I got a call from my CPA, and he ask how I was doing. I said you tell me. He said I was doing great. I asked my accountant for the numbers. I owe $2939 Federal, and $1033 State. Estimated taxes for this next year are going to be $930 Federal, and $90 State for each quarter. That comes to just under $5000 that we need to pay before tax day. I have more than that in my savings thankfully! So we are covered! I was expecting to possibly owe a bunch more than that. SO tonight, we will sign papers, and fill out checks, and then tommorrow, I can take them all to the post office, and get them mailed off. I am glad to have all of this done. He did say the IRS might question one thing. I had 20% withheld for taxes on my Mom’s thrift plan disbursments. This was only on the taxible portion. This added up to over $3200. So he credited that to my return. He said that if the IRS sends me a letter denying that, then we would follow up with aletter writing compaign. My own personal thoughts are that if they insist that I fork over $3200, then I will demand they return the $3200 that was withheld in the first place!

Posted by Rob in Getting Rich on March 30th, 2006 | No Comments

I am just a good market day or two away from hitting a quarter of a million dollars in my 401k! This is a point that I thought I was going to hit about 5 years ago, until the market dumped, and my 401k dropped below $100,000. Now I am much better diversified. It was an expensive lesson, but I paid for it, so I might as well use the knowledge.

401k:

Posted by Rob in Getting Rich on March 30th, 2006 | No Comments

The Truth About Flipping Real Estate by Bill Vaughn

There has been a lot written about “flipping” real estate these last two years – and much of it is more fiction than fact. Some say it is great way to make money fast. Some say it is very difficult. Some even claim it is illegal. So, just what is the truth?

Let’s take care of the “illegal” claims, first. Flipping, if done the way it was meant to be done, is completely legal. But it becomes illegal when unscrupulous investors, working with unscrupulous appraisers or lenders, conspire to defraud either buyers or lenders. This is done when an investor gets an appraiser or lender to over-value a property for the purpose of selling for a higher-than-market value, or for the purposes of getting a bigger mortgage so the investor can pocket more cash. In short, it is not the flipping that is illegal — rather, it is the fraud that sometimes accompanies it that is in violation of the law.

Such fraud is not necessary. You can use any legitimate method of flipping, and if you remain within the law and act in an ethical manner, you will profit immensely, and earn yourself a solid reputation as a good person to do business with. In the long run, as you gain a reputation for fairness and sound ethics, you will actually profit more than if you were to defraud anyone.

Now, as for it being difficult. Some so-called “gurus” claim that in order to flip, the investor must first buy the property and only then find a buyer to resell to. Let’s put that falsehood to rest right now — you can buy and resell at the same closing (called a double escrow, or simultaneous closing) without ever having to finance a single penny, because the buyer’s money funds both transactions. Under the law, neither transaction takes place first or last in a double escrow, regardless of which one actually is completed first. Therefore, the transaction with your buyer can take place first, providing you with the funds to pay off your seller. In such a transaction, the only requirements are a) you contract to buy a property from the seller at one price, then b) contract to sell that same property to another buyer at a higher price, and for both contracts to call for closing at the same time and place. Both agreements are placed into the same escrow. The key, of course, is to buy at below market value, and sell at no more than market value, to avoid any possibility of fraud.

The reality is that there are a number of ways to flip properties, the double escrow is only one method. Some methods require financing – others do not. Some methods do not require cash or credit. And most methods are quite simple to do. In addition to the double escrow, the investor may also flip by way of “assigning”. In this technique, a property is put under contract. Then, instead of reselling the property (double escrow), the investor sells (assigns) the contract to another buyer. The buyer pays an assignment fee — usually $3000-$5000 — to the investor at the time the contract is assigned. The investor does not have to participate in any closing — he is out of the deal, and a few thousand dollars richer.

That said let us look at claims that it is very difficult and time-consuming. Since the most difficult part is finding a suitable property, the rest of the transaction consists of negotiating the deal (no different from any other transaction), find a new buyer (also no different from any other sale), then wait until closing when the closing agent takes care of everything else. Personally, I have never found laying on the beach waiting for a closing to be all that time-consuming or stressful. And I have been using these methods for over 35 years.

Then there are the unfounded fears that for some unknown reason, your seller and/or your buyer will revolt at closing when they “discover” you are making a profit.

We can only assume that the investors who have this fear feel it is necessary to keep it a secret that they are an investor. I do not advocate that. I stress ethical conduct. Simply make sure your seller and your buyer are fully aware that you are an investor – it is nothing to be ashamed of! If they know this, they will obviously know, up front, that you must make a profit – you would not be in the deal, otherwise. At closing there will be no anger because they were not deceived. In all my years of doing this, I have not seen one case where closing did not complete because of such problems, because the problems never arose in the first place.

Yes, flipping is a great way to make a lot of money in a short period of time. And it, like any other endeavor, can be stressful at times. It is not as easy as many “gurus” would have you believe, but it is not all that difficult, either. The secret lies in 1) knowing which properties lend themselves to flipping , 2) being honest and up front, and 3) using the right contracts, specially designed for flipping.

I have developed a program that can teach you #1, and the program includes software that takes care of #3. And if you are the kind of person deserving of success, #2 should not be a problem, either – just be honest and forthright. If you would like more information on the program, please visit me at www.intellibiz.com.

So, now you know that “flipping” is legal, relatively simple and requires no cash or credit. So, what are you waiting for? There is a lot of excitement in making money in this fashion!

