For those who do not want to take risk in the equity market and yet want to avail the benefits of stock market returns investing in money market funds is a good idea. Money market funds work in a very explicit way preserving your capital and yield a modest return. Their goal is to maintain a net asset value (NAV) of exactly $1.00. Fund owners advertise it as high yield bank accounts.

The only disadvantage is money market funds do not have any insurance against loss.

Indexes that are subset of original indexes

Things to consider before investing in money market funds:

1) These funds are for short period of time usually 60 days, always less than 180 days. They do not witness high price fluctuation.

2) You can track your returns daily as Money Market Funds declare dividends daily, though they are only paid out monthly. If you wish to withdraw or cash in totally in middle of the month, you’ll receive the cumulative declared dividends.

Money market funds are also known as principal stability funds that limit ones exposure to losses due to credit, market, and liquidity risks. Money market funds are regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Investment Company Act of 1940. Eligible money market securities include commercial paper, repurchase agreements, short-term bonds or other money funds. Money market securities should be highly liquid, and have a stable value. For investing in money market funds one needs to have a money market account and this can be obtained from banks easily.

Even money market funds are dealt by professionals so the dividend that you get paid is after they have calculated for their own survival as a company in the market. It is comparatively less than what the banks will pay you.

Should you invest in money market funds? That answer, of course, if entirely up to you. Keep in mind that you will certainly never become wealthy investing in this avenue. The best choice, of course, is to become financially educated so that you can take advantage of the really lucrative stocks on the market and achieve financial freedom.

Of course, not everybody has the time or patience for this. Therefore, if you absolutely feel you can’t take the time to become financially educated and learn about finances and how to make money with the market, then investing in money market funds may be the choice for you.

Why I avoid stocks on Pink Sheets!

Companies that trade on Pink Sheets or .PK are very small and very hard to get GOOD information on.

They are selling a story (read my story stocks article for more details on that) and more than likely issuing MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF SHARES. Why do I say more than likely? Because on the pink sheets the company isn’t required to release an annual report (10K) or quarterly reports (10Q).

They can continue on and on without reporting ANY of their financials. And they can continue to release press release after press release talking about what they are “going to be doing” etc..

Is their money to be made in Pink Sheets? YES!!! A stock can move HUGE in a very short time. It can more than double in a DAY! But getting on the right side of things is rare and knowing when to get out is difficult because its not based on anything but the story.
The company has no sales figures to back it up in most cases.

It is very hard to find data on the companies that trade on pink sheets. (Companies that have .PK behind their symbol when researching them on yahoo finance)

Some companies are on the pink sheets just temporary due to missing a financial deadline etc… I still wouldn’t buy a company like that until the financial data is back up to date. Their is just too many ways companies can play with their #’s if they aren’t reporting.

If you want more information on pink sheets. Their is a website at http://www.pinksheets.com where you can do more research. Again I don’t invest in any pink sheet stocks nor would I suggest it.

The money to be made is trying to strike it rich quick and rarely does that work. Especially over the long term. A lot of the pink sheet stocks are less then a penny so you need to buy 100,000-1,000,000 shares in order to have any type of sizable amount. Yet the company probably has many BILLION shares outstanding. Its like buying a lottery ticket or hoping to strike gold. Its closer to gambling then investing.

With our investing with StockDoubling project we go thru a LOT of research to understand what the company does what its prospects are for the future etc… Could we lose? YES! But we are giving ourselves an opportunity for success based on research and facts and value of the company. NOT BASED ON A STORY OR HYPE!

My suggestion is avoid pink sheets and just look for solid companies that are undervalued and growing.

Have a good day

Steve Hoven

Real estate will always be a great investment over the long haul. Real estate prices are currently declining and will continue to do so until the market corrects itself from this real estate bubble burst. If you currently have your money sitting as cash you need to find a way to transfer those into assets. Money sitting as cash will decline in value due to decrease in purchasing power (inflation). There’s inflation every where, whether we like it or not. So if you have it as cash, I’d highly recommend you put it into something such as real estate.

It’s very simple when it comes to real estate investing. You don’t really need to over think it. I’m a firm believe of K.I.S.S (keep it simple stupid). People try to make investing in real estate harder than what it really is. You’ve heard it before and you’re going hear it from me. Location is one of the main things you need to consider when purchasing a home. You want to see growth in the area you are buying. If the property is located nearby a lake, pond, or any other body of water, the value of your home will appreciate very well. For some reason, people like to live nearby water and is willing to pay more money for it. I’m not one of those people, but I understand that’s what happens.

