How to Find Ways to Earn Passive Income

1. Passive Income is most easily defined as money made without effort. In the communication age there are many opportunities to create passive income for yourself and this article will assist you in finding ways to earn money with minimal effort

   1. Begin by evaluating your current situation. Do you have specific knowledge that people would pay for? Do you have a source of capital to begin a venture? Is it realistic to spend alot of time developing your revenue streams? Without honestly answering these questions you will be out chasing the next new fad and will never achieve success.

   2. If you answered yes to the question regarding knowledge that people would pay for ask yourself how you can use this knowledge. If this is an elaborate amount of knowledge such as how to repair every problem in a home or how to achieve a chiseled physique you may consider writing a book in your free time. This is a much more viable option now than ever before due to the availability of books for download and other online options for delivery to the public.

   If your knowledge is more broad than these examples consider writing article such as this one. While it requires less in-depth knowledge and specifics, it also does not include the marketing headaches and platforms such as eHow gives you a certain level of instant credibility.

   3. If you have a little capital and the ability to write insightful articles consider your own blog. While this is the flavor of the month in some respects it is possible to make money if you can write knowledgeable and entertaining content. Viewership typically grows exponentially so it will take time but knowledgeable, entertaining writers will always be discovered over time. You can find many blog sites for free such as blogger.com until you are ready to make a minimal investment to customize your site.

   4. Do you have an idea for an interactive site that can draw internet traffic? This is the golden egg as it requires little to no maintenance. If you have a blockbuster idea such as Facebook or the Action Hero Club you can develop your platform with upfront costs and then just worry about the marketing of your idea. This is ideal.

   5. I know, I have not given you any specifics for developing income streams. Through continued research I have found the best resources depend upon your current situation. As your blog or website is young you will need to rely upon Google Adsense or a similar tool to provide you with minimal income. As you grow you can turn your growing traffic into affiliate traffic with much higher revenues. You can work out agreements individually with vendors or turn to companies such as Commission Junction to allow you to partner with name brand products for commissions that range from two to fifteen percent of sales. If your traffic will purchase products with your logo utilize resources such as Zazzle to create revenues until such time you can produce products in-house. Want to recommend books or music? Become an Amazon affiliate.

   6. As is always the case, you must have a marketable product, however with the growing of the information age this product can be your knowledge base. I hope this article at least laid out the basics of how to position yourself to capitalize on the current information age and will help you create at least a small, beginning revenue stream until you can develop a following where demand continually exceeds the supply of your product.

   (Source: ehow.com)

How to One Day Be Rich

Ever driven a sports car? Well, if you have, then you'll know that money can buy happiness. Today in this modern world, it's everyone's dream to become rich, but it won't happen instantly. So the best thing to do would be to start thinking about how you're going to get rich now.

Steps:

1. Start saving! If you save $5 a week then in a year you will have $260 saved up, which you can use later to help you become more wealthy.

2. Get a good education! Would Bill Gates of invented Microsoft if he didn't have a good education? Well, the short answer is no. Getting a good high school and college education is one of the most important things you'll need to one day become rich.

3. Learn about investing! If you start learning about investments when your 11 or 12, then by the time you're 18 you'll know how everything works, And you can then start investing

4. Invest! Once you have learned how to invest, you'll be good to go. Start investing little amounts of money as young as possible. For example, invest $100 in KFC when you are 18, and by the time you are 28, that $100 might be worth $1000!

Tips:

- Ask for help from people who know about investing or have invested before. But don't believe everything that someone who will make money off you tells you, they will probably just be bluffing.

- You can get cheap investments in things when the markets are down, because people will want to sell their shares in case they lose all of their money, when most likely, the market will get even better than it was before in a couple of months.

- Don't forget the people who helped you become rich, as you may one day need them. Buy gifts for these people and stay in contact with them.

- Don't let boyfriends/girlfriends get in the way of you becoming rich. If you need to sit by yourself every recess and lunch for your high school life studying, then so be it. Just remember that high school's only for 5 or 6 years, and being rich is for a lifetime. Mutual funds are safer and cost as much as some stocks. A mutual fund is share in a lot of companies.

Warnings:

- Don't invest alot of money in things you don't know much about, as you are likely to loose your money.

- Don't invest too much money in one thing, spread your stocks out between different industries, so even if you loose all your invested stocks in one market, you'll still be making money from all of your other markets.

