How to Boost Your Investment Returns

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How to manage money wisely
When it comes to money, we all have our bad days.

For many of us, it comes when we pay bills and see how far that check doesn't go. For others, it happens when we spend more than we should on stuff we don't need.

It is widely thought that if you cannot manage your life, you can't begin to manage your money. This is because the management of money takes self-control and discip... Read personal finance article



Tax Deduction Possible with Home Improvements But Not Home Repairs
When you are considering doing some work on your property, you need to consider whether it will fall under the category of home repair, or home improvement. This is a crucial distinction because home improvements are tax deductible, whereas home repairs are not.

So what constitutes home improvement? In its basic form, it is any task that will add to the quality and therefore the value o... Read personal finance article



How to Boost Your Investment Returns
Even if your not a golfer, you can't help hear about Tiger Woods and his amazing accomplishments on the golf course. When you really start looking into his success you realize it is not due just to the way he plays on the course, it is way more to do what he does inside his mind.

There are a lot of players that have the same skills when it comes down to swinging the club, but no one comes close to his ability to win.

Over the past 16 years of my trading career I have seen quite a few traders who have a great ability to read the market and trade but... The majority of them self-destruct because of the way they think about trading.

I recently came across Tiger Wood's recipe for success and believe it is the exact same recipe you need to dominate the financial markets.

What I will do is first write what Tiger said and then I will tie it into trading.

1. Tiger said: "Clearly decide what you want."

"I know what I want to accomplish and I know how to get there. The ultimate goal is to be the best. Whether that's the best ever, who knows? I hope so.

I did envisage being this successful as a player, but not all the hysteria around it off the golf course."

My thoughts... I can't speak for all traders but I have talked with a few thousand and I can see many get into trading without any clear goals. Sure they dream of getting rich, but that is more of a fantasy versus clearly knowing what they want right now.

You need to write down clearly what you want. For example, I want to make $150 a day trading the emini S&P's and only spend 2 hours a day doing it. As you consistentlychieve this goal you can rewrite your goals and aim even higher.

Another important thing is visualizing your success. Books and books have been written how the power of visualization has achieved incredible feats. I wouldn't go into this now, but you must see in your minds eye, yourself making the $150 a day. Visualize and feel in your body the excitement, sense of pride, sense of accomplishment and exhilaration of doing this. See in your minds eye your account statement growing. See yourself calmly, patiently and fearlessly taking trades. See yourself hitting the sell button and racking up yet another winning trade.

2. Tiger said: "Be your own guide. Do not seek the approval of others."

"One of the things that my parents have taught me is never listen to other people's expectations. You should live your own life and live up to your own expectations, and those are the only things I really care about it."

My thoughts... As you begin your trading career everyone is going to be skeptical. They will tell you that no one makes money at it and it is the same a s gambling. To a certain extent they are right. For traders who don't take the time to really learn this game it is no better than gambling.

What they don't realize is that there is a small group of traders(about 10%) make a nice living from trading. Some even make of millions of dollars per year. If trading was no more than gambling then this group of traders wouldn't be able to make a living from their efforts year after year.

The bottom-line you need to keep focused on your goals and not let the opinion of others talk you out of your dreams.

3. Tiger said: "Do what you love. Make your work your play."

"I get to play golf for a living. What more can you ask for - getting paid for doing what you love?"

My thoughts... I feel the same way about of trading and here's why...

I have no commute
I have no employees
I don't have a boss
I can work when I want
Trade anywhere with an internet connection
I can't be fired or retired at a certain age
I also have the potential for an unlimited income

4. Tiger said: "Be joyful. Have fun."

"Well I think one of the things as far as golf, one of the things my dad kept instilling in me was the joy of the game. He made it fun for me. A lot of the times I see a lot of the kids, they don't enjoy being out there and that's a shame, you're supposed to enjoy the game."

My thoughts... Listen, trading can be very stressful due to the fact that we need to risk hard-our earned money on a regular basis. For this reason you must learn how to have fun with your trading. If you truly don't find joy in it, then find a better way to make money or pick up a hobby.

5. Tiger said: "Keep it simple."

"I don't know if I even have an aura, man. I just try to win."

My thoughts... Wow I could talk for a year on this one! Almost every trader including myself at one time or another goes through the "more is better" phase. They rationalize that the more complicated their strategy and more sophisticated their indicators the more money they will make.

I know traders who use up to 20 indicators and struggle to make money and on the other hand know old time traders making a lot of money using 1 indicator.

Your goal in trading is to make money and you should strive to trade in a way that is so simple a 10 year old could understand it.

6. Tiger said: "Be detached from the outcome. Learn to let go."

"I'm trying as hard as I can, and sometimes things don't go your way, and that's the way things go."