Posted by Rob in Articles on March 30th, 2006 | No Comments

Eight Rules For ETF Success by Carl Delfeld

Managing a global portfolio of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is a great way to build a diversified portfolio with exposure to equities around the globe. Fortunately, you need not be a rocket scientist to do this, but many investors fail to observe some basic guidelines, and it can get them into real trouble. Follow these eight steps and sleep easier.

1. Liquidity Comes First: Before you even think of building an investment portfolio, you should set aside about six months of income in a "rainy day" account. This could be put into a money market fund or U.S. Treasury securities. Having this money set aside will ease your mind and allow you to be more open and creative with your global portfolios.

2. Separate Portfolios: You should separate your core conservative portfolio from your growth portfolios. With the core conservative portfolio, your top priority is capital preservation, and growth is a secondary consideration. Your growth portfolios are more speculative, with capital growth as the primary goal.

3. Really Diversify Your Portfolios: You need positions in your portfolios that are likely to offset each other as unexpected events and market movements become a reality. This is not accomplished with different sectors of ETFs or a mix of small-cap, mid-cap and large-cap ETFs. Rather the goal is to have some investments that are on both sides of risks.

For example, if the U.S. dollar declines, have some investments in precious metals or denominated in other currencies, such as Switzerland or Australia or Singapore ETFs. If inflation heats up, have some investments that hedge this risk such as timber, gold or Treasury inflation-protected bonds (TIPs). If political events or policies in one country take a turn for the worst, it is helpful to have investments in other well-developed countries to offset any loss of value. You get the idea, spread your risk and avoid having one ETF account for more than 5%-10% of your core portfolio.

4. Be Careful Which Countries You Pick: You need some guidelines to help keep you from getting carried away and having too concentrated a position in a particular country or region. In particular, take a good look at the following: 1) the stability and overall political and corporate governance; 2) the legal environment, respect for contracts, low levels of corruption, due process and rule of law; 3) the macroeconomic environment including fiscal discipline and currency strength; and 4) political risks that could affect financial markets.

Keep in mind that the quality of the countries you choose to invest in is the primary but not the only factor. The price or valuation of a country’s stock market is also extremely important. Oftentimes, the best time to buy into a country’s stock market is when it is beaten down, but there are signs that its economic and political problems will sharply improve. If you have a long-term perspective, you might consider annuities specially structured for ETF portfolios.

5. Minimize Company Risk by using our "buy countries, not stocks" strategy. Instead of trying to pick the best three stocks on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, why not just minimize company risk by buying the iShares MSCI Japan Index, which tracks the Nikkei 225 and spreads this risk across 225 Japanese companies.

6. Monitor ETF Country And Company Exposure: Be careful to look under the hood of ETFs to see where your money is going. For example, let’s look at the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF. It invests in 26 different countries, so it is natural to think that you will get broad exposure to all 26 countries. You would be wrong: 50% of your investment in this fund is going to four countries: South Korea, South Africa, Taiwan and China. In addition, incredibly, 7.5% is going to one company, Samsung Electronics of South Korea.

The same is true for the MSCI Europe, Asia and Far East index. It contains 21 developed countries, but 48% of the money you invest would go to just two: Japan and the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, less than 1% would go to Singapore and Ireland! Country specific ETFs such as the new iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index can also have a fair amount of concentrated risk. Although the China ETF tracks a basket of 25 companies, the largest five companies account for nearly 50% of your exposure.

7. Cut Losses With A Trailing Stop-Loss Policy And ETF Put Options: We have all been there. You buy a stock or fund, and it appreciates in value rapidly. Then it stumbles and begins to decline. What do you do? Should you buy more, let it ride, or sell? Save yourself a lot of pain and agony by following a simple rule. If a position ever falls more than 20% from its high, sell it immediately and reassess the situation. If you invest in an ETF with a sizable downside risk, why not spend a few hundred dollars to purchase a put-option as an insurance policy?

8. Rebalance Your Portfolio: At least annually, you need to make some changes so that you are not overly exposed to countries that have higher risk factors and volatility. One way is by selling some shares of your winners and increasing exposure to under performers. This accomplishes another goal, locking in gains and taking some money off the table. Remember, only a fool holds out for top dollar, especially in the more volatile emerging market countries.

Building your portfolios with low-cost, tax-efficient ETFs is a smart strategy, but don’t set it on auto pilot.

For more information call 877-221-1496

Posted by Rob in Articles on March 30th, 2006 | No Comments

Last week I got a new debit card inthe mail, and a few days later I got a new pin number. I wasn’t sure why I got it as my current card didn’t expire until December. Well okay, maybe they decided not to wait until the last minute this year. Then yesterday I was at the local grocery store, and my debit card wasn’t working. So I went ahead an used my credit card, and didn’t think more about it. I just thought the bank was having problems. Last night at home I found an unopened letter from the bank telling me that my card had been replaced be cause some ATM company had been let some of my information out somehow! I have had several cards replaced now for this same reason! I wish these guys would get their act together! I read about companies doing such moronic things as using waste paper to print notes on and send them out with bundles of newpaper, not realizing that on the side of the waste paper are subscriber’s credit card numbers! In these days of identity theft, and shredding pretty much any scrap of peper that has my name on it, I have companies that I do business withy, either losing my information, or giving it away, or selling it! All that, and I have to memorize a new pin number! A-holes!

Posted by Rob in Getting Rich on March 29th, 2006 | No Comments