Source: wikihow.com

The Easiest Way to Get Rich

Step 1: Get a well-paid job
This is a reasonable amount of work, and takes a few years, but it's a virtually guaranteed way to make a good income. If they're willing to put in the work, almost any intelligent person can get a job paying $100,000 or more within the space of a few years. While it's not easy, it is by far the easiest and most likely way to secure a good income. In fact, I've already written an entire article on how to get a job paying more than $100,000 a year for those who wish to pursue this avenue.

Step 2: Get good tax advice
However you make your money, your number one expense is likely to be funding the government. In most developed countries, the average worker pays around 30% of everything they earn straight into the taxman's pocket. If you've taken my job advice, you'll most likely pay even more than that.

While taxation is necessary to fund the good things governments provide, you don't do yourself any favors by paying more than your fair share. If you're serious about building wealth, get a good accountant who understands how to legally minimize your tax bill.

Step 3: Save 20% of everything you ever earn
As soon as you get paid, arrange to have 20% of your income removed into a savings account. Many banks can do this automatically for you. Keep your savings account separate from your spending account, and you'll barely miss this money.

There's a saying in economics "expenses rise to meet income". This means money that's easily available to you is certain to be spent. That's why most people's paychecks disappear before their next payday. They get used to having a certain amount to spend, and habitually run down their bank account. 

Have your savings moved somewhere it's a hassle to get them out of to avoid this risk. Many high interest accounts require you to give them a few days notice, which is ideal for this purpose.

Step 4: Conservatively invest the funds that build up in your savings account
Once a month, go into your savings account and divide the money by investing it into the three core conservative assets: shares, property and cash. Open a mutual fund account for shares, a property fund for property, and a money market fund for cash. Look for share and property funds that invest in a broad range of assets and most importantly charge very low fees. An index fund is ideal for the shares. An index of property funds is ideal for property.

Put an equal amount into each account. This will diversify you against risk in any one particular asset. If you're younger, this rule is a little bit flexible, allowing you to take a little more risk and put more into shares and property if you like.

Step 5: Reinvest any income you get from your assets straight back into buying more assets
Mutual funds and property funds pay dividends. Money market accounts pay interest. Don't take this income into your spending account. Instead, select the option to have it reinvested into the fund that generated it.

Step 6: Never touch these funds and do your best to ignore them
The business press, like the mainstream press, loves a crisis. "Shares to skyrocket" or "Property to plummet" headlines will sell many more copies than "Things to continue steadily". All markets go up and down. Every day, some speculation will be published about some crisis or opportunity. 

Ignore it all.

Just keep putting the 20% into your assets. Sometimes they'll go up and sometimes they'll go down in value. But over the long term, they'll almost certainly go up.

Step 7: Wait a decade
Do what I've outlined above and in a decade you'll be rich. Sure, you won't be Bill Gates, but you'll almost certainly be in the top 20% of wealth holders. Wait another decade and you'll be in the top 5% or higher. 

That's the plan. It's not the most exciting or glamourous way to build wealth, but it's the easiest. Quite simply, this is how most rich people got there.

You too can join them, if you follow it.

Source: www.paulstips.com

3 Surefire Ways to Get Rich Quick - Do They Really Work?

The numbers are in - economic experts have predicted that in 2010 the economy will still be on the down side. During these trying times, we tend to look for ways to alleviate the tight situation. A lot of people will always welcome those fast and easy prospects of improving their lot. It seems that the so-called gurus on financial success are having a field day in the midst of increasing desperation of a growing number of people in searching for ways to pull themselves out of their present financial predicament. When people get into trouble because of job cuts, payment defaults and foreclosures, these so-called financial experts will always have the solutions.

Here are the 7 most popular quick-fix solutions that we normally hear from them:

1. Go into stock speculation

Prospects:

It is being hailed as our ticket to overnight financial windfall. It is a given that there is money in stock trading. You only have to make the right choices and invest on right ones. In most cases, it is wise to look for small companies as we all know that blue chip companies all started small. Your stock portfolio will grow as these companies expand their businesses.

Caveats:

If you are looking for the right way to improve your finances, then stock speculation is not a sound option. Stock speculation is done without much research. You are actually gambling instead of investing. You have to understand the fact that if indeed this is a great option for those wanting to get rich, then everyone would be forming a beeline to get a piece of the action.

2. Become a Real Estate Flipper

Prospects

Buyers are king and this is the best time for real estate flippers. Let's see - rates and house prices are still in the low levels while inventories are high in most real estate markets. It is the best time to take advantage of the fallout of the bubble burst. Buying cheap properties will yield gains by as much as 25%! You can even use your real estate property to leverage a low interest home equity loan to purchase cheap properties. You will surely laugh your way to the bank once house prices start to pick up.

