Simply Junior

There are big headlines on the internet about Social Security being in the red this year. They are paying out MORE than they are getting in this very year. Did you catch that? Not running out of funds in 10 years or 5 years or 2 years, but this very year!

The Congressional Budget Office had issued a report saying that would happen in 2016. WRONG! Between the early retirees and job losses, both due to the downturn in the economy the last few years, there are fewer people paying into the system and more folks receiving benefits.

We’ve all known it was coming, so it shouldn’t be a big surprise, right? But it is one of those huge, major type, awful things that you don’t want to see happen, so you try not to think about it or dwell on it. Humph! And I am hoping to retire within the next 5 years. Guess that will be up in the air. How about you?

It is not all terrible news, but maybe this should serve as THE wake-up call for all of us. There is a surplus which the government has in trust funds. This is currently estimated to last until 2037, although that number will surely be adjusted in the future. The main issue with the trust funds is that the government has borrowed from them to pay for other programs and things they couldn’t pay. So the majority of the funds now reside in IOU’s which will have to be paid back somehow by some other funds from somewhere else. Does this sound promising to you?

Even if they do, by some miracle, find the money to pay back the IOU’s, it is still only estimated to last until 2037. What happens to us when that runs out? What happens to our children when they reach our age? And our children’s children?

What are our options? What are our children’s options? What will work when we all need to retire and still have money to live on? Very few companies still maintain a retirement account for their employees. And let’s face it, who works for the same company for their whole life anymore? That is much more of the rarity than it is the common place. So where will the money come from?

I believe we need to stop thinking the government is going to care for us in our ripe old age. The only ones we can truly depend on to take care of us is ourselves, and maybe other family members. Have we all saved enough money? Woefully, no. By far, the vast majority of people do not have enough money in retirement accounts or savings. So where does that leave us? What can we do?

We need to start up our own retirement funds. How can we do that when we already need most of, or all of, the money to live on? We need to find and capitalize on second jobs or work from home and internet opportunities which do 2 things: pay for themselves and grow a residual income. And since many are short on extra funds, the opportunities need to be cheap. Very cheap.

Would you do something to build a residual “retirement fund” for yourself and your family if it only cost – - let’s say, only cost the price of one dinner in a local restaurant? Or the price of 2 cups of specialty coffee? Or less than the price of 2 movie tickets? And what if it paid for your investment in 1-3 months?

But you don’t think you have the time. You aren’t a salesperson. You don’t want to have to do anything to make money. Well, there are lots of opportunities out there. You just need to find the right one for you. One which costs very little money, takes very little time, sells itself, and can grow a wonderful residual income which you can use for your retirement plan.

Technical analysis depends on the use of technical indicators. There are many indicators in the market now. In fact, the old indicators soon lose their efficacy and new indicators are developed to replace them. Markets keep on evolving!

What worked in the markets a few years back may not work anymore. The right choice of forex indicators in your forex trading is of utmost importance. Trading with the wrong forex indicators will only make you end up frustrated. Now, to tell you the inconvenient truth, free indicators like the stochastics, moving averages, MACD, bollinger bands, RSIs and others simply don’t work anymore.

Why? When everyone starts using the same indicators, they lose their efficacy in predicting the markets. You see technical analysis is just the study of the short term price action in the market. Now, this short term price action is determined by the buyers and sellers in the market. Markets are just buyers and sellers trying to buy or sell. Their emotions rule the markets. When these buyers and sellers all start behaving in the same manner, you can well imagine market can become highly predictable. When things become predictable, they lose their value. This is the exact reason why when majority of the traders use the same indicators they become useless. Now, these two powerful forex indicators can catapult your forex trading to the highest possible level.

1. Slingshot Indicator;

You must have heard this oft repeated saying that trend is your friend. Indeed the trend is your friend and fortunes are always made if you can ride the trend correctly. There are many way to trade the trend. Some use simple technical indicators like the ADX, moving averages and others combined with candlestick patterns. Slingshot indicator is meant to make your trend trading highly accurate and efficient. What this indicator does is to setup the SLINGSHOT of a trend reversal that can be highly profitable.