Whenever you buy a home you buy in a certain neighborhood, make sure you buy a home that’s in the lower quartile in value. What I mean by that is let’s say you look at this subdivision and the market prices are 200,000 to 350,000. You want to make sure that you are buying homes closer to the 200,000 because when it’s time to sell, the higher price homes will help push your value to go for more. If you end up buying the high end home in the neighborhood, the lower price homes will tend to push your value down. Value in real estate is based upon comparable sales, so buying in the lower quartile of real estate will always yield you excellent returns.

Furthermore, let’s say a married couple is looking for a home in a certain subdivision with homes going for 200,000 to 350,000. They are a new married couple not making too much money yet. They want to live in a certain subdivision but know they can’t afford it. Let’s say that barely qualify (but they do) for the lower quartile of the neighborhood. They will buy the lower priced homes of the subdivision just so that they can live in the neighborhood. You want other homes in the area pushing up your value.

Those are very simple strategies that I have just discussed with you. Believe it or not you can make millions of dollars if you just followed these simple strategies. One last reminder: Slow and steady wins the race. Just ask the tortoise and the hare.

Everyone has heard the saying “It Is Not Just The Return On Your Money, but more importantly The Return Of Your Money”. This is VERY important when investing your hard earned investment dollars. Every investor started out as a novice at one point in their lives and very few people have an inate knowledge of good, mediocre and bad investments. You may have a good mind to figure out things but, either someone taught you about the various types of investments or you read and studied various materials to gain this knowledge. Your teacher could be a mentor, an instructor, a business associate, a relative or any number of individuals over your lifetime. Self help books and audio/video cassettes are helpful, but they can be very expensive and don’t always give you that “Hands On” experience. Many people learn through “Trial and Error” or from their mistakes. This too can be quite expensive and is not the best way either.

Investing in unfamiliar territory is especially risky if you don’t have some basic knowledge about the investment you will put your money in. Everyone has heard about the major losses and fluctuations in the Stock Market and the low interest paid in the Bond Market. But there is an investment that is fully backed by real estate that is valued at about 100 times your investment — Tax Lien Certificates and Tax Deeds. Tax Certificate investments often leads to Tax Deeds and are not considered a mainline type of investment, but they also aren’t considered a boutique type of investment. There is much written about this Tax Certificates and Tax Deed investments. An internet search will pull up thousands of articles and information about Tax Certificates and the great investment opportunity they offer the average person. Anyone in the world can own them and Tax Certificates will either give you property for “Pennies on the Dollar” or will return the current value (which includes interest) to you, the investor. And you will sleep like a baby not having to worry about your investments.

In the economic climate of today and high unemployment, the question of the day for you is, how to make money online and secure your financial freedom.

Residual income opportunities are all over the Internet. You will find so many programs and opportunities to choose from on the Internet. Residual income streams make money available to you that you continue to receive even after your efforts have concluded. Many people who are wealthy became wealthy with residual income. They do not work for money; they make money work for them.

Personal finance gurus and experts are always talking about how in order to truly become independent and financially free, you must have enough residual income to exceed your expenses.

That is great, but what is residual income and how do you get it?

Residual income refers to income received on a regular basis and requires very little effort on your part to generate it. Also, it is important for you to know that this type of income is taxable under US law.

Persistence in your actions will bring you one step closer to financial freedom. Your dedication and persistence will determine the extent of your success.

The resources needed are:

State-of-the-art computer with broadband Internet connection and you should possess at least basic computer and Internet skills. If not, tutorials on needed skills are available online and are free.

Here is an important question to ask before joining any online opportunity.

How can an investment plan help you?

• Build for your retirement
• Create residual income
• Build for your children college education expense
• Fund future home improvement projects

In Conclusion, there is an abundance of legitimate money making programs and ideas all over the Internet. How to make money online is not as difficult as you may have been led to believe. Some do not require start up costs. Many are frauds or scams and some are not. To sort out the good from the bad, it is paramount that you perform due diligence. You need to research and evaluate each and every opportunity offered to you. Then you can make an informed decision about whether or not to accept an opportunity.