Caveats:

There is no indication that the real estate market will bottom out any time soon. Buying now is a totally sound decision if you are looking for one that you can call your own. Otherwise, you end up speculating again with the expectation that you will be able to unload the property in the near term. You are playing with fire and inviting disaster of colossal proportion. House flipping can lead to financial ruin so very careful when you leverage your present equity to finance a "bargain" home.

3. Become a blogger

Prospects

The Web is awash with "proven" techniques that will help you turn your blog into a veritable cash cow. You don't have to be another Fyodor Dostoevsky to generate strong following. All you have to do is throw in some really profitable ads and write posts and you are ready to go. It's that simple.

Caveat

Sadly, all these promises of great wealth from blogging don't come overnight. You might earn a few cents from your advertiser accounts and after using your "secret blogging formula" for a few months, you will learn that there is more to it than your formula. It would take a lot of hard work and persistence before you can finally see green. This is not for you if you are looking for a quick rich scheme.

At the end of the day you will learn that there isn't much you can expect from these get rich quick schemes. The gods must all conspire for you to get rich overnight. And if you are not fortunate enough to get them working for you, then you have no other choice but to rely on sheer hard work and persistence.

(Source: ezinearticles.com)

So - You Want to be Rich? 7 Wealth Attraction Tips for Entrepreneurs

We all hear it. We all say it. Everyone wants to be rich but, short of picking the lucky numbers or winning the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes, most people go don’t know how to amass the wealth they dream about.

Here are the top tactics of successful entrepreneurs:

1. “Dig the well before you’re thirsty” – Confucius

We discussed this last week. Marketing, whether your business or yourself, is the one task that wise people do daily – YES...DAILY. You should do at least one thing each day to keep your marketing funnel full.

2. “The moment you begin to think of time as precious and that it has a price, the richer you will become.” – Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad’s Guide to Investing

Do you spend your time wisely or do you squander it by spending hours in front of the TV? Successful entrepreneurs understand that how they spend their time determines their future. It’s critical to do the things that will move you/your business forward each day.

3. Have a wealth mindset

Successful entrepreneurs are focused, first and foremost, on being secure. Then on being comfortable and finally, on being rich. It is this focus on security that forces them to build systems and look at the big picture as opposed to doing what is best only for the short-term.

Successful entrepreneurs also understand that they need to invest in themselves and their business in order to reach their long-term goals. Doing things “quick and dirty” or for the fast buck doesn’t create the long-lasting success that you are looking for.

4. Have a sense of urgency

Successful entrepreneurs are not procrastinators – they get things done and done today! Their sense of urgency is borne not only of their appreciation for the value of time, but also as a way of insuring their clients are always satisfied. Why make them wait? Happy clients purchase from you and they do so repeatedly.

5. “Don’t feel overwhelmed...just do one thing at a time.” -- Rose Lindsey character in “Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead” movie

The above quote may sound familiar and is a trademark of all successful entrepreneurs. Have 100 things to do? Don’t know where to start?

Just pick one and do it. It doesn’t matter which one, just do something. Sitting and staring at the pile or fretting about how much you need to do won’t get you anywhere. But doing one thing, and then another, and then another will.

6. Be a “big picture optimist and detail pessimist”.

Direct marketing guru Dan Kennedy tells the story of how he travels a lot and never worries about the plane going to the wrong city or exploding in midair or experiencing some other trouble that would result in his never reaching to his destination (big picture optimist). At the same time, he plans for the plane to leave late and arrive late, for his luggage to be lost and for the food (when you get it) to be inedible (detail pessimist).

Using this approach in project (and travel) planning insures that you’ve anticipated the potential problems which Murphy’s Law usually provides and have solutions already in hand. The worst that can happen is that you never need your “Plan B”.

7. You can't (and shouldn't) do it all

Successful entrepreneurs know and understand that trying to do everything themselves is a prescription for overwhelm and burnout.

The truly successful create teams and delegate effectively. Having one (or several) good virtual assistants, a bookkeeper, a pre-paid legal plan, etc. takes the day-to-day minutiae off you so that you can focus on the big picture.

No matter where you are today, I encourage you to do one thing today that will move you forward in your goals. Remember Confucius (knew a lot, didn’t he?): “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Take that step today and feel the momentum carry you forward.

(Source: ezinearticles.com)

How to Become A Millionaire

Spend Less Than You Earn.

