Agree, I have a couple different funds. As well as a Roth IRA I started back in high school and always add to. I only play with a couple stocks or sometimes others if I research them b/c I don't have the time to sit in front of a PC all day waiting to make an entry/exit move like a day trader lol. Emerging markets, especially China is going to be showing some nice performance with the boom over there!killrwheels@autogeek said:
Budget....
- Thread starter justin_murphy
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Gary Sword
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- Nov 26, 2006
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I have all my IRA money in a self directed IRA. This allows me to invest my IRA money in anyway I want. I can buy real estate, stocks, bonds or even be part owner of a company with it. The main reason I have it in a self directed IRA is to invest in real estate. I also got a realator's license in Florida just so I can make the commisions on my own real estate transactions involving my IRA in addition to my non IRA real estate transactions. To get the license I only had to go to school for 1 week and pass the state exam. Making commisions on my own IRA transaction is like allowing me to take some of my profits out of my IRA without being penalized for early withdrawel before the age of 59.5.
From my experience the stock market is good but if you really want to make some money you can do it in real estate. Like anything, knowledge about what you are doing is the difference between succuss and failure. The real estate market is down now and there are a lot of good deals out there. If you are buying stock or real estate the key is to buy when it is under valued.
Whatever you do don't just jump into an investment without knowing what you are getting into.
I write financial computer software for I living. I have also been the chief financial officer of a company with 750 employees and 280 million a year in sales. It's hard to budget your sales when you are self employed and have not been in business very long. You do need to have a good handle on what your expenses are both fixed and variable. Your fixed expenses which are expenses you will have every month regardless of how much work you do (things like your truck payment, truck insurance, etc.). Variable expense are things expenses that can change from month to month usually in relation to your sales (things like detailing supplies, gas for your truck, etc.). Having a good handle on what your expenses are lets you know what kind of sales you need to have. You need to know how much income (sales - expenses) per week it takes to support your family. Having a good handle on your expenses lets you know how many details you need to due per week if you want to be at a certain income level. Again if you have only been in business for a year it's hard to project what your sales will be in the comming year. You need to know how much income you need to support your family and grow your business. At this point I would try to set sales goals and try to meet them.
When your business gets bigger you might want to purchase some accounting software to manage your business but at this point you can probably get by with using a spreadsheet program like excel to keep track of your sales and expenses. Make sure you keep your business income and expenses seperate from you personel finances. Also make sure you keep documents to support eveything especially on the expense side. Try not to use cash to pay for expenses. Setup and use a seperate checking account for your business. If you do pay for something with cash make sure you get a receipt.
I could spend hours writing about the subject but I was up late last night and I think I will call it a night. I'm most productive writing software in the morning so I usually get up early. I will have to read over what I wrote tomorrow.
Good luck with your business Justin.
From my experience the stock market is good but if you really want to make some money you can do it in real estate. Like anything, knowledge about what you are doing is the difference between succuss and failure. The real estate market is down now and there are a lot of good deals out there. If you are buying stock or real estate the key is to buy when it is under valued.
Whatever you do don't just jump into an investment without knowing what you are getting into.
I write financial computer software for I living. I have also been the chief financial officer of a company with 750 employees and 280 million a year in sales. It's hard to budget your sales when you are self employed and have not been in business very long. You do need to have a good handle on what your expenses are both fixed and variable. Your fixed expenses which are expenses you will have every month regardless of how much work you do (things like your truck payment, truck insurance, etc.). Variable expense are things expenses that can change from month to month usually in relation to your sales (things like detailing supplies, gas for your truck, etc.). Having a good handle on what your expenses are lets you know what kind of sales you need to have. You need to know how much income (sales - expenses) per week it takes to support your family. Having a good handle on your expenses lets you know how many details you need to due per week if you want to be at a certain income level. Again if you have only been in business for a year it's hard to project what your sales will be in the comming year. You need to know how much income you need to support your family and grow your business. At this point I would try to set sales goals and try to meet them.
