.

Think of a car. A car with steering wheel, brake, accelerator, gear and engine. Just imagine if you could drive without any of these. If you got into a car without a steering wheel, could you drive that car?

Many people think investing is risky because they lack control. Imagine investing in mutual funds, stocks, bonds or savings accounts without any knowledge. When you invest in these tools without being able to answer the questions of what will happen next, how they will be traded, or how they will be affected by price volatility, you have almost no control over them.

Interestingly, most of the people who invest are not trained in this field. Driving a car requires at least a driver’s license to show that the driver has been trained and can drive a car.

The lack of control of uninformed and inexperienced investment advisors, financial planners and stockbrokers also makes things worse. For this reason, they make recommendations “Diversify, diversify, diversify”. Diversification is something you will need when you are out of control. Warren Buffett doesn’t diversify because he’s investing in a controlled manner. It buys either all or most of the shares of a business.

Lack of Control

Most people feel powerless because they have no control over their work. I know many people who lost their jobs not because they were bad employees, but because their companies were sold. More and more people feel like they are losing control, as there are many jobs shifting overseas these days. It is difficult to feel safe when you have little control over your job and salary and invest in assets over which you have no control, such as blind investments in savings accounts, stocks, bonds and mutual funds.

There are three reasons people find it risky to invest.

– They have very little financial education.

– They invest in investment instruments over which they cannot control.

-They get investment advice from salespeople and these salespeople have no control over the investment.

Once you understand the use of leverage, your next task is to make sure you have control.

Control is all about education. The more financially educated we are, the sooner we distinguish between advantageous and unfavorable situations. It is also much easier to sort out the bad ones among the good ideas.

Life is full of risks. We don’t have full control – at least not as much control as we think we have. But by getting educated, making reasonable choices, and having a positive attitude, we can reduce risk. Many people have achieved magnificent successes, even when “fortune is not on their side.” They have won because they have decided to take control of their destiny and refuse to give up.

One of the ways to gain control is to always have the big picture in your mind. When people talk about the big picture, I usually think of a tapestry. If you look from behind an extremely beautiful and invaluable tapestry, all you will see will be many knots. Sometimes it’s all that people can see, because they haven’t seen the completed design on the other side yet.

One of the ways to gain control is to always have the big picture in your mind. When people talk about the big picture, I usually think of a tapestry. If you look from the back at an extremely beautiful and invaluable tapestry, you will only see many tiny knots. Sometimes it’s all that people can see, because they haven’t seen the completed design on the other side yet.

Someone once told me that there are many knots in his life that he could not untie. I quickly realized that his problem was simply that he wasn’t visualizing his own tapestry. He was quite relieved when I told him about it.

Look at the situations from the other side. It will help you gain control and gain insight into how to deal with problems and people. At the very least, you have to be able to control what is going on around you as much as you don’t get stuck with your life being full of knots.

You may not have control over many things, but you can start with yourself. The real leverage is brain power. Winners accept responsibility and retain control.

Review your life today. Can you choose how you spend your day, or are you told how you should spend your day? Do you direct your financial investments or do you leave this business to someone else?

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You May Lose Money Because You Don’t Invest Enough Time

There are only two things we can invest with: Time and money. Many people lose money because they don’t invest enough time.

Remember the 90/10 rule of money. I can say that 90 percent of the investors invest with money, but don’t invest enough with time. And the 10 percent who earn 90 percent of the money invest more time than money.

Let’s take a look at the diagram of three types of investors below. This is important to understand the relationship between time and investing.

When we look at this simple diagram, it is easy to understand why non-investors and passive investors say “Investing is risky.” They either have little or no financial training, and they have little financial experience.

Most investors consider investing risky and seek financial advice from finance professionals with little financial training or experience.

Did you know these?

• Becoming a licensed massage therapist takes more time than becoming a financial advisor.

• Less than 20% of all stockbrokers and real estate dealers invest in products they recommend to their clients.

• Very few politicians and legislators have any investment.

• Economics department academics generally don’t have a financial training or experience in investment.

• Many journalists who write on finance issues have little financial education or investment experience.

Wall Street is the only place that people ride to in a Rolls Royce to get advice from those who take the subway.

Warren Buffet

It was discovered that the most used word in English is “time”. The word “money” may also be in the top 100, but it wasn’t even near “time” on the list. 

