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The following is an excerpt from the book
Fast Profits in Hard Times: 10 Secret Strategies to Make You Rich in an Up or Down Economy
by Jordan E. Goodman
Published by Business Plus, January 2008
$23.99US/$27.99CAN
978-0-446-58156-1
Copyright © 2008 Jordan E. Goodman
10 Strategies: An Overview
Fast Profits in Hard Times will teach you everything you need to know
and give you specific resources (websites, toll-free numbers, etc) to implement
the following 10 strategies:
1. Invest in Tax Liens
Buy liens placed on properties by municipalities because owners have fallen
behind in paying their property taxes. Then, when the property owners pay what
they owe to the municipalities, receive not only a return of your principal but
also a penalty interest rate set by the municipality, typically in the range of
8% to 25%. If the property owner defaults altogether, take possession of the
property for a fraction of its real value: the sum of the back taxes you've
already advanced. You can then sell the property, even a bit below its market
value, for a huge profit.
2. Buy Real Estate Below Market Value
Identify real estate sellers who are willing to accept less than their
property's full market value for a variety of reasons. Then resell the property
immediately at a profit, rehab it, rent it out, or even live in it yourself, all
with the built-in financial cushion of having purchased the property for far
less than it is truly worth.
3. Invest in Income Trusts and Master Limited Partnerships
Earn high yields of 8% to 13% by investing in trusts that extract or transport
natural resources such as oil, gas, coal, or timber. Such trusts pass a large
amount of their earnings directly to investors through monthly dividends.
Depending on the trust or MLP, some of the distributions may be considered a
tax-free return of capital, boosting your after-tax return even more.
4. Invest in High-Yield Stocks
Invest in stocks with stable businesses that pay dividend yields of 5% to 15% or
more. Some industries offering such high yields include electric utilities, oil
tankers, and real estate investment trusts, and several broad-based closed-end
mutual funds. This is a way to make your capital compound with very little risk
when you reinvest the dividends or to boost the income you live on if you take
the dividends in cash.
5. Enroll in Dividend Reinvestment Plans
Invest in companies that offer Dividend Reinvestment Plans, known as DRIPS,
which allow you to use dividends to purchase shares directly and thus bypass
brokerage fees. Automatically reinvest dividends back into further stock
purchases, thereby compounding your portfolio's assets over time. Several
companies offer discount DRIPS, meaning that you get an additional 2% to 5%
bonus every time you reinvest dividends, compounding your return even more at no
additional cost to you. So if you get $100 in dividends, you receive $105 worth
of stock when you enroll in a 5% discount DRIP.
6. Buy High-Yielding Bonds
Buy bonds of companies, municipalities, or foreign governments, either
individually or through open and closed-end funds, which pay yields of 5% to
12%. In addition to the high rate of interest, you will receive the return of
your principal when the bond matures. There are many types of hybrid bonds
available in today’s market with catchy names like STRIDES, ELKS, MITTS and HITS
which offer guaranteed return of principal, high yields and potential bonuses
based on how the underlying instruments perform.
7. Use Put and Call Options
Rather than buying and selling actual stocks or stock indexes, you can, for a
fraction of the cost, trade rights to buy and sell those stocks or stock indexes
at specific prices within a specified period of time up to two years into the
future. This form of leveraged trading allows for far greater gains but also
runs the risk of far greater losses than normal stock investing. It is therefore
imperative to follow careful strategies that limit risk while optimizing
profits.
8. Profit from Foreign Exchange Trading
Trade one currency against another currency, on the expectation that the
currency you've bought will gain in value relative to the one you sold. This
provides a convenient way to profit from the decline of the US dollar against
most major foreign currencies.
9. Invest in and Broker Cash Flow Opportunities
Identify people and/or businesses willing to sell future receivables at a
significant discount in exchange for ready cash. Then either buy the payments
yourself or serve as a broker for a third party, typically a large financial
company, which provides the funds. For example, you can broker or buy cash flows
from lottery winners, lawsuit winners, mortgage notes or reimbursements due to a
doctor’s office from insurance companies or Medicare.
10. Set Up Passive Income Strategies
Set up some kind of system that needs minimal ongoing management but continues
to produce significant cash flow far into the future. A few examples include:
- placing vending machines in high-traffic locations to collect passive
income whenever customers make purchases
- placing ATMs or point-of-sale (credit/debit/card swipe) machines in high
sales volume locations to earn small fees paid by merchants whenever
customers use the machines
- Buy high-quality timeshares in desirable locations and seasons and rent
them out over the internet to earn substantial rental income
Copyright © 2008 Jordan E. Goodman
Order Fast Profits in Hard Times: 10 Secret Strategies to Make You Rich in an Up or Down Economy
from Amazon.com
Author
Jordan E. Goodman is a former Money magazine journalist and the author of
several bestselling books, including Everyone's Money Book , Dictionary of Finance and Investment Terms , and Master Your Money Type . He provides financial
advice to millions of people each month through regular appearances on radio
call-in and TV shows and through his seminars to corporate, association, and
university audiences. He has been a regular contributor to NBC News at Sunrise,
The Marketplace Morning Report on Public Radio, and many other shows. He hosts a
popular financial resources Web site,
www.moneyanswers.com, and is the host of
The Money Answers Show on the VoiceAmerica Radio Network at
www.voiceamerica.com.
You can find out more about this book at
www.fastprofitsinhardtimes.com. |
