Hi guys, while it has been a looong seven days since I last posted (yes, my consistency sucks), but I’m back again to impart more wisdom, or insanity (however you want to look at it).

Today, I will be giving you the one thing you should focus on investing in during these tough times: You. Let me explain.

The problem with investing during a recession is that you have to invest in things that people can’t, or won’t do without such as food, cigarettes, medicine, etc., and these investments are usually slow movers. Besides, there is no way to know when a recession will end or how bad it will get and if you have to pull your money out to save yourself, you might end up having to do it at a market low and actually lose on your investment.

Take my advice: history has a way of repeating itself in one way or another, so learn from the trends. I took a look at what kind of people came through the Great Depression on top. It turned out to be people who were out of debt. In fact, some of those people became rich during the Depression.

The same holds true during a recession. Check it out. If your $800 per month BMW loan is at 6% and you pay it off, then you just got a 6% return on your investment plus have an extra $800 per month from a payment you are no longer making. Same goes for your home equity loans, credit card balances, consumer loans, etc.

Take a look at the interest rate on some of those loans and try to find an investment that can give you a guaranteed return like that. No bloody likely. When you invest by paying off debt, you get a guaranteed, no risk return that can’t be matched anywhere else. Yes, it’s no fun, but you will come out way ahead for it.

The average American family pays out about $2,000 per month in debt payments (counting the mortgage.) Imagine getting that all paid off and having $2,000 per month to do with as you please. You can finally afford that epargne afer life insurance policy. Try to find an investment that can do that!

And if the recession gets really bad, every debt that you pay off is extra money you no longer need. Then, when the recession does finally end, you come out of it in great financial shape with whatever your debt payments were to start investing with.

That’s it for today! Go forth and invest in yourself!

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Now, for my French fans!

Salut les gars, pendant que cet a été un looong Sept jours puisque je dernier posté (oui, mon homogénéité suce), mais je suis de retour encore de donner plus de sagesse, ou la folie (cependant vous voulez le regarder).

Cela l’est pour aujourd’hui ! Aller en avant et investir dans vous !

Hi guys, welcome back to another session of how to get rich and stay rich. Today I want to focus on how to develop leadership qualities. Because, let’s face it, the captain gets the largest share of the booty. Always.

In these economic times, making money all by your lonesome is very difficult. We just don’t have enough resources individually. The trend has been to pool resources together for businesses and splitting the profits. You invest less, and do less, but still see returns. The trick is to have a great leader.

Whether you are choosing a leader, or want to be one yourself, there are a few traits that a good leader must always possess or develop. A good leader must be able to remove roadblocks. If there is a problem, you better be able to solve it, or at least motivate the team to come up with a solution.

A good leader must be able to facilitate open, and honest communication. Never sugar coat things, or lie. It will always come back and bite you in the ass. Always.

Do as I do. Never do as I say. A good leader must always model behavior that he or she wants from the team. On the same vein, act instead of react. A good leader can facilitate decision making and discussions. He or she must be able to see the big picture and communicate each member’s role in that context. Don’t make it personal.

A good leader must be able to recognize the strengths of each team member and focus those strengths to the benefit of the team. Remember, everyone is good at something. The trick is to encourage independent thinking and trust each team member to make good decisions. And when assembling your team, a leader must be able to gather team members with complementary skill sets and draw from the strengths of each member.

Hope this helps some of you guys. Now go assemble your dream team and tackle that 200 unit condominium conversion! See you in seven (or less!).

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Hi guys! Today I will be sharing how I utilize web directories to get richer. For those of you new to the Internet era, a web directory is a directory on the World Wide Web that specializes in linking to other web sites and categorizing those links.

To explain further, a web directory is not a search engine, and does not display lists of web pages based on keywords; instead, it lists web sites by category and subcategory. The categorization is usually based on the whole web site rather than one page or a set of keywords, and sites are often limited to inclusion in only a few categories. Web directories often allow site owners to directly submit their site for inclusion, and have editors review submissions for fitness.