My wife and I have done fairly well with our finances. One reason for this is that we spend less than we earn. Another, and perhaps better, way to look at this is to earn more than you spend. Don’t get me wrong, I think spending money is good. But living within your means is the key to financial success. If you can combine both of these principles, earn more and spend less, you will be ahead of 95% of the world.

Save and Invest.

Money saved is worth more than money earned, and you should take advantage of that principle. Once you have a surplus of money, you need to do something constructive with it. Saving and investing is the best way to do that. Compound interest has been called the strongest force in the universe, and you want that force working for you. There are many ways to invest, and as long as you make wise investment decisions and let time and compound interest work for you, you will be successful. Start by paying yourself first.

Repeat.

Earn money, spend less than you earn, save and invest, repeat. After that it’s just a matter of time. Even if it takes years or decades, the process really is that simple.

Is it really that easy? Yes. It may not seem as easy as I laid it out here, but it really is. Remember, this is not an overnight get rich quick scheme. It takes time, planning, and a little luck along the way.

Get started. If you want to become a millionaire, you need to decide to do it and get started. If you are not be able to save money right now because of debt or other financial obligations, you should work on those issues first. A good place to start is with Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps. This is a tried and true method for setting up an emergency fund, paying down debt, and beginning your investments. Once you have that started, you can begin your million dollar journey.

(Source: cashmoneylife.com)

Tips to Become Rich

No matter which life stage you are in, you have a future ahead of you and you should not leave it to chance- you must plan for it. So what are your financial goals?

Here's a tip: "making a lot of money fast" is not necessarily a reasonable goal. Look ahead and think of when would you incur major expenditures.

When you think of your goals, you should think about your hopes and dreams, for yourself and your family. What do you hope to achieve in life? Possibly buy a home and send your children to college?

Or maybe you'd like to retire early and travel the world? And now compare the future dream with the current reality. Here are a few tips for planning for a secure future:

1. What you earn, what you spend

The first part of allocating your investments is to figure out what's there to allocate. You need to estimate both your net worth and your net income/expenses. Your net worth, what accountants call a balance sheet, compares your assets (what you own) with your liabilities (what you owe).

This will help you see your monthly disposable income  --  the income you have left over after paying all necessary expenses. And that tells you how much you can afford to contribute to your financial goals each month.

2. Set your goals

Financial professionals often counsel investors to write down their goals. Their intention is not to make you ponder the meaning of life, but to help you create the best plan to reach those goals along the way. 

There's another benefit that comes from identifying your goals. Saving and investing just for the sake of getting rich might work for some people.

But for most others, though, giving up Rs.5000 every month can put a strain on their wallets - until they look at a photo of their children and remember that the Rs.5000 they're investing now will go toward helping pay their kids' higher education fees later.

3. Budget for it

After you identify your goals and how much you need to reach them, you should begin setting aside money on a regular basis to invest in your plan. Saving on a regular basis is the key to reaching your goals; no matter how little the amount you start out investing.

Don't be discouraged if your goal seems large and unreachable - remember that even a leaky faucet can fill your sink with water, drop by drop. Making investments on a regular basis, even if you can only set aside a small amount each month, can eventually build a sizable portfolio.

Many people think that they can't spare any cash to start an investing plan. These people probably have not learned the importance of paying yourself first. Setting aside a small amount for your long-term investing plan each week or each month before you pay any other bills or expenses is all you have to do.

4. Spread your money

It's rarely a good idea to have all your eggs in one basket. Depending on your goals and attitude to risk, you should invest your money over different investment options such as Stocks, Mutual Funds and Bonds.

You may also want to diversify within each of these categories. With stocks, for example, a mutual fund will invest your money in a variety of companies but you may want to ensure you have a range of industry sectors too.

5. Make sure your money grows

Should you leave it in the savings bank account and earn a meager rate of return? Or should you invest it in the PPF? The fact is that investing your money in the so-called safe fixed income instruments like Fixed Deposits, PPF, NSC, etc. is simply not enough.

This is due to the low rate of return on such instruments and high inflation rate in the economy. It is your hard earned money and you should invest it in instruments, which will make it grow over time and thereby build capital for your future.

Stocks is known world over for its potential to increase in value over time and provide your portfolio with the growth required to help you meet your long-term goals. Mutual Funds have given investors a whole new avenue for investment as per your risk appetite and expected returns.

6. Keep track of your track record

After you invest, you'll want to keep track of how your investments do. This doesn't mean you need to watch your returns on a daily basis (doing that can be like weighing yourself every day when you're trying to lose weight -- it won't help you judge long-term results, and you can drive yourself crazy doing it).

