An asset should provide low risk, positive cash flow. The best assets (most passive) do this with little to no work from you. 1. Stocks & bonds. 2. Real estate / rental property. 3. Small business. Start here, and branch out judiciously.
Keys to Investing
- Invest aggressively to beat inflation
- Keep investing strategy simple, particularly or at least early on.
- Start early. Time is the biggest factor affecting overall performance.
- Minimize fees. Minimize taxes. These are two of the biggest drains on wealth.
- Reinvest all profits to maximize your gains
Stocks should make up majority of portfolio:
- They have historically exceeded other investments over long periods and that is expected to continue.
- They are also some of the most passive of all income.
- Historically, after building a diverse portfolio, you could reasonably expect to earn 8 percent to 10 percent annually on your investments over the long haul.
Ignore “professional” stock pickers and economic forecasts
- First, those people have a big conflict of interest. They are not fiduciaries.
- Second, the ins and outs of various companies and industries are too complex for an outside stock analyst to know very well, especially considering how much information is hidden from them.
- Third, if their calls are actually accurate, the company they work for will have already acted on that information anyway, meaning you get (at best) the scraps left behind.
- Just ignore all of it.
Diversify Internationally:
- Include international investments in your portfolio.
- Buying only US stocks puts you at risk in situations where America’s economy is weaker than the rest of the world.
- You should diversify and have some portion of your investments in an index fund made up of international stocks and other international investments.
Primary residence exception:
These don’t provide positive cash flow, so technically, I don’t call them assets. You have to pay for it whether you work or not! But it is one of the most important investments you can make. Mortgage beats rent any day.*
Exceptions exist. For instance, don’t buy a house if you might/likely have to leave within 5 years!
Investing could be 500 pages long. Remember, we’re talking the basics here. The minimum you need to know. The essential. What did I miss?
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