And there, folks, is the key. It doesn’t matter what field you do business in. All businesses require customers, whether returning or new. To retain your old customers and make sure that they are repeat ones, well, that I would have to leave to you. You had better do a damn good job. If not, then you should really be looking at doing something else. Anyhow, any and all businesses would love to attract new customers. The simplest way to do that? Well, get your name out there, of course! Able to include your contact information? Even better!

Now, most web directories are very general in scope and list websites across a wide range of categories, regions and languages. But there are also some niche directories which focus on restricted regions, single languages, or specialist sectors. And these are the ones you want to look at and submit your website or contact information to.

Examples of well known, general, web directories include the Yahoo! Directory, Business dot Com, and the Open Directory Project (ODP). ODP is significant due to its extensive categorization and large number of listings and its free availability for use by other directories and search engines.

One of the best ways I have used a business web directory is to simply just submit my business name, website, and contact information. For example, as a Realtor, I constantly have new listings that I purchase a URL solely dedicated to the property address. This drives traffic directly to the listing site, and the more people look, the more chances I have of making a sale.

So, what are you waiting for? People are not going to just find out about you just by accident! Get your information out there! Find a web directory specializing in your field, and post up!

Alright guys, see you in seven (or less!) for more tips on how to get rich and stay rich.

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Hi guys. I know many of you have been feeling the pressure in our downward facing economy. Business is slow to almost non existent, and new ventures just don’t seem to be working. It feels like you are working twice as hard to get less returns lately.

Never fear, I found an article written by Scott Bywater that may give you a little pick-me-up. Yes, it is tennis related, beacuse, yes, I was a tennis player. And yes, Mr. Bywater does try to push some service, but pay attention to his lesson. Enjoy!

Copyright (c) 2010 Scott Bywater
Copywriting That SELLS
http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/

Yesterday, I just lounged around… hanging out with my little boy most of the day. Having breakfast, playing with leggo, pulling “The Bear With the Big Blue House” out of the cupboard and watching that.

——————————————————————
Scott Bywater is an advertising copywriting expert and the author of Cash-Flow Advertising. To gain access to all of his copywriting tips on how to get more customers via his eye opening “Copywriting Selling Secrets” newsletter, simply head on over to his web site at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/

See you guys in seven!

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Hey guys! Back in seven as promised! In today’s tight economy, who doesn’t want to free up some cash? Trim the fat but not the fun from your budget.

Here’s how to slash your grocery bill.

Only shop once a week. The more trips you make to the store, the more likely you are to buy on impulse when you see tempting items. About two-thirds of purchases are unplanned; cut that in half to save around $143 a month (if you spend $100 a week on groceries).

Give up the bottle. Stop drinking bottled water and instead buy a filter for your faucet (about $34, plus $25 for replacements). If your family consumes 12 gallons a month, you’ll save about $15. Not too shabby right?

Eat what’s ripe. Out-of-season produce costs 20% to 50% more than it does when it’s in season. Estimated savings: $7 a month.

Ditch your second (or third) car (Eeks! That’s my department…)

Sure, she turns heads, but that 2009 Aston Martin DBS is an expensive mistress. An oil change can put you in the hospital. If something goes wrong, it can downright kill you! Can’t do without two cars? Trade one in for a new (shudder)Camry and save close to $221 a month.

Visit your local cobbler

Last year’s Cole Haans are so … in this year. Rather than shell out $150 or more each season to buy a new pair of good shoes, clean up last year’s kicks. Your local shoe-repair shop will charge about $10 to fix worn-out heel tips for women. Men can get another year or more out of their dress shoes by replacing the rubber heel and the sole. Cost: about $50. If the lady of the house buys four pairs of shoes a year, and the man buys one (at $150 each), you’d save more than $50 a month.

Twitter to Save
Get timely if terse tips about bargains by following these twitterers. Not up on the technology? Get a tutorial at twitter.com.

Music: @amazonmp3
Travel: @JetBlueCheeps
Fashion/beauty: @DealDivine
General retail: @DealsPlus
Giveaways: @fstimes

Time your buys

Don’t get gouged, buy that air conditioner in January, not July, and get it for nearly half the price. You can save 25% to 40% or more if you know when to buy these goods.

