Tag Archives: money

Get rich in the stock market overnight. Myth or reality?

To be a successful investor it is essential to understand and overcome the biases that often lead to wrong investment decisions. A common misconception, especially among many new investors, is the belief that investing in the stock market can make them rich overnight.

The scenario seems real in that some investors end up making big gains at one point, but in this case, more often than not, the investment was made years ago.

Success is due to patience, emotional intelligence or vast experience rather than luck or a great trading opportunity that “struck” overnight. Financial literacy and staying up-to-date with the most important news and events are ingredients that also make the difference between investment success and failure.

The stock markets are constantly changing and it is not good to expect big and quick gains. This fact does not help you concretely, but, on the contrary, adds even more pressure on you.

That is why, before you actually enter the market, review the relevant information and be aware of the associated benefits and risks.

Perhaps along the way you will be pressed for time and this will make you want to “cut corners”, simplify complex decisions and thus become overconfident in your decision-making process. But keeping your expectations realistic not only gives you a balanced point of view, it also helps you be rational.

Moreover, because the decisions you make trigger certain processes, biases can actually prevent you from having an optimal approach (optimal does not mean perfect!).

At times when you seek to be perfect in this area, you begin to give too much importance to some things, leaving others on the outside.

With limited resources as an individual, it is better to seek an optimal and not a perfect allocation of them, because the inevitable errors will drain your energy and make you lose your focus.

You have to remember that in investing, you don’t aim for the impossible, you just have to eliminate the errors to become constantly better.

That is why, if you avoid major mistakes and have some understanding of the markets and the economy, the odds of becoming a successful investor are completely in your favor. But don’t think that this is the secret to becoming rich overnight.

Those who are extremely confident and also have the misfortune of having…luck in the beginning, believe themselves far above the level of those who have some experience and have also recorded losses among their gains.

But these lucky beginners will be the most shocked by the markets, and the return to the ground will be more painful for them.

By constantly learning about “investment psychology” you will know how to manage other emotional errors that can occur in any investor.

The most common prejudices and preconceptions that can lead to wrong investment decisions:

  1. Confirmation – some investors are overconfident in their decisions, focusing on data that seems to confirm, rather than disprove, this.
  2. Attraction to “sensational” information – as investors are bombarded with a plethora of information every day from financial commentators, newspapers and stockbrokers, it is difficult for them to filter it to focus on the relevant information.
  3. Aversion to potential losses – some investors refuse to sell losing investments in the hope that they will get their money back. But, in addition to money, they can also lose their self-confidence.
  4. Incentives – the power that earnings and incentives can have on human behavior often leads to exaggerated frenzy.
  5. The tendency to oversimplify – in seeking to understand complex matters, investors tend to want simpler explanations, but some matters are inherently difficult to explain and do not lend themselves to simple approaches.
  6. Hindsight – this state of mind prompts investors to eliminate objectivity in evaluating past investment decisions and inhibits their ability to learn from mistakes.
  7. Confidence Transfer – Speculative bubbles are usually the result of groupthink and “herd” mentality. This concept describes a certain kind of inner comfort that an investor can feel when they think that “others are doing the same”, even if their decision is not necessarily a good one.
  8. Neglecting probabilities – investors tend to ignore, overestimate, or underestimate the likelihood of outcomes other than those they have calculated. Most are inclined to oversimplify the process and allocate a single point estimate when making certain decisions.
  9. Anchoring in the past – represents the tendency of investors to rely too much on a reference or information heard in the past when making a decision.

To remember :

  • Understanding these biases can lead to better decision-making, which is fundamental to reducing risk and improving investment returns over time.
  • Shortcuts especially do not work in the financial capital markets. Make sure you follow a disciplined, rational and balanced approach to investing, always keeping in mind the long-term perspective, company fundamentals and market analysis of the sector concerned.
  • Investors who want to take shortcuts often end up losing their invested capital and blaming the markets for their own preconceived decision.
  • The reason our mind tends to simplify or make decisions based on trusting certain situational patterns without applying its own filters is because it wants to reduce energy. Thus, if you are just starting out and want to become a profitable investor, you need to make sure you have the mental energy and patience to avoid these prejudice traps.
  • Financial literacy is what makes the difference between investment success and failure. Invest in yourself first, in your education, to make sure your money starts working for you and not the other way around!

