FINANCIAL STRESS? YOU ARE NOT ALONE

#FinancialStress #ImprovingEconomy #FinancialStrains
We hear the economy is improving.
We also hear that companies can’t fill jobs, when just a few short years ago, they were laying people off in droves.
Yet, many are suffering financial distress.
“A growing number of low- and middle-income households are plagued by high debt and have little or no savings,” writes Paul Davidson for USA Today. “The financial strains have especially worsened for those near the bottom of the income ladder,” Davidson continues.
Davidson, whose article on the subject was also published April 19, 2018, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, quotes a UBS study that says some households could fall behind on loan payments, reduce their spending and slow or even undercut a buoyant U.S. economy for the first time since the Great Recession officially ended in 2009.
In other words, the economic news we hear isn’t telling the whole story.
Though the study focuses on lower-income households, other households, whose income was just fine prior to the recession, have yet to recover. The job they now have pays less than the jobs they lost. The manageable debt they had with the higher-paying job is less manageable now.
The article quotes a Bankrate.com survey that says rents are soaring. One in five working Americans aren’t saving any income, the survey says. Average rents have jumped 30 percent nationally since 2010, the article quotes RealPage.
In other words, paychecks have grown much more slowly than expenses.
What to do, if you’re in this predicament?
Perhaps moving is not an option. More than likely, if you are having trouble paying your rent, your search for cheaper accommodations will be futile, since the studies indicate that rising rents is a universal problem.
A second job? Chances are your first job already extracts too much from you for too little compensation, and the thought of getting a second job, even as a temporary measure, is unappealing. Besides, the second job probably won’t give you the extra financial cushion you need, and will just take more of your time away from your family, or things you like to do.
So what is the solution? Perhaps, instead of a second job, you could check out one of the many ways to make extra money without having to get another traditional W-2 job. To examine one of the best such vehicles – one that could also help you save money on some household expenses – message me.
It’s been said that a rising (economic) tide will lift all boats. It’s also been said that building an economy from the bottom up, is better for everyone than building from the top down.
However you look at things, be it the economy as a whole or your life in particular, you can’t count on someone, or something, to solve your problems, if you are having problems.
You have to look for things YOU can do to make your life better. It’s great to set goals, but they will not be reached without action on your part.
Sometimes, all it takes is meeting someone who can show you a way out that you hadn’t noticed, or thought about, before.
If such a person comes into your life, don’t ignore him or her. See what he or she is offering, and whether it is right for you.
Peter

HOME WITH A VIEW? WHAT’S IT WORTH TO YOU

#HomeWithAView #HouseWithAView #RealEstate #HomePrices
The three most important things to consider when buying real estate, as the axiom goes, are location, location and location.
A house with a view of mountains, water, city lights etc., though everyone would like to have one, comes with a price.
Marilyn Lewis discussed this in an article for Nedwallet.com. It was also published in the April 16, 2018, edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“Views are actually really difficult to quantify,” Lewis quotes Andy Krause, principal data scientist at Greenfield Advisors, a real estate research company.
A view is somewhat subjective, Lewis quotes Krause. There are, for example, lake “view” locations, which are different from, lake “front” locations. They also come at different prices.
There are city view locations, vs. panoramic city view locations, which allow you to see different parts of the city from every window in the house.
Then, there are views from different places. In Manhattan, a place that overlooks green space, say Central Park, costs much more than a green-space view in the countryside, Lewis quotes Mauricio Rodriguez, a real estate expert who chairs the finance department at Texas Christian University’s Neeley School of Business.
So, pricing a view is the difficult part. Here’s what Lewis attributes to Krause’s automated valuation models:
• Add 5 to 10 percent for a home on flat ground, with an unobstructed view of an open space or a park. If an identical home is worth $500,000 elsewhere in Seattle, this view could boost the price to $525,000 to $550,000.
• Add 10 to 30 percent for a home part way up a hill with a partially obstructed water view over neighbors’ rooftops. The degree of obstruction will vary the price.
• Add 30 to 50 percent if the above view is unobstructed.
• Add 50 to 75 percent for a hilltop home with an unobstructed cityscape or open-space vista.
• Add 75 to 100 percent for an unobstructed big-lake or ocean view.