Instead, establish a regular timeframe for checking your investments to see if they are matching or beating your goals. For example, you may decide to review your returns investments once every three months, or twice a year.

While benchmarks aren't the only way to judge the strength of your investments, these tools can help you gauge how your investments are doing compared to similar investments. You may use the following benchmarks:

Market indices -- such as Sensex, Nifty. This will help you compare your performance with the overall returns of the market

Mutual fund benchmarks -- AMFI (Association of Mutual fund in India) has certain benchmarks for various categories of mutual funds.

Personal benchmarks -- you can set an overall goal -- for example, for your investments to outpace inflation by 5 percent over a period of five years -- and use it as a benchmark.

Be sure to set a reasonable timeline over which to compare your investments to a benchmark. You want to know how your investments perform through market ups and downs, so a longer timeline is more telling than a shorter one. For example, a five-year comparison will tell you more than a six-month comparison.

If you find one of your investments under-performs over the short term (for example, under-performed its benchmark over the last three months), don't be hasty to sell it earlier than you planned unless you've lost confidence in its long-term potential.

7. Don't lose your balance

You've established a portfolio with an asset allocation that suits you, and are reviewing your investments' performance on a regular basis. Think your work is done? Not quite.

You should still sit down periodically -- such as once a year -- to review your goals, finances and asset allocation. After all, goals can change. Time and circumstances can shift your priorities and your comfort with risk, changing your ideal asset allocation. When this happens, you may need to make changes to your portfolio.

Even if your ideal asset allocation hasn't changed, review your portfolio to make sure your existing asset allocation is still what you planned. Sometimes your asset allocation will change through no action on your part due to market movements. When this happens, your portfolio is out of balance -- which can expose you to more risk than you intended.

How can you fix it? You might sell investments in one asset class or buy extra shares of investments in another class.

When should you be on the lookout? If you're like most people, once or twice a year is probably often enough to see if the asset allocation in your portfolio is still what you'd planned.

But be sure to also check when you go through a major life change, such as getting married, having children, changing jobs or retiring. When you go through a big change, examine both your existing and your planned allocation to make sure both are right for your new lifestyle and risk tolerance.

Just keep these seven steps in mind and you should be able to achieve all your goals. Happy saving!

(Source: www.rediff.com)

Save Money Tips

This is a short list of ways you can save money and begin to acquire wealth. It's really not about how much money you make, it's about how much you save.

1) Sock some money away. Okay this one seems obvious, and it is. But if it is so obvious, why do most people ignore it? 
Well, the truth is that life is expensive and problems or emergency situations arise that drain our bank accounts. 
It doesn't matter how little you decide to put away for the future. For young people, the biggest factor on your side is time.
Small amounts of money add up over time, and if you factor in compound interest, the twenty bucks a paycheck you put away can turn into a nice chunk of money. 
A smart and easy thing to do, if you have direct deposit through your work, is to have some money automatically diverted from your paycheck into a savings account. 

2) Pay off your credit card debt. The interest rate on credit cards can be up to 22%. That means if you carry $100.00 on a bill over into the next month, you will now owe the credit card company $122.00. In that situation, you would have lost yourself $22.00. 
No matter how much those credit card commercials claim they can improve your life and make it more enjoyable, the credit card company is not your friend. They want your money. So pay down your debt as soon as you can and before you put money in savings. 
If you are paying 15 percent interest on a bill to a credit card company and at the same time are only earning a 3 percent return on money in your savings account, it makes sense to pay off your debt first. The amount you owe will easily eclipse what you are earning. 
If whatever interest you earn is less than the 15 percent I use as an example, then whatever you are earning is not really earnings. Your net profit will still be negative. Get rid of credit card debt so you can start really saving money. 

3) Use your credit card wisely. A credit card is essentially a card that allows you to take a loan out of a fixed amount of money, your credit limit. Credit cards are also a good way to build up your credit. If you have a record of paying off your credit card bill in full and on time every month, then your credit score should get better. 
Another advantage of paying off the bill in full and on time is that you will be able to avoid paying any interest on the money you borrowed. If you pay attention and are careful with how you use your credit card, then it can be a good tool to help improve your credit. 
Try putting one purchase a month on a credit card and paying the bill on time consistently. Some credit card companies even offer incentive programs like airline miles or cash back on certain purchases. 
The credit card I use credits me a certain percent of all the money I spend at certain gas stations each month. Getting money back is even better than saving money.

