Who Can You Trust When Investing?
Fear and uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic have spread through the world. On top of those problems, the issue of police brutality of black men has been brought to the attention of the world once again. The tragic killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer and police killings of other black people have flooded the news. The demonstrations, peaceful protests, and sometimes riots and violence have captured the interest of the United States and other parts of the world.
The world is in turmoil, and investing may not be on people’s minds. But with the pandemic, many people have suffered financially so money is an issue. They may be looking for a way to earn some much needed money.
There are still a lot of gurus out there who want you to trust them by signing up for their stock investing newsletters. They promise big returns and make big claims. Their testimonials sound almost too good to be true. Perhaps they are.
The so-called investment gurus are touting their programs even as the unprecedented times caused by the coronavirus have affected everyone. They are saying that there are exciting investment opportunities in oil, banking, crypto, medical companies, and more even during these troubling times. They have common names like Jon, Tom, Ken, Alex, Mark, and Jeff plus some more uncommon names such as Jordan, Derek, and Kyle. Who can you trust? It is hard to know.
Sometimes they promise 100% returns on your investment or they may be bold enough to promise $2,000% in a year. They say that you will most likely get your return on investment with your first trade. If they promise big returns, it is best to make sure they have a money back guarantee if they do not produce as claimed.
If those promises would come true, it would be a great opportunity and blessing. However, too often they are false promises which do not come to fruition. If you can find a program which pays as claimed, you can consider yourself one of the lucky ones.
It’s pretty pathetic when not losing is considered winning, but that is the case in so many investments. We may be happy to just not lose our shirts although the gurus told us we would win 100% or more with their recommendations. When going with the recommendations made by the gurus, it is important to cut your losses before you do lose your shirt so to speak. Winning is the goal, of course.
Fake claims and dead ends can bring a lot of stress. Minor setbacks can be overcome without major losses. It is tempting to listen to investment gurus to follow in their footsteps to get winning trades. However, you can’t trust many or most of them. It is best to research and learn so that you can trust in yourself to make the best decisions.
Discretionary Income Choices
Making the most of your discretionary income
Discretionary income is what you have left over after paying your fixed costs. It is yours to spend on whatever you choose.
But…
How you spend this money can make a difference to your financial situation, but before this we have to ascertain what is discretionary income.
Rent/rates
Car running expenses
Power
Debt
Groceries etc.
People who have an addiction of some kind will prioritize their spending so that the addiction is included among their fixed expenses.
Everyone as an adult has freedom of choice unless they have debts which means their freedom is being eroded away in relation to their level of debt.
The old Proverb, “The borrower is a slave to the lender,” sums it up.
We all have some control over most of our fixed expenses such as groceries and power;we can cut down on these but with items such as rates/rent are fixed but even then we can choose to live in a more modest apartment or downsize.
The excess to your expenses is called discretionary income.
Another way of increasing your disposable (discretionary) income is to increase your income by getting a part-time job, getting a higher paying job, or selling stuff online.
Saving your discretionary spending for some greater purpose instead of frittering it away gives your life some meaning. Instead of just letting things happen you are making things happen. Many people in 10-20 years time wondered what happened.
There is a major difference between saving your money and investing it. Astute investors use their discretion to increase their wealth by investing in higher risk stocks and shares, gold, and cryptocurrency. There are enough online platforms where you are able to drip feed money into these things if you are still climbing up the investment ladder.
But then you may prefer to save for a holiday and tick off one or two items on your bucket list. The border closures will restrict your choice of places but here in New Zealand there are so many fantastic places to visit it is an opportunity to discover your own backyard.
Among the more popular activities in New Zealand are landing on the Franz and Fox Glaciers, going for a dip in the Hanmer Springs hot pools, visiting the wine region of Marlborough, or attending one of the sports meetings around the country. One thing I have to mention here is the Tranz Alpine Express train journey between Christchurch and Greymouth. It is rated one of the finest train journeys in the world and having experienced it I do not disagree. It has to be on everyone’s bucket list.