When your business gets bigger you might want to purchase some accounting software to manage your business but at this point you can probably get by with using a spreadsheet program like excel to keep track of your sales and expenses. Make sure you keep your business income and expenses seperate from you personel finances. Also make sure you keep documents to support eveything especially on the expense side. Try not to use cash to pay for expenses. Setup and use a seperate checking account for your business. If you do pay for something with cash make sure you get a receipt.
I could spend hours writing about the subject but I was up late last night and I think I will call it a night. I'm most productive writing software in the morning so I usually get up early. I will have to read over what I wrote tomorrow.
Good luck with your business Justin.
ScottB
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Real Estate , just like the market, is cyclical. As such we have not likely hit rock bottom yet. Also most do not carry enough money in IRA to fund property. As such market becomes the only real choice other than bank related products which are not inflation adjusted.
I would also becareful with Real Estate transactions with IRA, they are being heavily scrutinized by the IRS, and if they have there way, will soon be deemed "outside" the use of retirement money. Not knocking it, but remember to tread lightly when impending legislation is being considered. With less than 2 years left before presidential replacement, well the question is there enough time for real estate market to rebound, and will certain "investments" be allowed to be continued ??
I would also becareful with Real Estate transactions with IRA, they are being heavily scrutinized by the IRS, and if they have there way, will soon be deemed "outside" the use of retirement money. Not knocking it, but remember to tread lightly when impending legislation is being considered. With less than 2 years left before presidential replacement, well the question is there enough time for real estate market to rebound, and will certain "investments" be allowed to be continued ??
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justin_murphy
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- May 7, 2006
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Gary Sword said:
That was some very useful info bro. I never thought that I would get this response.
Thanks so much.
Investment deals are already getting stricter and lenders are dropping programs like crazy, MLN (Mortgage Lenders Network) was a huge company who I used a lot, the other day they shut down, they'll continue servicing loans but won't be funding any, they had there wharehouse lines pulled. 15-20 lenders have gone out of business the past couple months. Ohio just past regulations that no "stated" deals are allowed, not even for self employed I believe, and with the income out there beng lower then average well, that market is gonna collapse. The past couple invest deals I did, 2-3 months later, lenders sent somebody to the property to verify that the person living there was the one who signed the lease agreement. Same has happened to owner occupied deals I've done where the person owned maybe another property or two and was claiming this new one as their homestead, lenders were sending out people to verify that the owner lived there. Why...b/c people were doing deals as owner occupied yet renting them out b/c terms are much better then obviously a non-owner rental. I'm actually having one company in Cali shut down after a guy I knew wanted to purchase a property but there was just no way, I couldn't prove anything, even his other business on the side had a freaken pre-paid phone lol. So of course he and his agent start bad mouthing me saying I didn't know what I was doing (yeh ok, I'm gonna committ fraud lol), calls some guy in Cali who somehow closed the deal in 4 days. I tracked down the company and docs, he gave the guy a fake job blah blah so I had a nice investigation started at that fairly large office hehe. Mess with the bull you get the horns, plus they can come after the buyer and charge with fraud now as well. Listing agent told me she was so uncomfortable at he signing, they made the buyer and seller sign in different rooms, not together...wtf lol.killrwheels@autogeek said:
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Gary Sword
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It is true that both the stock market and the real estate market are cyclical. As of now the stock market in near it's all time high and the real estate market has been on a down turn. No matter what you do the object is to buy low and sell high. I have read the articles in the paper where some say the residential real estate market will not turn around for a couple of years. No matter what you invest in if your source of information is the local news paper you will probably never be wealthy. The residential and commerical read estate markets are a lot different. The commerical real estate market in South West Florida has not been on a down turn at all. I don't think it's good advice to tell anyone just to jump into the stock market or real estate without knowing what they are doing. The key to success is knowledge about what you are doing. I have a masters degree in business from one of the top ten business schools in the country. I have audited, prepared and analized financial statements of a lot companies. It takes a lot more education, experience and work to analyze a companies finanical statements to get an idea if the stock is under or over valued then it does a piece of property. The financial statements of a company can also be very misleading and not truly represent a companies financial position. If you give your money to a so called expert to invest. You are putting your future in someone elses hands who is most likely looking after their best interests instead of yours. I have both made and lost a lot of money in the stock market but I have only made money in real estate. In 2005 from an initial $51,000 investment I made enough to pay cash for a $200,000 car in less then 12 months. I would like the see a stock market investment make that kind of return.