4) Okay, here's another obvious one. Control your spending. Live below your means. Do not spend more than you make. Smaller expenses like going out to eat or to the movies can add up quickly when put on a credit card. 
Try making your own coffee in the morning instead of going to Starbucks to get your buzz. Or make your own coffee several days a week and reward yourself with that Latte on Friday. Maybe carpool to work a couple days a week to save money on gas. 

I am not claiming that eliminating these minor costs will make you rich, but it is important to understand how all the smaller expenses add up. And they do add up. It is important to think about what you do with your money and make choices on how you spend it. 

People often feel burdened by their lack of money and feel that they spend it before they have it. Most of us spend everything we have. Just when we've managed to save a little bit of money, we want to buy new clothes, or take a trip somewhere. 

It is not easy to save money, but is well worth it. Thinking about where your money is going and making a few minor adjustments can help you save.

(Source: www.content4reprint.com)

Investment Tips for Beginners

Ever wanted to start investing your money, but didn't know how to go about it? Did you try to do some research, but found the information hard to understand? Here are some simple tips in plain English to help the beginner investor get started:

1. Pay Yourself First. The biggest mistake Americans make is not paying themselves before they pay their bills. If you don't pay yourself first, you probably won't at all. Start saving 10% of your paycheck each week so you can  
have some money to invest. It may not seem like much at first, but you have to start some where.

2. Be Divested. In other words, diversify. Make sure you have some money that you can get your hands on quickly in case of emergency. This is called short term investing. You also want some money in long term stocks. Stocks have the chance of making the highest interest. With stocks you always have the chance of losing your money. That is why you need to be balanced. So place some of your money in short term investments and some in long term investments.

3. Don't ever invest money you can't afford to lose. Stocks are risky business. It's better that you go in to investing with this knowledge so you are not disappointed if things go sour. This is especially important in the beginning, while you are still learning.

4. Start learning online. It is much easier to buy and sell at home now then it use to be twenty years ago. You can also save yourself a lot of money. You may pay $7.00 online to trade verses the $40.00 you'd pay a broker. Be smart about it. Start taking online courses and follow them. There are even online games so you can see what would happen first before you actually spend your hard earned money. It's kind of like a virtual game if you will.

5. Stick with well traded companies. You don't want to start out with an unknown company that ends up going belly up and leaving you high and dry. You can minimize your risk by sticking with companies that have been around for awhile.

(Source: www.associatedcontent.com)

Tips to become RICH

No matter which life stage you are in, you have a future ahead of you and you should not leave it to chance- you must plan for it. So what are your financial goals? 

Here's a tip: "making a lot of money fast" is not necessarily a reasonable goal. Look ahead and think of when would you incur major expenditures. 

When you think of your goals, you should think about your hopes and dreams, for yourself and your family. What do you hope to achieve in life? Possibly buy a home and send your children to college? 

Or maybe you'd like to retire early and travel the world? And now compare the future dream with the current reality. Here are a few tips for planning for a secure future:

1. What you earn, what you spend

The first part of allocating your investments is to figure out what's there to allocate. You need to estimate both your net worth and your net income/expenses. Your net worth, what accountants call a balance sheet, compares your assets (what you own) with your liabilities (what you owe). 

This will help you see your monthly disposable income -- the income you have left over after paying all necessary expenses. And that tells you how much you can afford to contribute to your financial goals each month. 

2. Set your goals

Financial professionals often counsel investors to write down their goals. Their intention is not to make you ponder the meaning of life, but to help you create the best plan to reach those goals along the way.  

There's another benefit that comes from identifying your goals. Saving and investing just for the sake of getting rich might work for some people. 

But for most others, though, giving up Rs.5000 every month can put a strain on their wallets - until they look at a photo of their children and remember that the Rs.5000 they're investing now will go toward helping pay their kids' higher education fees later. 

3. Budget for it

After you identify your goals and how much you need to reach them, you should begin setting aside money on a regular basis to invest in your plan. Saving on a regular basis is the key to reaching your goals; no matter how little the amount you start out investing. 

Don't be discouraged if your goal seems large and unreachable - remember that even a leaky faucet can fill your sink with water, drop by drop. Making investments on a regular basis, even if you can only set aside a small amount each month, can eventually build a sizable portfolio.

Many people think that they can't spare any cash to start an investing plan. These people probably have not learned the importance of paying yourself first. Setting aside a small amount for your long-term investing plan each week or each month before you pay any other bills or expenses is all you have to do.

4. Spread your money

It's rarely a good idea to have all your eggs in one basket. Depending on your goals and attitude to risk, you should invest your money over different investment options such as Stocks, Mutual Funds and Bonds. 

