Four non-traditional financial investments - Part One

Another day, another dollar, makes you wonder where your money went. You can scream, you can holler, it really doesn't matter because it all gets spent. (Jack Spirko - TheSurvivalPodcast.com)

While I don’t even pretend to be a financial adviser, I do but a lot of weight behind the old saying of; "Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket". I know that everyone looks at investments differently, but I would like to share some not-so-common financial philosophies with you. I believe that it is important to understand that the information given to you by a financial adviser is just simply that. It is just information and advice. You do not have to follow everything your financial adviser tells you to do. You need to make sure you are comfortable placing YOUR money in a place that makes YOU feel comfortable. It is also important to remember that most financial advisers are getting paid to sell a product. Most advisers only make a profit when you buy their investment products, and it is not in their best interest to advise you to diversify your investments outside the portfolios that they offer to sell you.

I feel that it is important that we diversify our investments. Most of the advice I have been given follows along the lines of putting all of my savings into stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. I'm just not comfortable with that advise any more. Even after the wake up call we all had when the stock market crashed and about a third of my retirement money fell to the ground like the ashes of a cheap cigar, I still believe that there is a place in most folk’s portfolios for those traditional investments. After all, the money that flows through the stock market is the fuel that keeps the engine of our capitalist economy moving forward. The ability to sell stock is what keeps entrepreneurs and inventors of new technology in business to make our lives better and our country stronger.

I have found that there are four separate non-traditional financial tools that are important to me. The first is Cash. It is important to have some cash on hand for small immediate purchases so that I am not tempted to use a credit card for little things. Those little things can add up quick even if you are trying to pay attention. It is also important to have an emergency fund such as a savings account where you can readily get to the money to cover other minor emergencies. Several advisers have recommended a $1000 emergency fund as that amount can cover most of the problems we encounter.

The second financial tool is the highest yielding financial investment that I have seen anywhere. It is one that almost no investment counselor will share with you and it is simply: Get out of Debt. The best way to think about debt is to consider it the same way you look at cancer. In reality it is financial cancer. For every dollar you put on your credit card you will wind up paying the Credit Card Company $1.25 after you add in fees and interest charges. If you just pay the minimum amount due each month on even a relatively small balance it could take up to 36 years to pay off some cards. You wind up paying more in interest to the Credit Card Company than you initially put on the card. The money that you are paying as interest is money that you cannot use for things that you want or need. Interest money given to a Credit Card Company is gone forever and can not be used for increasing your personal wealth.

In my next post I will share with you two more non-traditional investment tools. One of them gained 18% last year with a 100% guarantee on the initial investment. The other has gained 200% over the past four years.

Your feedback is important to me. Let me know what you think of my blog. You can email me at larrygriffin@carolina.rr.com or drop in for a visit on Facebook. I am always happy to share ideas with others and hopefully answer some of your questions. By working together we can build happier, more secure, and more self sufficient lives for our families.