The “secret” to reaching the first 1000, 10000 and 100000 EUR / USD

Compound-interest

Most people get stuck until they reach the first 1, followed by a few zeros of  earned /saved/invested money, and they stay in the “start” area for the rest of their lives, taking it over and over again from the beginning.

This is why most people do not become financially independent and do not truly achieve financial prosperity.

The first 1000 EUR invoiced from the new business;
The first 10,000 EUR invested on the stock exchange;
The first EUR 100,000 in the personal portfolio;
The first studio for rent;
First salary / bonus etc. of EUR 3000 (the example is relevant, even if it does not start with 1)

The effort to reach the first 1, followed by a few zeros, is enormous and many give up along the way. What they don’t know is that after you hit a 1 followed by a few zeros (2,3,4 etc.), the rest of the zeros are much easier to reach.

After 10 years of struggling to reach a portfolio of 100,000 EUR, most likely up to 200,000 EUR could take you much less, up to 300,000 EUR less and so on.

The same applies to investments. You can constantly invest 200 EUR per month, without seeing a big difference in the portfolio, until, at a certain moment, the compound interest intervenes and your portfolio grows rapidly.

 

The graphic result is more than clear:

Calculator_initial

200 EUR invested monthly for 20 years at 10% interest

The result is:

Calculation result

Result after 20 years

The graph “speaks” for itself:

Balance after 20 years

Balance after 20 years

So don’t get lost on the road, but continue at maximum acceleration, until you reach that goal of 1 followed by a few zeros.

After that point, things will become easier, automated, routine.

So the “secret” is that there is no secret: all that is needed is discipline, patience and time.

5 good reasons for business to borrow money

Money

Small and medium-sized businesses drive the economy across Europe. According to the data of the European Investment Bank (EIB), small and medium-sized businesses account for 99% of businesses in European Union and employ two thirds of the labor force. Thus, small business financing has always been a priority for various financial institutions or at least it should have been.

Many entrepreneurs in the Baltic States still face deep-rooted fear of borrowing and the idea that borrowing reduces the credibility of the business. However, contemporary entrepreneurs challenge the status quo and understand that debt is essential in order to grow a company. Therefore, today we will share 5 key reasons why businesses (should) borrow additional capital.

     Seed capital (to start a new business)

Ingenious idea is rarely enough to establish a successful business. A company can grow when there is a developed concept to show, whether it is a product or a service. However, it is often difficult to get to such point as it might require specific tools, technology, office or manufacturing premises, website, communication devices and other things for which a significant starting capital is needed.

     Additional working capital

In order to earn profit, you need to invest working capital first. When company is growing quickly, there is a need for more employees, tools, office or manufacturing space, therefore, more capital. Usually businesses have three main ways to get additional capital – more equity capital from shareholders, profit from operations, and debt. Quite often shareholders pour most of their money into business to kick it off in the beginning and do not have additional capital for further funding. Lots of companies are not even profitable for the first couple of years. Therefore, company should consider taking on debt to grow the company as long as this debt is healthy.

     Purchase of long-term assets

Long-term assets like buildings, land plots, machinery are usualy important to successful growth and expansion of ther company. Businesses often purchase such assets using leverage from lending companies in order to save working capital for operations.

     Delayed payments 

Businesses constantly juggle between accounting credit and debit. Working capital is like blood that keeps the company going. Nowadays, there is tendency that once products are are delivered to the buyer, payment might be delayed for up to three months. Expanding businesses cannot wait so long without additional capital injection to move forward. Therefore, invoice financing solutions are getting more and more popular among small growing businesses.

     Refinancing 

Terms and condition for loans today are not like they used to be 5 years ago. Sometimes interest rate or other conditions might worsen, however, if they become more attractive, it might be wise to refinance existing loan and get better terms. This solution helps businesses save a lot of money that can be used elsewhere.

Businesses should not be afraid of debt. On the contrary, when company borrows responsibly it can achieve sustainable growth and expand to new markets which would be unreachable otherwise.

 

Source: Lenddy.com

Why smart people do stupid things with money?