In short, you have to decide, when buying a house, how much you are willing to pay for a view, particularly in expensive housing markets.
Also, if you have a location with a view, you need to find out whether that view is protected, the article says. In other words, if someone will one day be allowed to build something in front of you that will obstruct, or obliterate, your view, that’s worth less than a view that is protected.
The article also advises homebuyers to look for bargains, like a house in which a wall covers a nice view, or adding a deck to take advantage of the view. Those can be fixed with a remodel that will cost you less than the new value of your house.
All this comes down to money. We all want a nice view, but many are not willing to pay for it. Perhaps, instead of settling for less than you want, you need to find a way to make more money. There are many ways out there to do that, without interfering greatly with what you are doing now. To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
Regardless of what your situation is, if you are looking for a home, know how much you can reasonably afford. Also, look for homes in nice locations or neighborhoods, even without great views.
Remember, too, that a house is a house. A home is what you make it.
Peter

THE DREAM OF BEING YOUR OWN BOSS

#BeingYourOwnBoss #entrepreneurs #BusinessOwners #freelancers
The trend is growing.
Americans say they intend to become their own boss, with all the flexibility that may entail.
According to MetLife study on employee benefits trends, 57 percent of workers say they are interested in becoming a freelancer, according to an article by Charisse Jones for USA Today. It was also published April 22, 2018, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The 57 percent, the article says, is up from 51 percent just last year.
Millennials were the most interested in such work, with 74 percent of those in that age group saying they were curious about becoming a freelancer. That compares to 57 percent of those in Generation X and 43 percent of Baby Boomers, the article quotes the study.
Certainly, the lack of job security working for someone else has contributed to this feeling. Younger folks can look forward to a work life of not knowing whether they will still have a job when the walk into work on a given day.
Younger folks, it seems, want more out of life than just working, working, working. But they may not realize that becoming a freelancer has many pitfalls.
First, until the U.S. can figure out how to make health insurance affordable, buying such insurance on the individual market is incredibly expensive.
Second, it’s been said that one doesn’t own a business. A business owns him or her. If you want to be successful as an entrepreneur, you can’t really tell yourself that you are only going to work X number of hours, with certain days off etc. You have to work when work finds you, and, you have to keep hustling to make sure you have enough work to make a living.
Third, there are duties that you have to do – or pay someone else to do – to keep your enterprise afloat. There is bookkeeping, keeping records for taxes etc. – the kind of work you may not like to do, or find boring.
In short, the flexibility you sought by not working for someone else may not be there for you.
Certainly, there are advantages.
There is something to be said for starting a business from the ground up, and making it successful.
Perhaps, eventually, it can be successful enough that you can pay others to do much of the work, so you can be more flexible.
Usually, though, that takes many years to achieve, and many, many hours of being chief cook and bottle washer.
Perhaps there is a happy medium – having a regular W-2 job that pays the bills, while using some of your own time – say, a few hours a week — building a business for yourself – one that potentially could allow you to eventually ditch the W-2 job and be on your own.
There are many vehicles out there that would allow you to do that. To check out one of the best, message me.
No matter how you decide to earn a living, there is good and bad about each. Independence is a lofty goal, but it’s not for everyone, or every situation.
Here’s a rule of thumb, as you contemplate how you construct your life: if it is to be, it’s up to me. Working for someone else has some benefits, but those benefits can be taken away at any time. Working for yourself has many benefits, but you have to know whether your skill has a market and, if you believe it does, be willing to go out to find it.
Write out your dreams for your life, then put together a game plan that will get you to those dreams.
Peter

