Category Archives: Investing

Jamaican Style Money Guide: Wise Monkey Know Which Tree Fi Climb

Investing, Wealth, , , , , ,

We have recently been looking at the importance of saving in designing a financial success plan. While it is critical to consistently put aside a portion of your income to create an emergency account and build an opportunity fund, the reality is that saving alone won’t make you rich.

Saving is essential to help you develop discipline with money, and it also allows you to focus more attention on accumulating money instead of just spending it. In addition, your savings can give you a head start to pursue more lucrative financial options to create long-lasting wealth.

What Does It Take to Build Wealth?

If you have been saving diligently and you are a little disappointed with the slow growth of your bank balance, you need to start employing strategies that will enable you to boost your results. Unlike the relatively passive act of saving, however, building wealth takes a lot more expertise.

I like to utilise clever Jamaican sayings to help clarify money concepts. Our snippet of wisdom for this week declares, “Wise monkey know which tree fi climb.” An experienced monkey searches for the trees with the best food sources and avoids those which hide potential danger. Continue reading Jamaican Style Money Guide: Wise Monkey Know Which Tree Fi Climb →

Investing in Jamaica – A Diaspora Perspective

Business Success, Investing, , , , , , , ,

I often receive emails from people living in the Diaspora who express their commitment to this country, and share their concerns for it. Recently, an overseas reader asked me to recommend some investment solutions that would be appropriate for Jamaicans living overseas.

There are several local investment options which can help investors from any country to increase their personal wealth. Licensed investment advisors can assist persons to identify their investing objectives and choose suitable investments that are targeted towards accomplishing their goals.

However, I believe that my reader had a more meaningful purpose for seeking to invest in this country. Aside from building wealth, he wanted to see his dollars make a difference in Jamaica. To achieve this, he would also need to look for investments outside of the traditional financial markets.

Many persons of Jamaican heritage have a desire to direct funds into this country to help promote our social and economic development. If you’re living in the Diaspora, here are some practical ways for you to invest in Jamaica, which will really stimulate long-term development in this nation. Continue reading Investing in Jamaica – A Diaspora Perspective →

Protecting Your Investments

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When you invest, you hope that your money will generate an income for you or that it will grow in value and allow you to realise a profit in the future. However, there is a possibility that your desired investing outcome may not materialise; you could instead receive an unfavourable result.

While you happily envision what you stand to gain, before you commit your funds to an investment you also need to consider what you could lose if you were to make the wrong decisions. It’s critical to assess how any adverse outcomes could harm your financial position and negatively affect your goals.

When you put your money to work for you, one of the possibilities is that you could lose some or all of your money if the venture fails. There is also the risk that your investment may not perform as planned, or that you may not get the kind of returns within the time frame that you had anticipated.

Although risk is an inherent part of the investing process, you can still seek to minimise or prevent some of these negative occurrences. Let’s look at some of the strategies that can help you to protect your investments from the risks of loss and unmet objectives. Continue reading Protecting Your Investments →

All That Glitters

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If you are an aficionado of jewellery, there is nothing quite as enticing as seeing artfully crafted golden trinkets, inlaid with precious stones, in a shop window. As the saying goes, “A diamond is a girl’s best friend,” and many women would love to deepen this particular bond of friendship!

In the world of investing, it is also easy to become enthralled by the glitter of an investment that promises to transform your fortunes by making you very wealthy. As you struggle along trying to make ends meet, the thought of being able to live more abundantly can be very appealing indeed.

An unwitting window-shopper is often tempted to pay large sums to acquire a beautiful new piece of gold jewellery. An inexperienced investor, lured with thoughts of getting wealthy from a seemingly attractive investment option, can similarly be enticed into making inappropriate financial decisions.

In The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare opined, “All that glitters is not gold.” This quote cautions you not to be swayed by external features when determining the worth of a person or an item. The same holds true for many investments, as you need to look beyond the surface to verify their real value. Continue reading All That Glitters →

Letting Go Financially

Business Success, Debt, Goals, Investing, , , , , , ,

Last week we looked at the value of exhibiting patience when making important financial decisions. You need to be prudent with your spending and debt choices, and you should give yourself enough time to get the best results from your efforts in saving, investing and creating wealth.

