How to Analyze the Veracity of Investment Newsletters

Written by John McKeon


When trying to analyze whether a promotional ad for an investment newsletter or a market timing investment trading system is worthy of investigation,repparttar following questions should be asked:

Doesrepparttar 112309 strategy have a track record? Without this you are really allowing your emotions to be in play. All of us want to believe that if someone says something it must be true. Yetrepparttar 112310 sad fact isrepparttar 112311 truth is probably justrepparttar 112312 opposite. Most ads and promotions are put in print for self interests first, and all else second. One has to view anything onrepparttar 112313 web with a skeptical eye. The minimum that an investment strategy should give you is a previous track record. The longerrepparttar 112314 track record isrepparttar 112315 better. Something that has worked for a matter of months is usually not long enough inrepparttar 112316 trading world to be considered successful. Some promoters do not release their track records because they say that “past performance is not an indication of future results”. This is true but certainly no performance is not an indication of future results either. Some promoters do not release their track records because they say “we used to do a track record but subscribers got upset ifrepparttar 112317 strategy lost money when they subscribed even though it made money over a yearly period.” That may also be true but it is also part ofrepparttar 112318 game. Subscribers can not expect to make money from day one when trading a long term strategy. However, that should be self evident inrepparttar 112319 track record. And some promoters do not release their track records simply because they don’t have one or they have a bad one. It’s as simple as that no matter what they say.

Isrepparttar 112320 track record that they are promoting in real time or was it simulated in a computer based on past data? What does this really mean? Real time means thatrepparttar 112321 trading signals that were used to producerepparttar 112322 track record results were actually generated at that specific moment in time. In reality. Most track records onrepparttar 112323 investment web sites are not real time even when they say they are. Even if they did not use a computer and it was done by hand, ifrepparttar 112324 data taken fromrepparttar 112325 last five years butrepparttar 112326 web site is only a year old then it can’t be so. Why is this so important? Because trading is not trading if human emotions are removed. No greed, no complacency, no panic, no hysteria. Almost all computer-generated trading programs fail miserably when actually implemented because eitherrepparttar 112327 data was too short a time period orrepparttar 112328 human factor was ignored. That is assumingrepparttar 112329 human that inputrepparttar 112330 data did it without human emotion. I once had an acquaintance who told me he had a system that returned 80% per month forrepparttar 112331 last 6 months. He said he implemented it 6 months in real time. I asked how much he had invested in this strategy. He said nothing because he was paper trading. I said that there is no such thing. He proceeded to tell me what paper trading was. I replied that I knew what he thought paper trading was but it is not trading because when you paper trade your emotions are not in play. Human greed and ego has a way of making you believe something to be real without looking objectively atrepparttar 112332 data. But once actual real money is at riskrepparttar 112333 complexion ofrepparttar 112334 situation dramatically changes.

Is Accumulating a Net Worth of $1,000,000 Easy? Yes and No

Written by Mike Matthews


Is accumulating wealth as easy as following a 3-step plan? Yes it is and no it isn't. As with many things in life, accomplishing a goal such as accumulating one million dollars (or even $100,000) depends on your desire, your personal choices and your daily actions.

Let's start with one example on how you might miss this goal. One ofrepparttar first components of successfully meeting any goal is to haverepparttar 112308 desire (or a compelling reason). You've probably thought about losing weight, running a marathon or accumulating a great deal of wealth. However,repparttar 112309 'want', 'wish', 'dream' or 'thought' is often not enough to propel you to take continuing action steps to successfully attain your goals. Even if you takerepparttar 112310 first action step, your ability to sustain enough motivation to meet your goal may soon disappear after a few months or possibly after a few days. Until you create and internalize a 'compelling reason' (true desire) to meet a specific goal, it will be difficult to meet your goal. You have to make this desire a 'must-have' instead of just a 'want'; you need a compelling reason to meet your goal. You need to create a true desire.

The simple part of accumulating wealth is many people have already succeeded in meeting their wealth accumulation goals. I have personally accomplished my net worth goals on two separate occasions and in 3 years I expect to reach my next net worth goal. I started with a net worth of a negative $10,000, mostly consisting of personal credit card debt. Meeting my net worth goal wasn't easy; but I created a compelling reason, made some personal financial choices & took specific, daily actions to make these goals. Many other people from all walks of life, with all types of educational backgrounds are also very successful in meeting their net worth goals. Since it has been done many times before, setting and making your own personal wealth accumulation goal can be very attainable.

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Let's say you determined that accumulating a $100,000 net worth is one of your personal goals. If you've created a compelling reason (a true desire), then you're ready to proceed forward to accumulating $100,000 and probably, much more. If you've not made it a 'must' goal and you are still only dreaming about accumulating $100,000, then you're not ready to start. You're not ready to takerepparttar 112311 second action step. This first step is critical - you must have a "compelling reason" to make your goal.

Anthony Robbins has made a living by proving that success starts with a strong desire. Check out a product review of his latest - Getrepparttar 112312 Edge program.

Ok, let's say you have now created your own personal compelling reason to attain your goal. You're ready to get started withrepparttar 112313 second action step. What arerepparttar 112314 key elements in meeting your wealth-accumulating goal?

1. Your income must exceed your expenses 2. You will invest your excess funds 3. You will be patient and letrepparttar 112315 magic of compounding work

1. Your income must exceed your expenses: This is a simple mathematical statement. However for many people, this isrepparttar 112316 most difficult step to overcome on a consistent basis. It is all about your choices. If your income does not exceed your expenses, you have to make a choice. You will need to cut your expenses, increase your income or if you are really ambitious and have that 'compelling reason' to accumulate wealth, you'll choose to do both. In my personal situation, I focused about 70% of my energy on cutting expenses & 30% on increasing my income. I decided to spend less on clothing, entertainment, dining out and I also cut coupons to help reduce grocery bills. I decided to live within my personal financial situation. I decided to spend less than I earned. Remember, you have a choice. A. Do you have a compelling reason & discipline to accumulate wealth? OR B. Do you lackrepparttar 112317 discipline and have an immediate gratification need so strong that to satisfy your need, you need to purchaserepparttar 112318 newest fashion, go to allrepparttar 112319 home football games, dine out 4 nights a week, etc? It's all about choice.

2. The second step to accumulating wealth is to invest your excess funds. You need to invest your excess funds to meet your personal financial goals. Investments can range from real estate, stocks & bonds, CDs or possibly investing in a small business. Whichever route you choose, create a systematic approach to investing, change direction if necessary, but don't stop. Investment diversification is important to help ensure that you can ride throughrepparttar 112320 normal up-and-down cycles ofrepparttar 112321 stock market orrepparttar 112322 real estate market. Personally, I started with investing in a 401K, then stocks and bonds and eventually real estate. While other young people decided to spend all their weekly paycheck, I made a choice to first, put a few dollars away each week into a 401K and other investment vehicles. I 'paid myself' first and then I spent money onrepparttar 112323 other entertainment activities. See some ofrepparttar 112324 investing books atrepparttar 112325 end of this article.

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