2. US Dollar Index Indicator;

US Dollar Index is a basket of currencies that is used to judge the performance or what you call the market sentiment of USD. The basket of currencies in the US Dollar index comprises EUR, JPY, CHF, CAD, GBP and SEK. Knowing the performance of the USD against the major currencies can be really helpful in forming your bias or what you call the market sentiment.

These two powerful indicators are in fact the latest additions to the Forex Mastery 2.0 System and the M3 Forex Navigator Software!

There are countless retirement schemes available for the bulk of populace. Examples include the 401(k) and IRA plans. Those who desire a welcoming and promising life upon their retirement should keep up with a good plan. If you had not the slightest idea about how to manage your financial affairs stretch the planning up to your golden days, you are advised to seek the help of a planner. A good planner will assist you in organizing your current finance, investment and properties to ensure that you do not collapse with nothing after you retire. Besides, it is also the planner’s job to warn you should there be any errors in your retirement plan.

It is undeniable that retirement planners are imperative, especially in the modernized world where people have plenty of properties and investments issues to handle yet not having sufficient time to ponder deeply about retirement. In fact, with the working stress and hectic schedule it never crosses the mind of common community about the need of a good future plan. Furthermore, time passes as quickly as people do not realize and without them being aware of it, their retirement approaches and that is when they start to worry what to do after they retire. Most people have a blank mind coming to a sudden halt of working days, having no specific direction to head hence explaining the significance of a preparation for the retirement.

Several trivial items that you cannot afford to neglect from your retirement scheme include the emergency plan. Because humans have no magical powers to foresee the future, you can never predict when you will encounter shiny or rainy days. But never forget to prepare for emergency days. Anytime beyond your expectation, there might be occurrences of death, injuries or other money-demanding situations where you need to fork out your savings to address those matters. Without a good financial planning, you can never have extra figures in your account to feed during emergencies. But with an organized plan and proper savings, you can avoid panic and aggravation when anything unexpected happens.

From there, you should be able to mark the importance of retirement planners. Although some working companies might offer you some retirement plan, it is preferable to have your own planning considering you are dealing with something of utmost privacy. To look for a good and trustworthy planner, you will need to conduct some research. Try to begin your plan as early as possibly to ensure that you have enjoyment and relaxation being the prevailing elements upon your retirement.

I recently read this headline and thought is this a true statement? After pondering the question “Why is it smart to buy real estate now” I concluded that in fact this is a true statement. Here are the reasons why.

1. Prices of most homes have dropped significantly and in some areas as much as 75%. What this means is the only direction for prices going forward is up. Will prices of homes drop lower, perhaps, but just like trying to time the stock market, it is difficult to time the real estate market.

Here in California and specifically in Contra Costa County (where I live), prices data shows we hit the bottom in 2008 and have been going up ever since. Inventories in certain price ranges have dropped and we are seeing days on market decreasing to less than three months.

That doesn’t mean that we will see home prices skyrocket to unrealistic levels as we had in the mid 2000′s. But what it does mean, those in the know and are buying homes now.

2. Interest rates are the lowest they will ever be. They can’t and won’t stay in the 4% to 5% range forever and the prediction is that interest rates will start to go up on 2011. Looking back to 2003 thru 2007 interest rates were in the 6.25% range and actually crept close to 7%. At that time, everyone was excited because just a few years prior to this time period interest rates were up to 8.5%. So when the rates dropped under 7%, it caused a big stir in the market. So rates in the 4% range are unprecedented and should be taken advantage of right now.

Real Estate is an asset and a valuable one which savvy investors understand. There are investors in our area in California that are buying blocks of homes. It was unheard of to find homes in the $200K range, but there were plenty to go around over the past year to year and a half. These investors may rent them now, but look to reap the fortunes in the future – and probably not the too distant future – when prices go back up.

This is also a fantastic opportunity for the first time home buyer. You can get so much more home for your money and in areas that may have been out of reach for many.

If you are on the fence waiting for the right time, this may be the right time.

What will the real estate market look like in 2011?

And how can you position yourself to benefit from the New Normal?