While it’s advisable to stay on course with your financial goals and allow time to work in your favour, there are instances when you actually need to move quickly to get rid of unhealthy money habits or reverse unwise decisions you may have made.

When you commit to a specific financial route, you may not be certain if you should hold on because you made the right choice, or if your results indicate that you should change direction. Let’s look at some situations in which it’s time to cut loose and ‘wheel and come again,’ as we say in Jamaica. Continue reading Letting Go Financially →

Four Things You Need to Know Before You Invest

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We have recently been looking at the importance of developing your financial savvy. Ignorance about money matters can cause you to struggle to meet your current financial needs, and may also prevent you from making the best use of your funds to build your wealth.

Investing – the process of putting money to productive use with the expectation of making a profit – is a vital money skill for anyone who wishes to accomplish more out of life than just paying bills. If you don’t know how to invest, it will be difficult for you to earn enough money to live your dream lifestyle.

If you try to invest without understanding the process, you may also make poor investment choices. Investing in ignorance can be detrimental to your finances; you may overlook lucrative opportunities or lose your money. Let’s look at four things that you need to consider before you start investing. Continue reading Four Things You Need to Know Before You Invest →

How to Invest Without Fear

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The world of investing can be very intimidating for persons who know nothing about it. Investing may seem like a pursuit for the wealthy elite or financial power-brokers, and not a money-multiplication activity that can be practised by ordinary people with relatively limited means.

Unfortunately, too many persons allow a lack of knowledge and an abundance of fear to prevent them from generating income and building wealth from investing. If you avoid or disregard this important financial skill, you may actually miss out on achieving your long-term money goals.

Do your research

If you have never bothered to invest because of ignorance, you first need to learn more about the process. The Internet provides myriad outlets which you can use to research investments. Just put “investing guide for beginners” in your search engine and it will return thousands of websites. Continue reading How to Invest Without Fear →

Avoiding the Rat Trap in your Finances

Goals, Income Creation, Investing, , , , , ,

“Rats close down Kingston high school.” This shocking headline continued into a revealing report of how rodents were running rampant at the 100-year-old institution. Despite their best efforts at pest control, the situation had deteriorated to the point where school officials were forced to temporarily suspend classes to effectively eradicate the problem.

As I read the unfortunate story of rats gone wild, my first thoughts were “How are these boys ever going to live this one down?” Knowing the fierce rivalry that exists among secondary schools in Jamaica, I had painful images of the merciless teasing and cruel rat references that were about to be unleashed upon the hapless students.

I thought no more about this incident until recently when I saw a television programme highlighting what the students had done to overcome their situation. Instead of being embarrassed by their rodent visitors, they had embraced them and practically turned them into school mascots. They had even created buttons with cute rat cartoon figures and were proudly wearing them. Continue reading Avoiding the Rat Trap in your Finances →

The Art and Science of Making Money

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Despite the developments in technology and differences in trends that emerge over time, there is one financial certainty that will probably remain constant. Most persons – regardless of age, gender, education, nationality, status or creed – will express the desire to have more money.

The ability to increase income levels far in excess of spending needs is desired by many, but discovered by very few. Could it be that some people are blessed with an inherent flair for making money that escapes the less talented majority? Or is there a scientific approach to money multiplication which can only be exploited after years of dedicated study?

The 2012 Money Manifesto, our 12-step guide to creating financial success, provides a recipe for increasing your income and putting your money to work for you. It is virtually impossible to budget successfully, save towards a nest egg, avoid debilitating debt, and plan for future goals, without having the means to boost your earning power. Continue reading The Art and Science of Making Money →

Investing By Owning Shares – Returns and Risks

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Last week we looked at stock investments, explaining that this option provides persons with the opportunity of buying ownership into a company. Let’s now outline the ways in which you can make money by investing in shares, while highlighting some of the possible risks.

When you invest in stocks, there are two main strategies that you can employ to make a profit. You can choose to hold the stocks over time and reap the benefits that come with share ownership, or decide to buy and sell the stocks to receive trading gains. To be successful in either method, it’s best to learn more about stocks with the help of professional advisors.

Sharing the profit Continue reading Investing By Owning Shares – Returns and Risks →