Using A Dry Cabinet to Store Your Electronic Components
If you are finding it difficult to keep your electronic components in tip-top condition due to the high level of humidity, you are on the right page. Humidity can cause the growth of mold and condensation on your electronic components. Therefore, you may want to get a dry cabinet as these units can help you resolve this issue without any problem. Read on to find out more about the importance of using these products.
Typically, a dry cabinet is an enclosure that can protect your materials from excessive moisture. In most cases, these products are used to store appliances and equipment that may not work properly if exposed to a high-humidity environment.
Actually, some instruments and equipment such as electronics, pcb boards and lens will stop working if stored in a high humidity environment. Moisture can reduce the internal performance of components and may cause them to malfunction.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at some solid reasons why you may want to store your electronic components in an Auto dry cabinet.
Importance of Using Dry Cabinets
First of all, you need to understand that fungus can develop in areas where the humidity level is too high. If something can damage your electronic components the most, it cannot be any other thing but a fungus. On top of this, the fungus is difficult to remove and may cause a lot of damage to your expensive electronic components.
Apart from this, the fungus continues to grow between the lens and the lens of the glass. Usually, you may face this problem if you keep your camera in an environment with fungus and a high level of humidity. The moment fungus starts to grow, it won’t take much time to spread and infect other things that you have placed near your gear.
If your electronics has been infected with fungus, you may not want to clean it with force or you may end up damaging the special coating on your electronics.
Typically, EMS manufacturers store their humidity sensitive devices in drawers and cupboards. Inside these storage units, the environment is dark and humid. As a result, fungus can easily thrive. Besides, these EMS manufacturers are from countries where the climate is humid and tropical throughout the year.
So, the best solution is to get dry cabinets. These units can make sure your expensive electronic is protected against dust, water vapor, and a high level of humidity.
Bonus Tips:
It’s not a good idea to store your electronics in an environment where the humidity level is too low as it causes irreparable damage to the rubber seals.
Generally, the humidity level should be lower than 30%, or you may face problems with your moisture sensitive components.
Setting Your Money Goals
3 Factors which determine your investment strategy
You may be wondering what is the right investment strategy for you, but without knowing anything about you, any advice on which investments are right for you may in fact be the wrong ones. There are basically three factors that determine which are the right investments for you, they are:
1. Your age
2. Purpose for the money
3. Your risk profile
Starting with your age. It would be rather silly of you to invest all your money in growth funds if you are aged 65 because if the market takes a dive such as was the case during the 1987 sharemarket crash and to a lesser extent, the Global Financial Crisis during the early 2000s you have less time to recover from these setbacks whereas the young ones have time on their side.
The purpose for the money is the second factor.
Decide whether you require the money in the short-term, medium-term, or long-term.
Short-term would be up to a year.
Medium-term is 1-5 years
Long-term is longer than five years
Short term expenses would be, a bank account for emergencies, a holiday within a year, dental expenses, or t pay for the kids schooling for a year.
Medium-term would be savings for a car.
Long term would be your retirement fund, saving for a house deposit, or saving for the trip of a lifetime.
Your risk profile is a determining factor in where you invest your money. If the thought of the sharemarket taking a dive will give you sleepless nights then investing growth stocks in the sharemarket is not for you. A better option would be managed funds where you will be given a choice between growth, balanced, and conservative funds.
It is important not to get into debt for there is a cost to debt and that is interest. Interest adds to the cost of goods bought with borrowed money, and this adds up to a fortune during a lifetime of borrowing for consumables. This is called bad debt because the value of the item declines over time.
There is such a thing as good debt though and this is your first home because the value of the property increases during the lifetime of the loan but even this is not always a good option for some people if you live a kind of transient lifestyle.
“Everyone is to their own,” so only you know what makes you tick so your personal circumstances are the determining factors which govern where best to invest your savings.
You must do your homework before you invest in anything, whether that is the sharemarket, managed funds, or gold. There is so much information available on just about everything, and that includes finance. It is just a matter of learning the ropes and having a financial strategy which suits your personal circumstances.