How you spend your time is very important because lost time can never be recovered. The money lost is often recoverable. As Pericles puts it, ” Time is the wisest counselor of all.”. I recommend that you be mindful of your time and learn to invest your time thoughtfully.

If wasting 15 minutes meant losing $ 500, would you be more conscious of how to spend those 15 minutes? I think you would. If you are in the hospitality industry, going to new restaurants doesn’t mean you waste time and money. What waste is, is different for all of us.

Be aware of how you spend your time. Not all money in the world can make up for lost time.

We are all affected by money, regardless of who we are or where we live or what we do. If there is something that will affect your life, it’s best to learn as much about it as possible. Can you find time to invest in your financial education?

Evaluate how you spend your time. There are 168 hours a week:

Can you devote between 4 and 10 hours a week for your financial education? You can probably do that. The real question is: Will you take the time?

Make a promise to yourself to take more time to learn, and then keep your word! Reading this blog is a good start. But more is always needed. What else can you do?

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Are Your Retirement Plans Really Safe?

Unfortunately, millions of people around the world have to invest despite having insufficient investment knowledge. Many who try to spend their lives free from financial risks now have to risk their chair days. The vast majority will find out if they are investors or gamblers when they retire.

Today, the stock market is on the agenda of the whole world. However, not only those who have knowledge are active in the stock market, but also many people who try to become investors but do not understand investment.

The four ways of earning income.

Since the vast majority of these people are currently working in a company or a government agency or are in the self-employed category, they are concerned about assurance by nature. Therefore, they want to work in a job that provides assurance or they want to acquire professions that provide assurance, even if they establish their own business, they care about having the control on them.

The reason why they want to switch to the “investor” category today is that they want to find “assurance” when they end their working life. Unfortunately, being an investor is not known for providing assurance. On the contrary, risk speaks here.

Since the distinguishing feature of these people who want to be investors is security, the stock market reacts according to their expectations. This is why you often hear “diversification”, “reputability” or “investment trust”…

Diversification

Those who love guarantee often use the concept of diversification. Because diversification is an investment strategy determined “not to lose” but not “to earn” also. Successful or rich investors do not use diversification.

Let’s look at what Warren Buffett, perhaps the world’s best investor, said about diversification: “The strategy we have adopted is against the standard diversification rules. Therefore, most experts say this strategy is more risky than conservative investors pursued. We do not agree with this. We believe that the portfolio concentration policy will both reduce the risk that may arise and provide the comfort and business conditions that the investor seeks depending on the economic values that he expects before purchasing. “

In other words, focusing on portfolio concentrations or a few investments is a much better strategy than diversifying, according to Warren Buffett. Compared to diversification, concentration requires a person to be smarter and to take their thoughts and actions under more intense control. In his article, Buffett says that a mediocre investor avoids volatility because he thinks the ups and downs are risky.

“Reputable companies”

Investors seeking assurance are interested in stocks of reputable companies. The company may be reputable, but things are very different with the stock market.

Investment Trust

People who know little about investing prefer to hand their money over to a fund manager in the hope that they will use it better than they do. This is a smart way for those who do not intend to become professional investors. However, it does not mean that mutual funds are less risky. Frankly, when the stock market is upside down, we may experience a disaster similar to the Tulip Mania in the 1600s or the Great Bond Massacre we witnessed in the 1990s.

There are millions of people who love guarantees and want to be investors in the markets today. But due to the changing economy, investment doesn’t have much to do with assurance. Most people believe their retirement plans are safe, but not at all. An economic crisis can ruin everything. Things are not like they were in the past today.

Great Economic Turmoil at the Door

Such turmoil heralds the end of an age and the arrival of a new age. At the end of each age, some people cling to past values while others progress. I must say that those who give responsibility for their financial security to a large company or government will have a lot of difficulty in the coming years.

Nobody has a crystal ball. I follow major investors and most of their investment publications. Each say a different thing. Some say the near future looks bright, while others say the stock market crisis and a great depression are at the door. I listen to both views to look at the situation objectively, because they both have some merit. And those who are ready for bad days will reach wealth no matter what direction the economy takes.

We should be concerned about our long-term financial security and leave the responsibility for this neither to a company nor to the government. Conditions have changed since companies declared that they are no longer responsible for their employees’ retirement. Therefore, we all need to be awake investors and be aware of the ups and downs of financial markets.

My advice is to learn how to become an investor instead of handing over your money to someone else to invest on your behalf. If you invest your money in a mutual fund or give it to an investment professional, you may have to wait until the age of 65 to see the result. If they did a terrible job, you may need to continue working for the rest of your life. Millions of people will be faced with this reality because they will be too late to invest or learn to invest.

