BOOK TIDBITS: The Best Investment Advice I Ever Received Part 2

More insights from America’s moneymaker…

 

RICHARD BERNSTEIN (Chief US Strategist, Merrill Lynch & Co.)

Save.  Save a lot and Save often.

Saving and Consumption are mutually exclusive. You can’t do both.

Most people think they’re saving for their retirement. Their credit card balances is compounding at 9% per year, whereas their investments are earning 8% per year.  In other words, they’re “saving” at an interest rate of  negative 1% per year!

 

PETER COHAN ( President, Peter S. Cohan & Associates)

7 Principles that Drive Corporate Value in any Economy

1. Value Human Relationships

2. Foster Teamwork

3. Experiment Frugally

4. Fulfill your commitments

5. Fight Complacency

6. Win through Multiple Means

7. Give to your Community

BOOK TIDBITS: The Best Investment Advice I Ever Received Part 1

In this Book (as compiled by Liz Claman), more than 65 of America’s top moneymakers share their winning strategies  to their most fundamental points. Famous people like Warren Buffet, Jim Cramer, Suze Orman, and Steve Forbes share their insights on finance and investing.

WARREN BUFFETT (Berkshire Hathaway)

Billionaire Investor shares 3 Principles:

1. Look at a stock as being part of a business versus something that has a lot of flash about it or something your broker or neighbor simply tells you about.

2. Stock <arket fluctuations are there to serve investors rather than to instruct them. Investors shoudl turn a deaf ear over daily market gyrations. Good quality companies can withstand these gyrations.

3. One can never be precise in calculating the worth of a stock, but what you can do is estimate. If you compute that a stock is worth $120, and the current market price is at $60, then buy it. In the long run, you should be able to realize hefty returns.

 

JIM CRAMER (host, CNBC’s Mad Money)

Lessons from my dad, Ken Cramer…

All that matters is inventory. If you have too much inventory, you’re in trouble. If you have too little inventory, you’re in trouble. If you have t pay too much to keep inventory, you’re going to get hurt. And if you have the wrong inventory, you will get stung.

Though his dad may be in the retail industry, such universal concept is very much applicable in the world of stock trading and investing. 

 

SUZE ORMAN (host and author, Personal Finance Expert)

It is better to have 50% of SOMETHING, than 100% of NOTHING.

In investing, we tend to cling so much on something even if admittedly we have committed a blunder.

If you buy a stock for $100, it only takes 50% drop to cut your investment into half (down to $50). But to regain its original value,  it will take 100% increase to bring it back to $100.

 

STEVE FORBES (President & CEO, Forbes Magazine)

If you want to get rich, start your own business.

If you invest, pay more than lip service to disciplined investing and long-term investing. Everyone is a disciplined and long-term investor until the market goes down.

WHAT TO DO IN THIS TIME OF ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN

 

If you’re a regular INQUIRER reader, you might have read this article. But, for those who haven’t, I suggest you find time, grab a cup of coffee and spend a little time reading this article. It’s a great ROUNDUP of articles that may help you go through 2009. Undeniably, 2008 was one of the worst years in the Financial History. So, let’s not make the same mistakes for 2009. Friends, protect your money and take charge of your finances. Happy Reading

 

ROUNDUP: Can’t Stop Talking About the Crisis

(Salve Duplito of Inquirer.net did a great job compiling all these articles)

Welcome 2009!

Happy New Year !

Last year was mostly volatility and uncertainties. Companies going belly up, US Recession, and Global Economic slowdown were just few events I never thought I’d see in my lifetime. But, do we now see the light at the end of the tunnel?– NOT QUITE.

For me, 2009 will be a year of extreme caution as nothing is certain anymore. Save harder, and be sure to stay diversified.

How to face 2009? Let me count the ways:

1. SAVE SAVE SAVE. Save harder than ever. Save for the short, medium, and long term goals. May it be for a new gadget, for a car or house downpayment, or for a business, be sure to religiously save a portion of your monthly salary.
2. Stay away from DEBTS (especially credit card debts). If your investments don’t earn you any money, at least don’t lose some by paying interest rates and finance charges. It feels great to have 0 credit card debt — trust me. If you don’t have a good reason for taking up a loan (car or house), then never be tempted. Most people avail of salary loans just to buy new clothes, gadgets, and go on vacations — WHY?
3. Diversify your PORTFOLIO. Start the year right, re-balance your portfolio, and be sure you’re not over-exposed in any instrument. Depending on your risk appetite, select a balanced portfolio that works fo you. For me, i will keep my positions in Stocks, Mutual Funds, Bank Products (both commercial and rural), and hopefully Business starting this year. I remain aggressive towards STOCKS. It doesn’t mean I’m buying now, but for sure I’m saving very hard to re-enter the market when the right time comes. Also, if you have placements in Rural Banks, be sure to stay within the PDIC limit — better be sure than sorry.
4. Stay away from any PONZI Scheme — when it’s too good to be true, it is too good to be true. Never risk your hard-earned money and voluntarily give it to heartless individuals.
5. Stay INSURED. Protect your assets and your loved ones. Never miss your car insurance and life insurance payments.
6. Know your NET WORTH and keep a BUDGET. If you have not started creating your SAL and PSIE, now is the best time to do it. How can you start SAVING, if you don’t know how much you can afford?
7. Stay HAPPY and BLOG more .

THE MILLIONAIRE NEXT DOOR

If you want to know the secrets of millionaires, I suggest you grab this book — The Millionaire Next Door by Stanley and Danko.  Though, it talks about millionaires in the United States, concepts are very universal that anybody can relate to it. I got my copy from National Bookstore at 20% less (book sale ends by Sept. 28, so i suggest you do your book shopping now for serious discounts)

Going back, the book profiles a typical millionaire in the US. Their background, habits, and outlook towards money.

It may sound like a cliche, but millionaires do “live well below their means”. True millionaires cease the moment to invest and grow/accumulate their wealth than spend it.

There are 2 typres of people — the Prodigious Accumulators of Wealth (PAWs) and Under Accumulators of Wealth (UAWs).  To become a millionaire, you have to be a PAW… you need to live like a PAW and act like a PAW.

There is a simple formula to know whether you’re a PAW or UAW. Your current NET WORTH, should be your ANNUAL PRE-TAX INCOME multiplied by your AGE, and divide it by 10. If the value is greater than your present NET WORTH, then you’re a PAW. I hope by now, you know how to compute your Net Worth, otherwise you can check my previous post about SAL and PSIE.

For example, Person A’s NET WORTH is 1,000,000 (Assets minus Liabilities), let’s find out if he’s a PAW or UAW. (is he truly a millionaire in the making)

ANNUAL PRE-TAX INCOME = 600,000 (50,000 monthly income x 12 months)

AGE = 40 yrs. old

Therefore, (600,000) x (4) / 10 = 2,400,000 should be Person A’s Net Worth to be a PAW.

Since, 1,000,000 is less than 2,400,000, Person A is a UAW.

Just imagine, despite Person A accumulating 1,000,000 (current Net Worth), he’s still an Under Accumulator of Wealth (UAW). Since by now, with his INCOME and AGE, he should have accumulated 2,400,000, only if he behaved like a true PAW, invested and grew his wealth all these years.

To know more about the traits and charecteristics of PAWs, i highly recommend this book. Since the book is based on actual study conducted by the Auhtors, it presents the data with concrete examples and real life experiences, which makes it easy to read and understand.