Smart people

It’s a pretty good question, is not it? How do intelligent people manage to do things with money and after a while become totally disappointed with their “successes”?

I suggest you think a little bit!

And here I do not mean people without financial education or any other kind of education.

Let’s think of intelligent people who have completed a faculty or a master and who have obtained a job because of their competencies or who have developed a start-up that has become a “small profitable money machine”. How do they become totally disappointed with their own financial situations, even though they have earned a lot of money over the years?

Here are three of the most common reasons:

  • They have a disastrous financial behavior. Although there are people who have extraordinary professional, social or family behavior when it comes to financial behavior, they completely ignore it!

          They are implusive consumers, meaning “perfect” for traders. Buy anything at any price. If they like something, they put in a basket without considering how much money they have available until the next salary. “I even withdraw money from my credit card if I do not have any money left in my salary account”. You’ve heard of such people, right?

         The first step in changing financial behavior is definitely analyzing your own behavior. If it’s not one you can be proud of, you can change it. Instead, if you go like a ostrich – just put your head in the ground and deny your own financial situation – it takes only a short while until the frustrations and shortcomings will arise.

  • They omit the financial planning activity. They do not have financial goals, they have no clearly defined plans to follow, and this is why they do not take into account the financial planning activity. Surprisingly, all people know that without a plan whatever it is financial or any other type, the chances of success tend towards zero.
    To increase your chances of succeeding in what you propose, take a pen and a sheet, write down your short, medium, and long-term financial goals, make plans for action, and set up tight financial targets.

          If you want a house, set the amount of money you need, the detailed plan to get that amount, the intermediate targets delimited by clear terms and get to work. Without action, the results are always zero!

  • They do not have information, skills or financial skills. The result of not very profitable investments is often the lack of understanding of financial products and services and business investment in areas that they do not know.

          I’m sure you’ve heard questions like “I have 10,000 euros and I do not know what to invest in.” Or “What are the most profitable businesses?” Often, those who ask for such questions are people who lose money because of their lack of skills and entrepreneurial experience.

         Lack of understanding of financial products and services such as savings accounts, deposits, investment funds, shares or the Forex market can also cause a small amount of trouble if you do not understand how they work.

       Developing a “healthy” thinking, how the most important financial products and services work, and developing entrepreneurial skills can help you increase your personal income.

Do the money come to you at the speed of the turtle and go with the speed of the rabbit?

money-coins

If you feel the money are coming to you very rarely or hard and going very fast, you should do something different than what you have done so far, that’s clear!

What can you do differently?

Here are some suggestions:

1. Manage your finances. This would be the first step to see where the money comes from and where they go. It is also the oldest advice you have received from grandparents, right?

Perhaps too simple, but once you start managing your money you will become more aware of the decisions you have to take and act smarter.

2. Change your mentality. If you grew up in a family where money is not being discussed, or if you feel that you are not earning the money you deserve, you probably have a poor man mentality.

You may think that everyone is “busy”, that you can not develop a lucrative “honest business” or that “you are not ready enough to get a good job”. If you think so, I advise you to talk to people who are business owners or friends who have financially worthwhile financial situations.

3. Change your financial behavior. It can not change overnight, but right now you can change the way you spend your money.

4. Answer the question: “Why do money come to me with the speed of the turtle and go with the speed of the rabbit?” Try to answer this question, I’m sure you know the Solution! … and with perseverance I am convinced that you can improve your financial situation.

Update 3 on Eurocent loans on Mintos peer-to-peer lending marketplace

Mintos logo

Due to Eurocent’s complex property and legal situation, and its inability to obtain an investor, as of March 20, 2018, Eurocent has ceased its operations. According to the compulsory administrator of Eurocent, continued operating activity is economically unjustified and there are no real prospects for the implementation of the arrangement and restructuring of the company.

Mintos says it is their priority to protect the interest of  the investors and they are currently doing everything possible to ensure this.  Their lawyers are now reaching out to the administrator and the board of Eurocent to see how they can recover the money owed to Mintos investors as soon as possible.

You can read the previous update on Eurocent here.

When does it worth to have money in bank deposits?

Balance inflation

Is it worth having bank deposits? Can you live of the interest you gain?

