by Doug Goldstein CFP® | Feb 18, 2016 | Financial Strategies, Strategic Thinking |
Peter Drucker, management consultant, once said: “Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.” What is the difference between being effective and being efficient? Which one leads to success in investing and in life in general? You can spend a lot of time developing your efficiency in a certain skill or in performing a particular task. But is this the best use of your time? Before investing time and energy in a particular task, remember Peter Drucker and ask yourself whether you are doing The Right Thing, or if your energies are better spent elsewhere. A strategy lets you be effective AND efficient In order to achieve a goal, you first need to build a strategy with the most effective way to accomplish it. Just as a chess player won’t win if he just moves his pieces around without any kind of strategy, you can’t achieve any goal if you don’t know the specific steps of what is needed to get there. Even if you can do many things efficiently and very well, if they are not relevant to your purpose they will not help you. But, once you know what you need to do (effectiveness), you can work on improving your skills in order to master the task at hand (efficiency). A great example of being effective versus efficient in the world of investing is the investor who shops around for the lowest trading commissions at discount brokerage firms. While cutting costs on trades is a great idea, it is not a great strategy if lower trading fees encourage you to trade more often. If... Click for more
by Douglas Goldstein | Feb 9, 2016 | Financial Strategies, Podcasts, Strategic Thinking |
What’s the most important money habit you need to get rich? Unfortunately, “getting rich quick” is a myth. Aside from robbing a bank (which I’m not recommending you do), there isn’t one single trick that can make you rich. But, there are 5 basic money habits that you can adopt to build your wealth slowly and steadily. These five tactics are easy to follow, and simple to learn. This financial podcast episode explains the 5 steps you need to take to improve your money habits. Let us know which one was the easiest to... Click for more
by Douglas Goldstein | Jan 12, 2016 | Behavior finance, Podcasts, Strategic Thinking |
What can a discussion with Nobel Prize laureate Professor Angus Deaton on foreign aid teach you about personal finance skills and how to help your children with money? Learn practical tips and advice on how to teach your children good personal finance practices without patronizing them. Listen for the link to an article that Doug’s son, Yosef, wrote about the financial lessons he learned from his father, the financial... Click for more
by Douglas Goldstein | Oct 27, 2015 | Other, Podcasts, Strategic Thinking |
What is identity theft? How can you prevent this modern type of technological crime happening to you? This financial podcast gives you a list of top tips to prevent online fraud and identity theft. To listen to this podcast, click here Or you can download the Rich As A King podcast from your favorite platforms: Itunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, and of course, our website. This podcast is based on Rich As A King: How to Become a Grandmaster of Investing, by Douglas Goldstein, CFP® and Grandmaster Susan... Click for more
by Doug Goldstein CFP® | Sep 11, 2015 | Behavior finance, Financial Strategies, Strategic Thinking |
Like many manufactured products, today’s increased market volatility can be stamped “Made in China.” Numerous analysts blame current world market volatility on China, because its growth fell below predictions (or should we point our fingers at the analysts for flawed predictions?). China’s weak growth means her factories imported fewer commodities (such as oil and steel) slowing manufacturing output. Lowered demand for manufacturing basics caused commodity prices to fall further, so that every country that relies on selling commodities as part of its GDP was hurt. The ripple effect continues to touch many economies, including America. Many countries suffering from economic problems are close trading partners with the United States. Foreign woes make it difficult for countries like Greece and Russia to maintain their traditional levels of purchasing American exports. Couple this with the strong U.S. dollar, which makes American goods even more expensive for overseas purchasers who are experiencing their own economic doldrums and you can see how foreign economic woes impact the American economy. Unfortunately, there is a downside to a strong dollar. Can you drown in a riptide? In today’s global world, economies are tightly connected, so commotion in one market has only a short path until it reaches other countries. Automatic trading systems and computer programs mean that significant transactions occur without a single human being actively involved (past the programming stages). And when real investors do get involved, consumer confidence and emotions play a huge part in investment decisions. Social media (regardless of their accuracy) spreads fear and uncertainty around the globe with a single tweet or Facebook post. How to save your investments from... Click for more
by Doug Goldstein CFP® | Jul 9, 2015 | Financial Plan, Strategic Thinking |
Do you know how well your investments are doing? This question isn’t easy to answer because with some investments you only see real results after a certain amount of time. While performance is often measured in relative terms, here are three signs that may indicate your investments are underperforming: Numbers don’t lie Look at the figures. Are your investments doing worse than the average market return? If they are consistently underperforming, this is a clear sign that you need to reevaluate your portfolio. Are you achieving your financial goals? The first step towards reaching financial success is defining your financial goals. Once you know what you want to accomplish, you need to choose the appropriate investments that will allow you to achieve those goals. For instance, if you need to pay college tuition bills in the long-term, you’ll want an investment with high potential for growth, and if you are a retiree in need of dependable income, you might choose to use conservative dividend yielding stocks or bonds. To find out more about how to set goals, read this, and then use this free online strategic goal calculator. When evaluating the performance of your investments, ask yourself whether you are on course to achieving your financial objectives. If the answer is no, then this is a sign that your investments are not doing well. You are stressed and can’t sleep While nothing is ever assured in this life (apart from death and taxes) your investments shouldn’t be a constant source of stress. While you should keep on top of your financial situation, don’t drive yourself crazy worrying about what’s... Click for more