You may also want to diversify within each of these categories. With stocks, for example, a mutual fund will invest your money in a variety of companies but you may want to ensure you have a range of industry sectors too.

5. Make sure your money grows

Should you leave it in the savings bank account and earn a meager rate of return? Or should you invest it in the PPF? The fact is that investing your money in the so-called safe fixed income instruments like Fixed Deposits, PPF, NSC, etc. is simply not enough. 

This is due to the low rate of return on such instruments and high inflation rate in the economy. It is your hard earned money and you should invest it in instruments, which will make it grow over time and thereby build capital for your future.

Stocks is known world over for its potential to increase in value over time and provide your portfolio with the growth required to help you meet your long-term goals. Mutual Funds have given investors a whole new avenue for investment as per your risk appetite and expected returns. 

6. Keep track of your track record

After you invest, you'll want to keep track of how your investments do. This doesn't mean you need to watch your returns on a daily basis (doing that can be like weighing yourself every day when you're trying to lose weight -- it won't help you judge long-term results, and you can drive yourself crazy doing it).

Instead, establish a regular timeframe for checking your investments to see if they are matching or beating your goals. For example, you may decide to review your returns investments once every three months, or twice a year.

While benchmarks aren't the only way to judge the strength of your investments, these tools can help you gauge how your investments are doing compared to similar investments. You may use the following benchmarks:

Market indices -- such as Sensex, Nifty. This will help you compare your performance with the overall returns of the market

Mutual fund benchmarks -- AMFI (Association of Mutual fund in India) has certain benchmarks for various categories of mutual funds.

Personal benchmarks -- you can set an overall goal -- for example, for your investments to outpace inflation by 5 percent over a period of five years -- and use it as a benchmark.

Be sure to set a reasonable timeline over which to compare your investments to a benchmark. You want to know how your investments perform through market ups and downs, so a longer timeline is more telling than a shorter one. For example, a five-year comparison will tell you more than a six-month comparison.

If you find one of your investments under-performs over the short term (for example, under-performed its benchmark over the last three months), don't be hasty to sell it earlier than you planned unless you've lost confidence in its long-term potential.

7. Don't lose your balance

You've established a portfolio with an asset allocation that suits you, and are reviewing your investments' performance on a regular basis. Think your work is done? Not quite.

You should still sit down periodically -- such as once a year -- to review your goals, finances and asset allocation. After all, goals can change. Time and circumstances can shift your priorities and your comfort with risk, changing your ideal asset allocation. When this happens, you may need to make changes to your portfolio.

Even if your ideal asset allocation hasn't changed, review your portfolio to make sure your existing asset allocation is still what you planned. Sometimes your asset allocation will change through no action on your part due to market movements. When this happens, your portfolio is out of balance -- which can expose you to more risk than you intended. 

How can you fix it? You might sell investments in one asset class or buy extra shares of investments in another class.

When should you be on the lookout? If you're like most people, once or twice a year is probably often enough to see if the asset allocation in your portfolio is still what you'd planned.

But be sure to also check when you go through a major life change, such as getting married, having children, changing jobs or retiring. When you go through a big change, examine both your existing and your planned allocation to make sure both are right for your new lifestyle and risk tolerance.

Just keep these seven steps in mind and you should be able to achieve all your goals. Happy saving!

(Source: www.rediff.com)

How To Become Rich - 3 Easy Tips That Will Teach You Exactly How To Become Rich

If you want to learn how to become rich congratulate yourself because you've came to the right place. Not only is this article going to show you exactly how to become rich but you're also going to learn how to do it from the comfort of your own home.

Before I start though, let me ask you how serious are you about making money, how serious are you about becoming rich?

You see, most people aren't most people will say someday I'll do this or someday I'm going to be rich but to be completely honest with you someday never happens, if you're one of those people you're going to have to make some changes.

The first step you need to take in order to become rich is to DECIDE right now that you really want to be rich.

The second thing you should know is that you're never going to get rich working for someone else. You're never going to learn how to become rich trading your time for money making other people rich.

Here's a scary but true fact for you...

Did you know that 98% of people retire dead or dead broke by age 65 and only 2% of people retire wealthy?

Do you know what the 98% are doing?

They're doing the same thing you and I were taught growing up, the same thing you're most likely doing right now working a j.o.b. (just over broke). Do you remember being told in order to be successful in life you must go to school, get a degree, get yourself a good job, and spend the next 40 years of your live slaving away to the rat race?

We were all sold this lie and were taught to believe it was "The American Dream" but you and I both know that it's actually "The American Nightmare" because it's scary.