To these questions, there is no standard answer. The answer is influenced by the size of economies, inflation rate and bank interest.

There were times when interest rates were well above the inflation rate and all people who had savings were directing them into bank deposits. When the bank offers you an interest rate of 18-20% and the inflation rate is 5-8%, the real-positive interest rate is 12-15% and it deserves the investment, right?

Instead, it is not worth having bank deposits when banks offer net interest rates below the inflation rate (banks do NOT need money).
Normally, bank interest rates cover inflation or are slightly below inflation.

In conclusion, it is worth having bank deposits only if interest rates are over inflation rate, otherwise you will only get a reduction in the purchasing power of your own savings!

Personal finances and other aspects of life

All people want MONEY – as much money as they can!!! Taking this into account, the theme “PERSONAL FINANCES” is one of the most important aspects of people’s lives!

Along with FINANCES, other important aspects of life are: Health, Relationships / Friends, Family / Love, Personal Growth, Free Time / Fun, Career / Business!

To achieve or maintain a balance in life, anyone should be concerned about all these areas!

If you care for your own health (you have a healthy diet, you do 30 minutes of sports daily, consume 2 liters of water a day), you will avoid throwing money on medicines and treatments!

If you have quality relationships (participate in networking meetings, maintain your existing relationships and friendships), it will be much easier for you to find a friend or specialist to help you solve a problem!

If you are well on the family / sentimental level (you have a beautiful and united family, the desired couple relationship) you will always find the necessary motivation and the support to succeed in everything you propose!

If you are focused on growth, personal education (go to classes and seminars, read books, listen to audiobooks) you will be motivated and you will acquire specialized knowledge that will broaden your horizons!

If you have free time and do what you like (traveling, practicing a sport, volunteering), you will reduce your risk of suffering the most common illness, simply called stress!

If you are developing a successful business / career (planning your career, attending seminars or business schools, consulting consultants), you increase your chances to generate more value and, implicitly, “higher income”.

If you take the time to educate yourself financially (financial management, concepts, financial products), you will increase your financial intelligence!

Conversely, if you DO NOT focus on all of these possible areas:

… to have a successful career but to be disastrous about love / family!

… to have money but not to have health!

… to have a profitable business but not to have free time!

4 useful strategies to teach children about money

Many parents do not know the right age to start teaching children about money.
Financial education may seem an abstract concept, which surpasses the children if they are very young, especially when they have to learn so much more practical things.
In addition, once they reach a certain age, anything you try to tell them comes into one ear and comes out to the other.
Is there a perfect age at which children are able to understand financial concepts and are receptive to what family members have to say?
Or do you just have to leave the kids on their on and wait for them to make the same financial mistakes?
In fact, it is possible to start financial education for children at a surprisingly young age, and they are able to be receptive to what you are learning indefinitely, as long as everyone attending sees these lessons as fun.

Pink piggy bank

Here are 4 helpful strategies to teach children about money and personal finances:

1. Teach them by the power of the example

Parents have the power to invoke parental authority when it comes to money, but even children can figure out whether you are credible or not. If it is clear to you that you are not making proper decisions about your own money, how can you expect to teach them how to spend their money correctly?
In essence, transparency and sincerity are the best solutions: call the children to look at when you pay your bills, when making other bank payments or directing some money to your investments.
This works especially for younger children who still have the impression that everything their parents do is very interesting.

2. Give them an age-appropriate allowance

No matter how smart some children are, until they do not have money in hand and will not use them to buy things, money will remain for them an abstract notion.
That’s why it’s important to start giving your children a small allowance, age-appropriate, as soon as you’re sure they can learn the money concept.
You can even make the allowance in a shared account with your child. As cash is being used less and less, young people will have to learn the concept of debit card and virtual wallets anyway.
You can also condition the receipt of the entire allowance to perform certain tasks in the house.

3. Eliminate the wrong spending decisions

It is useful to let the children make their own financial mistakes, but to a certain point.
If you start to feel that they really do not know what they are doing or do they make misleading purchases just to defy you, stop them by invoking the abovementioned parental authority.
Explain this by understanding why it is very important to reasonably think about every financial decision you make.
You can help them by providing them with an age-appropriate educational game, such as Monopoly, for example.