You know, there will be millions made and lost in the next 12 months. The question is on what side of this equation will you find yourself?

Who knows where the real estate market will go? Not even the most knowledgeable, most well-educated economists, financial experts, politicians or real estate gurus have a clue. They’re all confused; as evidenced by the conflicting articles and reports that come out daily in the Wall Street Journal, MSNBC, and the rest of the media outlets (liberal and conservative alike) proving that wearing a $5,000 suit doesn’t necessarily mean that you know what you’re talking about. Even Jim Kramer, the Host of Mad Money, put his mouth in gear before his brain was engaged when he called the “absolute bottom” of the real estate market a year ago. I believe it was a Wednesday. He’s still wiping egg off his face.

So would it surprise you if I told you that I don’t have a clue either? Or how about if I told you that I know exactly what will happen? Would you believe me then?

Like when I said a year ago that the HVCC would crash and burn, or that financing for investors would become easier, or that Bristol Palin would be a finalist in Dancing With the Stars… Okay, that last one, I just made up, but the other two are true.

By predicting what I think is going to happen only becomes valuable to you if it helps you to make a decision today that will yield you some financial benefit by the end of 2011. That things will change in 2011 is no great secret or revelation; that they will change for the benefit of real estate investors like me and you is a fact.

Here’s how:

1) A marked increase in supply, as in a TON of new listings of REO’s and Short Sales causing a serious downward pressure of listing and selling prices. This has become the White House’s NEW number one priority. “Kill the Mill” = get rid of the dead inventory as fast as possible.

2) A serious influx of cash available from lenders and private party investors. Where else can you get better than a 10% return on your money than in real estate these days? It’s a no-brainer.

3) Superior financing for real estate investors and homeowners alike from conventional lenders such as Wells Fargo, JP Morgan, Bank of America and various wholesale lenders. It’s already started.

4) More flexibility on the part of the lenders holding non-performing assets. Just check out the increase in failed escrows and the discounted sales prices when they finally close.

5) Less competition in the marketplace from tapped out wannabe investors. Most of these guys have already left the table, or will shortly be exiting bruised and battered.

Here’s how you can take advantage of the present situation.

As usual, the natural laws of the game of success never change. If you know me at all, you should know the following by heart.

First, here are the basics:

1) Decide what you want to do. Nobody can do this for you.
2) Choose a target market. Make it small, convenient and learn it thoroughly; better than
anyone else.
3) Load your GPS (Goal, Plan, Systems)
Goal = your destination: whether a number of houses, monthly income or net worth
Plan = this is how you’ll get there: buy and sell (bird dog, flip/wholesale or retail) or
buy and hold (rentals)
Systems = your daily measurable actions: (look at houses, talk to agents, make offers)

Remember, the two most important assets that you posses as a human being are your time and your focus. Time because there’s only so much of it (and what you lose you can never make up) and focus because whatever you place it on will expand; whether your waistline or bank account.

For those of you already in the business, focus on two things: 1) continuously find new ways of dissecting your local MLS and submit offers daily and 2) cut back on your overhead immediately.
Review anything costing you money on a monthly basis from fixed to variable expenses and cut out any non-essentials. Make every dollar matter.

Identify dead weight on your team, such as, agents, contractors, lenders, escrow officers, mentors; anybody and everybody who’s not doing their job and kick them to the curb at once! Basically streamline your processes and focus on your bottom line.

Don’t be frivolous with anything this year; your time, your focus, your money, or your trust. Ask for proof and evidence in everything you do. Do your homework. Watch out for pretenders. There are a lot of them in this marketplace right now and more are coming.

Regardless of all obstacles your mind can imagine, believe in your personal abilities to successfully take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The evidence for your success is all around you. You’re on the precipice of financial independence. Choose to participate. Do not take “no” for an answer.

The bottom line is I have complete faith that this real estate market has begun to turn in our favor. I’m extremely optimistic about the future of real estate in 2011 and beyond.

I believe 2011 is a crucial year for real estate. It’s basically the first inning of the World Series of Real Estate for this coming decade. So step up to the plate and knock one out of the park… I dare ya!

And hey – who loves ya, baby?