THINKING ALONE WON’T MAKE YOU RICH

#IWannaBeRich #ThinkingRich #RichMindset #OpenToOpportunities
The duo Calloway sang it best in 1990: “I Wanna Be Rich.”
But, Personal Finance columnist Barry Ritholtz writes that just thinking about getting rich won’t make you rich.
“What’s the main thing that separates the rich from the poor? Ask any of the financially free people, and they will tell you the same: their mindset,” Ritholtz writes in his column, also published in the April 16, 2018, edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Ritholtz calls this thinking, “deceptive nonsense … rampant in the marketing materials aimed at gullible and desperate consumers.”
Still, he writes, Napoleon Hill’s 1937 classic “Think and Grow Rich” sold 20 million copies. “In the context of that very difficult time (the Depression era) we can give Hill a pass for reminding Americans of their can-do attitudes and boosting their self-confidence,” he writes.
For the less cynical, people who succeed first have to believe that they can. They have to have a strong “why” that pushes them to do what they need to do.
So the message in Ritholtz’s column should be: put your positive thoughts into action.
As leadership expert John Maxwell has said, the axiom “if you can believe it, you can achieve it” may not be true in all cases. To be a great opera singer, for example, one must not only believe they can be one, but have the natural talent and put in the hard work to hone that talent. Naturally, without the God-given talent – not just the ability to carry a tune — all the belief and hard work you can muster probably will not get you to the Met.
But positive thoughts, and the desire to succeed, are vital to success. Many of us have been engrained to “settle” for security. A good education gets you a good job, which gets you a good life.
But if you indeed want more than that – if you have a dream you believe you can achieve – you have to have your head in the right place.
You also have to be open to opportunities that may be presented to you, and recognize them as such.
There may be folks out there who want more than just security, have a great mindset, but don’t really have the vehicle to get them to where they want to be. If you are among those, there are actually many such vehicles out there. To check out one of the best, message me.
Ritzholtz is correct in saying that there is a whole industry out there that involves get-rich-quick schemes that don’t include hard work.
For some things, no matter how hard you work at them, you’ll never achieve what you want.
But, most of us are smart enough to know the difference between real and phony opportunities.
Some “millionaire mindset” suggestions have value, Ritholtz acknowledges. He cites becoming goal-oriented, living within or below one’s means, using extra money to invest in yourself or the stock market etc.
“You can become rich – but only if you meet or create great demand for a real service or product,” Ritholtz writes.
To shorten his message, think of it this way: “Just thinking or (believing it) does not mean that you will achieve it,” he writes. “Doing, on the other hand, at least gives you a shot at it.”
Peter

WHAT YOU COULD DO WITH YOUR SUMMER-JOB MONEY

#saving #investing #SummerJobs #stocks
It’s summer, and students (college and high school) are getting jobs as lifeguards, cooks etc. that pay an average of, say, $10 a hour.
In practical terms, most of those students will sock away a good bit of what they earn to pay for college, or some other higher education.
But Rubicoin, an educational investment app., calculated what you could do in the future if you decided to invest that money in the stock market.
Adam Shell wrote a short piece for USA Today on the study. The article also was published June 8, 2018, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Rubicoin calculated how much money a worker earning $10 an hour in a 25-hour workweek for 13 weeks, each summer for the past four years, Shell writes.
“If they invested half of their before-tax pay equally on Aug. 31 each year in the four FANG stocks (Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google), the $6,500 investment since 2014 would be worth $15,899 today, Shell quotes Rubicoin. If a student favors a bigger bet – investing in Netflix alone – it would have been worth $22,639, or $19,544 if they invested in just Amazon.
Certainly, these FANG stocks have skyrocketed recently. Doing that now, when they are at high prices, would be impractical. Doing it then, when their prices were relatively low, would have been a big risk for a student.
Perhaps planning your financial future would be better after your education is finished. Every dime you earn should be saved for the expenses for school – unless, of course, you come from a wealthy family and can do what you want with what you earn. Most students, however, are not in that position.
So, here’s another thought: what if you could take a percentage of what you earn in ONE summer, invest it in something that might give you the kind of bright financial future that no one will take away from you? A small investment, plus some part-time effort on your part throughout your life, could lead to an income stream that could allow you to never worry about money again.
There are several such ventures out there that could do that. To check out one of the best, message me.
There are few financial advisers who would recommend that a student invest a chunk of his summer income in stocks – despite their potential – would be a big risk.
Young investors should start out conservatively. They should move gradually from a bank savings account – get out of that as quickly as you can – to conservative funds, to stocks with some potential as your nest egg grows.
The important message from Shell and Rubicoin is to start saving your money while you are young. The more you can do at a young age, the more you will have as you get older.
Remember that the job you think is secure now may not be so in the future. Having the discipline to save and invest carefully, with the proper advice, will hopefully prevent devastation later in life.
In short: when you are off from school in the summer, work (more than 25 hours a week, if you can). Use that money to invest in your education. When your education is finished, continue the pattern of saving a certain percentage of your income, progressively investing over time.
If you use the money before retirement, make sure it is for something like buying a house. Don’t blow it on vacations and other non-durable items. Keep saving for a retirement that could come before you want it to.
Remember: the little things you do when you are young will give you more options in the future.
Peter