4. If in doubt, let them work

Sure, this is not an option for those children who are small or very small. For teenagers, however, a part-time summer job can have a very positive influence and can significantly increase their financial intelligence.
Moving from zero income (or a modest allowance) to a real salary, even if small, earned at a job in the local supermarket, for example, is extremely important.
Just make sure you provide them with the necessary job search support. They will thank you later.

What is Cash Flow? Find out how you can use it to your advantage

Cash, and more so the lack of it, can be a determining factor in whether you will achieve your goal of financial freedom. In short, cash flow is the net amount of cash that is flowing in and out of your accounts each month. Traditionally, this has been an important measure for business owners as they can keep track of how much money they are generating from customers that they offer their services to. It’s also important for them to know how much they are paying out each month for things like business loans, office rental and many other expenses.

However, the same cash flow measures can be used by individuals like you and me. Let’s say that each month you earn €2,000 net per month from your employment, €500 from your side hustle and €200 from your investments. But you need to live, so you can deduct your mortgage payments, car costs and any other expenses you have. The result of this will be either a positive or negative cash flow.

cash flow money

Cash Flow from P2P, Real Estate and Income vs Accumulation Funds

One of the most popular asset classes today is Peer-to-Peer (P2P) lending, notably for the opportunities it gives investors to become the bank and receive a monthly cash flow. Let’s say you invested €10,000 across thousands of loans from a range of risk ratings, loan durations and countries. Every month, the borrowers will make their loan repayments which consists of principal and interest, you then have the option to withdraw this cash flow or reinvest your profits to compound your interest and maximize your overall returns.

Quite similarly, real estate investments work in a comparable fashion. If you buy a rental property for €100,000, each month you will receive a payment from the tenants (e.g. €600 per month). You might use some of that to pay the remaining mortgage on the property or add it to a growth account to save a deposit for another property. An important difference between this and P2P is risk, as previously mentioned you can spread your risks across thousands of loans where as you rely on the payment from a tenant in a single property – if they default then there is no other cash flow. Protect your cash flow by diversifying within your chosen asset class.

If you are familiar with investing in equity funds, it’s likely you have come across the accumulation vs income conundrum. Simply put, an accumulation class fund will reinvest any cash generated from the investments within back in to the fund, over time this can significantly increase the size of your total pot. On the other hand, an income class fund will pay any cash generated from the investments back to you to use as you wish. This is for those who are looking to increase their total monthly cash flow amount and are not necessarily focused on the long-term growth of their investments. Almost always, the accumulation fund will be the most profitable in the long run.

Take a look at the graph below:

income vs accumulation-en

The same principle can be applied to your investments with Bondora, as the only difference is the underlying asset (consumer loans rather than equities). In the graph above, we have compared the growth of a portfolio with the same interest rate, starting capital and duration, the only difference being reinvesting your monthly cash flow compared to withdrawing it each month. Using our Portfolio Manager, starting with €10,000, an outlook of 5 years and a respectable interest rate of 10% per annum, there’s a stark differential in performance.

In fact, by simply allowing the Portfolio Manager to reinvest your monthly cash flow, your account value at the end of the 5 year duration would be 33.9%, or €4,462 larger (€17,623.42) than if you did not (€13,161.42). This is literally how you can “Make your money work for you” with minimal effort.

Cash for thought

Cash Flow Quadrant

Do you recognize the quadrant above? If you do then you are most likely well accustomed to the benefits of having a positive cash flow, congrats! For those who are still puzzled, this peculiar yet simple diagram is the brainchild of Robert Kiyosaki, the king of cash flow. As the creator of the Cash Flow Quadrant, Kiyosaki divides the general population and their mindset in to 4 separate categories:

  1. E: Employee – This person values job safety and security over everything.
  2. S: Small business owner/Self-employed – An independent person who wants to do everything related to their business by themselves.
  3. B: Big business owners – People who create a large business run by intelligent people.
  4. I: Investor – Those who make money work for them.

His main theory is that people should learn how to become big business owners and learn how to become investors, as the people on the left side of the quadrant only have active income compared to those on the right earning passive income. Creating a viable and sustainable source of passive income is seen as a core principle of achieving financial freedom.

Source: www.bondora.com

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