So if you want to learn how to become rich, happy, and successful and you don't want to end up being broke, depressed, and miserable you'll want to pay close attention to what I'm about to say.

START YOUR OWN HOME BASED BUSINESS!

That's right the wealthy people, the 2% are working for themselves! They are creating fortunes from home, working when they want, traveling wherever they want, and spending more time than you could dream of with their families and friends.

They have the nicest cars, the nicest homes, and are extremely happy because they no longer have to worry about money.

Just picture yourself waking up each morning to a few extra thousand dollars in your bank account? Imagine being able to travel anywhere you want in the world and actually get paid for it, imagine having all the free time and money in the world to do the things you want instead of the things you don't...

In closing, if you really want to learn how to become rich find someone who is already rich, find someone how already owns their own business who can teach you how to do the same. Good luck on your quest to become rich, I know you can do it!

(Source: ezinearticles.com)

10 Tips On How To Get Rich Fast

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could get rich tomorrow? What would you do with all that money? Well believe it or not it can be done. Now I didn’t say it would be easy I just said you could do it. Here are 10 tips on how to get rich fast.

1. Invest - Start young. In fact start while you are in elementary school, kindergarten is even better. It’s the beauty of compound interest and over time your money will grow into a nice nest egg. Okay if you are reading this you are probably too old to start in elementary school but you can get your kids hooked. As for you the best plan of defense is to invest 50% of your salary in a high risk market fund or the penny stock market. You’ve got a 50-50 chance. You’ll either make a million or be broke in 90 days.

2. Marry Rich - Now how difficult can this be? All you need to do is find someone who has loads of money and marry them. Okay I didn’t say you’d be happy just rich. Perhaps not a solution for most of us but it apparently works for a few.

3. Win The Lottery - Ya ya I know the odds of getting struck by lightening are better than the odds of winning the lottery but you can’t win if you don’t try and it’s one of the few ways I know of that you can get rich fast.

4. Rich Parents - If you come from a wealthy family then you are half way there. All you have to do is stay in their good books and convince mom and dad to not spend their money and leave it to you when they pass. After all why should your parents get to enjoy the wealth they reaped?

5. Get An Education - Go to school for lots of years, accumulate plenty of debt, and choose a career that pays big bucks. After about 10 years in your profession you should be rolling in the dough and you might even be filthy rich before you get old

6. Become A Star - Heck if Jennifer Aniston or Nicolas Cage can do it why can’t you. A couple of acting lessons and you should be set. All you need to do is head to Hollywood and strike it big. One good movie and you’ll be set for life.

7. Invest In Real Estate - Buy high sell low – whoops I think I got that backwards. Buy low, wait 10 years, 20 years, maybe even 30 years but inflation will have your investment growing by leaps and bounds and you could be filthy rich especially if you bought in an up and coming city while house prices were still low. Now if you bought in Hicksville USA you may have a problem. It might take more than your lifetime to see any dramatic increases. Oh well you can leave it to your kids who can leave it to their kids and in another 100 years or so someone’s going to be sitting pretty.

8. The Internet Way - Heck where have you been. A quick search on the Web will reveal plenty of sites that will teach you how to make $50,000 a day. Now I think most of us could live quite comfortably on that don’t you? All you need to do is part with about $500 and they’ll tell you the secrets of wealth in one page or less. If the first one doesn’t do it for you perhaps you might want to try a few more. Oh wait a minute. Perhaps what you need to do is set up one of these sights, then you’ll be the one getting rich off the other poor fools that part with their $500.

9. Bank Robbery - Okay highly illegal and could land you a lifetime in the slammer but desperate needs require desperate measures. After all if you get caught you might not be rich but you’ll have free room and board for the rest of your life and then you could write a book about what not to do when robbing a bank and well see you could get rich from your book. And even better, you’ll stay rich because there is really no place to spend it while in jail.

10. High Risk Work - Take on those high risk jobs no one else wants. You know counselor in Iraq, bean counter in Afghanistan, Oil tycoon in Iran. But hey if you live through it you’ll be rolling in the dough. What does it matter that 99% never live through it. You’ve got a 1% chance and when it comes to getting rich those are pretty good odds.

Sure most of these ideas are pretty off the wall but if getting rich fast was easy wouldn’t we all be rich? Then what fun would there be in that? We’d all have too much money and probably be bored to tears. So why not aim for better life with good friends, love, happiness, and enough money to live comfortably but not so much that you stop dreaming about what you would do if you were rich.

(Source: www.articleclick.com)