My thoughts... Lets face it no one likes to lose money and in trading it is a fact of life. Because of this it is very hard to not be attached from the outcome. I can tell you with certainty that if you can't detach from the outcome trading will become a stressful and unrewarding experience. When you get overly attached to the outcome it will create fear which will in turn create analysis paralysis. This will then make it very hard for you to "pull the trigger" and jump into a trade.

The way to get over this is to accept that trading is a game of probabilities. Assuming you have a good trading system, then you just need to take every trade and let the odds work in your favor. Another trick is just accept that losses are part of the game and that each loss gets you closer to more wins.

7. Tiger said: "Stay present. Live in the moment."

My thoughts... Many traders spend so much time regretting the bad trades they made in the past that they now spend all their time worrying about what may happen if they take the next trade. As a result they have a lot of trouble taking the trade due to a full blown case of paralysis analysis.

Just take a deep breath, clear your mind and put all your focus on the current trade. That's all you need to do stay in the present.

8. Tiger said: "Release the past. Each moment is new."

My thoughts... The bottom-line is leave your old trades in the past and don't think about what might happen in the future. Just stick to trading your system and following all your rules.

9. Tiger said: "Always aim higher. Reach for your potential."

My thoughts... No matter how good you are at trading you can always get better and that's the exciting part.

Keep striving to set new records.

If your best week to date is $500 profit, see if you can hit $600.

If your personal best is 8 winning trades in a row, then shoot for nine.

By aiming higher, you will maintain a much sharper focus which will in turn make you a more profitable trader.

10. Tiger said: "Always give your best effort."

My thoughts... There will be days when you have a string of losses. Don't be discouraged and give up. Instead decide to step up to the plate and give it all you got. This will help get you back in the groove and on your way to more profitable trading again.

11. Tiger said: "Listen to your inner voice. Follow your hunches. People thought it was asinine for me to change my swing after I won the Masters by 12 shots. ... Why would you want to change that? Well, I thought I could become better. If I play my best, I'm pretty tough to beat. I'd like to play my best more frequently, and that's the whole idea. That's why you make changes. I thought I could become more consistent."

My thoughts... I can't stress it enough, as Tiger says, listen to your inner voice. If you feel tired or just not into trading then listen to yourself and take a break. If you get a huge feeling in your stomach to stay out of the market, then do it. Once you get in the habit of listening to and trusting your intuition you would be amazed how it will help your trading.

12. Tiger said: "Don't take yourself too seriously. If you can't laugh at yourself, then who can you laugh at?"

My thoughts...

Listen, trading is serious and you can lose a lot of money when you are not careful but...

When you make a really silly mistake step back and have a bit of a laugh about it. Chances are if you saw your buddy do it, you might have a bit of a chuckle. The bottom-line is, your still alive and have the health to take another trade.

The world according to Tiger:

I smile at obstacles.
My will moves mountains.
I am the toughest golfer mentally.
I will do it with all my heart.
My thoughts... Apply the 4 principles just described by Tiger and you will move mountains not only in your trading but personal life as well.

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Buy-to-Let Repossessions

The rate of repossessions of buy-to-let property has traditionally been lower than owner-occupied property. However some industry analysts are claiming that the gap is shortening, suggesting that there are more amateur landlords in the market than ever before.

Experienced landlords are less likely to over-borrow and mortgage their portfolio to a level that it will be put at risk from a few small rises in interest rates. Amateur landlords, however, are more likely to borrow as much as possible in order to secure their first buy-to-let property.

Whether or not buy-to-let property repossessions are rising in proportion to overall repossessions is difficult to assess. However no one is arguing that the total number of repossessions - including owner-occupied and investment properties - is rising.

One factor that may be contributing to amateur investors over-borrowing is the increasing ease in which finance is available through buy-to-let mortgages. Ten years ago investors were forced to pay a minimum 15% deposit to buy an investment property and also had to prove that the rental income would cover 130% of the monthly rental payments.

These days investors of almost any age, financial situation, or level of property investing experience can borrow enough money to finance the entire purchase of the property they wish to buy. This could be in the form of a 100% loan-to-value buy-to-let mortgage or a combination of a mortgage plus a loan from another source, such as credit cards and personal loans, to finance the deposit.

Additionally some lenders only ask that the rental income covers 100% of the monthly mortgage payment, leaving no room for the extra expenses a landlord must endure. Such a lending policy also fails to account for void periods.

It may be that if an individual needs to borrow 100% of the property's value in order to buy it they may not be a suitable candidate for buy-to-let investing. An investor who doesn't have enough money for a deposit surely wouldn't have any funds set aside for void periods or unexpected major repairs and maintenance.

Because of this lenders are introducing products that are based on "affordability" rather than traditional lending criteria. Under such schemes the investor's overall finances are assessed to discover whether they can actually afford the commitment of a buy-to-let property.

This will include an assessment of the income potential of the property in question in addition to an assessment of the borrower's personal finances. Of course experienced landlords will have an easier time convincing lenders that they are a safe bet than inexperienced amateurs.




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How to Boost Your Investment Returns
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