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Don’t Be Afraid To Invest Your Money

Wealth Is Measured in Time Not Money

“Wealth is the number of days a person can live without physically working and maintaining her standard of living.”

Let’s say your monthly expenses are $ 1000. If you have $ 3000 in your savings account, your wealth means 3 months or 90 days. Wealth is measured in time, not money.

After all, it is not how much money you make, but how much money you can keep and how long you can increase the money. I know many people who make a lot of money every day, but most of their income goes to the spending column.

If their income increases, they consider buying a bigger house or a new car. This means long-term debt and hard work, so nothing is left for the asset column. Money runs out quickly.

“Going in Red” Shortens The Life Of The Engine

To go in red is to continue driving even though the gas gauge drops empty. This phrase is also used to describe going at full speed.

Whether rich or poor, there are many people who always “go in the red”. No matter how much they earn, they quickly spend what they get. “Going in red” shortens the life of the engine.

According to many doctors, the main cause of stress today is hard work and not making enough money. Especially some people insist that “wallet cancer” is the biggest cause of health disorders.

Money Works for You So You Don’t Have To Work

No matter how much money people make, eventually they have to use some of it to invest. Investors are more interested in making money out of money. This is also the idea that money works for you so you don’t have to work. But the important thing here is to know that there are other ways to invest.

Other Ways to Invest

People invest in their education. Traditional education is important because the better you study, the better your chances of making money. If you devote four years to college, you have the potential to earn between $ 24,000 and $ 50,000 a year or more. Considering that an ordinary person actually gives 40 years to work, studying at a four-year university or similar institution can be a very good investment.

Loyalty and diligence are also another means of investment, for example a lifetime working in a private company or a government agency. The reward for this is the retirement bonus and lifetime pension, as well as the right to various services. However, this type of investment, which is valid in the Industrial Age, has lost its validity in the Information Age.

Others invest in a crowded family and want children to take care of them in their old age. Such an investment used to be good, however, due to today’s economic difficulties, families are no longer in a position to meet the living and health expenses of the elders.

There are also independent pension investment plans called individual pension plans. The federal government provides tax relief for incentives to both employers and workers so that they participate in these plans.

Income from Investments

Although all of the above are investment tools, people who invest are more concerned with a continuous source of income than these. Are you currently deriving your income from your investments? In other words, does your money work for you and generate income for you?

Let’s look at someone who buys a house for investment and rents it out. If the rent he receives is more than he has to spend for that house, it means cash coming from investments. The same is true for those who earn interest on their money in the bank or receive dividends from stocks.

Advantage of Earning Income From Investments

The main difference that separates those who make money from their investments from others is to make money from money. If they succeed in this, they can run their money, and the next few generations of members of their family also benefit.

In addition to the obvious advantages of knowing how to earn money from money and live without having to get out of bed in the morning and go to work, there are also tax advantages that are not available to those who work to make money.

One of the reasons the rich get richer is because they earn millions but do not pay taxes on that money. Because their earnings are included in the “active column”, not the “passive column”. Or they make money from their investments, not physical work.

Those who work to make money are not only subject to high taxes. Also, a certain tax is deducted from their wages, that amount goes to tax before they even get it.

Why Are More People Not Being Investors?

Investing means working less, earning more and paying less tax. So why don’t more people become investors? For the same reason as the small number of people starting their own business. In one word, we can say because of “risk”.

Many people are afraid of losing money when they are investing it somewhere. Even if they know how much their investments may earn them, they avoid investing and risking their money because they are afraid of losing.

Fear of losing money divides investors into four classes:

1. Those who avoid risk, love guarantees and keep their money in the bank

2. Those who leave their investment decisions to experts such as financial advisors or mutual fund managers

3. Gamblers

4. Investors

We can distinguish between the gambler and the investor as follows: According to the gambler, investment is a game of chance. For those who hand their money over to someone else to invest, investing is a game that they do not want to learn. It is important for these people to be careful when choosing financial advisors.

It’s Time to Become an Investor!

The defined and predictable plans of the Industrial Age are gone. As the Information Age shifts to specific retirement plans, everyone has to be responsible for their own finances. However, the number of people who realize this is very few.

I urge you to read my WHY YOU NEED TO INCREASE YOUR FINANCIAL IQ post.

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