Tax laws do change from time to time and if they do you may have to change your strategy. I doubt very much if there will be any change in the tax law regarding real estate investment with your IRA. The key is it must all be handled by a trust company and you can not personally handle the funds. You are still in control of your money and direct the trust company as to how you want to invest it. When tax laws change the tax laws relating to current investments are almost always grandfathered in.
This being a detailing forum probably to much has be said about investments. I would just like to say know what you are doing before you jump into something.
Tax laws do change from time to time and if they do you may have to change your strategy. I doubt very much if there will be any change in the tax law regarding real estate investment with your IRA. The key is it must all be handled by a trust company and you can not personally handle the funds. You are still in control of your money and direct the trust company as to how you want to invest it. When tax laws change the tax laws relating to current investments are almost always grandfathered in.
This being a detailing forum probably to much has be said about investments. I would just like to say know what you are doing before you jump into something.
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killrwheels@autogeek said:
what about all of my dads nortel stock? If it even went back up my dad would retire in a heart beat.Calgary: your in second year? I thought you were only 1 year older than me? unless you are younger than most people.
I know 1st year business is going to suck! University is like paying money to feel pain!CalgaryDetail
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yes it is lol. im 19. My b-day is in september so no im not younger then everyone. And yes i am seconed year, so i dunno. And first year is fun it really is. Just remeber is u of c isnt all thats its cracked up to be we do more at mrc.. we have an extra cedit hour as well as we do computized accounintg... so food for thought
oh ya if u ever need help, send me a pm and im sure i can help
oh ya if u ever need help, send me a pm and im sure i can help
CalgaryDetail said:
Actually MRC is great for business, as long as you follow the Alberta Transfer Guide then its doesn't make much of a difference.
lol about the age thing...I have been so messed up by exams that I think in school years now!!Sorry for the OT
CalgaryDetail
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haha fair enough. I plan on staying at mrc,. i know a few poeple in haskne and a few who have come to bisset, and bisset frfom what i have heard it better, this is just my opion, so take it with a grain of salt.
Also CA firms are looking at hiring out of mrc more now since we have an extra credit hour, plus we do mroe accounting courses. but hey an education is an education. Its worth every penny, and all the time.
Plus when your at U of C you have fun at burmuda shorts day
Also CA firms are looking at hiring out of mrc more now since we have an extra credit hour, plus we do mroe accounting courses. but hey an education is an education. Its worth every penny, and all the time.
Plus when your at U of C you have fun at burmuda shorts day
CalgaryDetail
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wytstang said:
the younger you start the better. I have been saving for retirment since iwas 15 or 16. i m only 19 now but it adds up. I have to save half my paycheck,.. by family rules. Are first its hard but once you see the big picture and the money in the bank its well worth it.
You are young nad have lots of time., which is good. you can never start to early. I dont know if you have kids or plan on it, but get them saving young.. they will thank you in the end.. i promise.. i know i did
dengood1
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CalgaryDetail said:
Great for you Calgary, wish I would have have your "sense" when I was younger. Absolutely correct about the younger you start the better. By the end it will have compounded exponetially with every year earlier you started! With social security the way it is, you'd better SAVE and INVEST NOW!! Unfortunately for me I will have paid in my whole life and it will be just about broke when I reach the age, so I will get nothing! Let's hope this changes by then(all you 30+ people pay attention
).
ScottB
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CalgaryDetail said:
You are exactly correct, and want to know why ?? Because as said before, the stock market/real estate market/banks will go thru cycles. As such the sooner you get in, the more cycles you are priveledged too. Just remember when its time to start using the funds, to try and pull at different points also. It reduces taxation and down market cycles.
CalgaryDetail
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cool cool, an education is an education., and you wont know about mrc until the summer., just the way they are.
Bisset is the business school at mrc, kinda like haskyne... bisste donnated 2 buildings and ton of money
Bisset is the business school at mrc, kinda like haskyne... bisste donnated 2 buildings and ton of money