Stretch it out

Look like a million bucks without spending a million by slowing down your personal care regimen. Sounds gross? Please, in this economy, read ahead. Trust me.

Go easy on the dry cleaning. Cut the number of trips you make in half: 65% of clothes that are dry cleaned can be washed by hand or machine. For example, you can put linens in the washer and do most sweaters in cold water by hand (including cashmere and camel hair). Most silks are hand washable too. Exception: bold colors like brick red, deep brown, and navy should still be dry-cleaned.

Do home touch-ups. Add at least two weeks to the time between hair coloring appointments ($100 or so a pop) by using over-the-counter products (about $10) from the drugstore to cover up your roots. Or, damn it, quit coloring your hair! What’s wrong with a little salt and pepper? It’s distinguished.

Get to work cheaper

A suburban driver commuting to the city might shell out $575 a month for gas, parking, and car upkeep, assuming a 30-mile round-trip. These downshifts can help:

Grab a tax break. Sign up for your company’s transportation reimbursement account, which lets you pay up to $230 in monthly parking fees with pretax dollars. (You can set aside the same amount for mass-transit costs.) Savings: about $80 a month.

Drive with a buddy. Carpool to work with a colleague. Soak in some office gossip. Or not.

Go from four wheels to two. Buy a good commuter bicycle ($500) and cycle to work as the weather permits. Try Craigslist for great second hand bikes for even more savings! Do that six months a year and you’ll save $250 a month.

Stepping off the gas

You don’t have to buy a Prius (thank god), trade in your clunker or ride the bus to cut down on the money you spend for gas each month. Just make a few adjustments to your driving habits:

Drive sensibly. Aggressive driving on the highway, speeding, rapid acceleration and braking, can lower your mileage by 33%. Hear that, Speedracer?

Observe the speed limit. Gas mileage decreases rapidly above 60 miles per hour. Reining in your speed will save you up to 23%.

Keep tires inflated properly. Check your owner’s manual to list your vehicle’s proper tire pressure, buy a good dial-type pressure gauge ($8), and check your tires once a week. Keeping them properly inflated can improve your mileage by about 3%.

Empty the trunk. Don’t carry around unnecessary items, especially in small cars. An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could reduce your miles-per-gallon by up to 2%.

Buy ink not cartridges

Instead of buying new black and color ink cartridges when your computer printer runs low, just get them refilled at your local drug store or shopping mall. After all, you don’t buy a new car every time you get low on gas, do you? I wish!

Be loyal to your brands selectively

Save your brand loyalty for where it counts, a Chanel bag or a Brooks Brothers jacket. After all, when you’re battling Rafael Nadal in Grand Slam Tennis on your Wii, who cares what batteries are powering your remote? If there’s no innovation happening with the product, the private label can be just as good, or better.

We estimate you can save up to $15 a month by going with the store-brand or little-known brand for batteries and these other products: pain relievers, canned fruits & vegetables, pantry staples and basic beauty products.

Work out for less

Sweat on your high-end health club’s StairMaster, and unwind at the martini bar.

Better: $50-$90. Work out at the YMCA. There are nearly 3,000 locations throughout the nation.

Best: $0. Free online boot camp whips you into shape at www.marinecorpsfitness.com.

College expenses

Tuition is the largest single bill you’ll pay for Junior to get a degree from Bleed You Dry U. But other costs add up fast. Slash these three:

Books: Nix Brief Principles of Macroeconomics from the college bookstore ($146); rent it from Chegg.com or CampusBookRentals.com, which carries the intro econ text for $68 a semester.

Meals: Go for a seven- or 14- meal plan, not a full one. Your kid will be up late partying, er, studying, and skipping breakfast a few days a week. And no one eats in the cafeteria on Saturday night.

Travel: For trips home, buy a Student Advantage discount card ($20) to save 15% on train and bus fares, 10% off selected flights.

Hope this helped! See you in seven!

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