Be Wealthy & Smart

What you'll learn are how investing is different from gambling,how it's similar to gambling and why real investors are far fromgamblers! I just returned from Las Vegas. I'm not a gambler, mainly because I respect how much effort it takes to make money. I didhowever sign up for a card to get a discount at a nice restaurantand along with that came a guaranteed ace. So I did find myselfseated at a blackjack table with some chips in front of me. I accepted the guaranteed ace and was dealt a 21. I left the table up $2! Lol! That shows you what a gambler I'm NOT! That got me thinking, some people have told me they think investing in the stock market is gambling and I wanted to address that and why I don't agree with it. Investing is a legitimate way to grow money and compound athigher rates. -My 5th Step to Wealth -Necessary to get higher rates to retire comfortably and build wealth. 2. You're investing in companies, not making a wager. - If done correctly, shouldn't be all or nothing -Gambling is win/lose on each wager -Investing in stock options, betting on the direction a stock's price will move, is more of an all or nothing bet because options can expire worthless. -You are limiting the amount of loss to the amount you pay for the option. -Closer to the definition of gambling perhaps. -Other option strategies include writing or selling an option on an underlying stock you own. that is a more conservative strategy. You can generate income from writing options against the stock. It's low risk and provides income. 3. People who think investing in the stock market is gambling don't understand how it really works. Some people do treat it like gambling because they haven't taken the time to learn how to invest properly. They buy a stock on a "tip" and hope it "wins", like spinning the roulette wheel. But for BWS listeners, you know thatstocks go up because earnings are increasing. You want to find a company that has increasing sales and profitability. One that's growing and can go from a small fish to a large whale over time.That's not from luck or a tip, it's from studying the numbers and understanding what makes stocks go up. If you haven't yet listened to podcast #47 about what makes stocks go up or podcast #125 about Apple and when to sell a stock, go and listen before you invest, otherwise, perhaps you are just gambling. Real investors are learning the metrics of companies - as I mentioned, sales, revenues, profits, earnings per share and net income. Warren Buffett reads the company's annual report before investing and looks at all the numbers, ratios, and statistics of acompany. If he likes the numbers and the stock price is significantly below what it's worth, he invests. It's buying stocks on sale. I will say gambling and investing do have one thing in common - that's managing your emotions and not letting them get away from you. To be a good investor, you have to keep a cool head and think like a contrarian. When stocks are down, that's a good thing, they're on sale. When they are up, it's riskier and something to monitor. Too often, investors are jumping in when a stock makes a new high because they let their emotions run away from them. A better plan would be to make sure the numbers are good, then buy on a pullback. You want to think differently than the crowd. Thinking like an investor and not a gambler will certainly serve you well in your wealth building. Your action step for today is to pick a company you might consider investing in and study it. Find out how it's earnings have been performing. Have they been rising at an increasing rate? What does their product pipeline look like? How much debt do they have compared to equity? Are they #1 in their market or a competitor that has the opportunity to become #1? Arm yourself with the facts and take the emotion - and the gambling - out of investing. If you want to get a jumpstart on a comfortable retirement and your wealth building, go over to my website bewealthyandsmart.comand get my free report "11 Quick Financial Tips to Boost Your Wealth". There are 11 things you can do and learn about so that in less than 15 minutes you can make a huge difference in the wealth you have over your lifetime. Do these things and benefit, miss just one and it can set you back years. Go now to bewealthyandsmart.com.

Learn how to separate the stock from the company, what to look for when you buy a stock and why you don't want to judge a stock by how it's done in the past. Today we'll talk about what happened to Apple recently, as an example of why not to fall in love with the stock. What I mean is "don't fall in love with a stock just because you love the company." You'll also learn my reasons to sell a stock.

Hello and welcome to my 2nd anniversary show! Yes, it was exactly 2 years ago today when I started the Be Wealthy & Smart podcast. Today I'll share with you the best of the best episodes - that is which ones you've liked best and I'll take the #1 rated show and give you a podcast within a podcast about the most popular of all topics! Here's a little background on how far we've come in 2 years: Today BWS has listeners in #143 countries. 80% in the US, and 20% around the world. Our top countries outside the US are: Canada, UK, Australia, China, South Africa, Korea, Sweden, Philippines. But we also have listeners in such far away places as: Oman, Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, Peru, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Afghanistan. Thank you so much for listening, tuning in and subscribing to the show! We've also gone from 0 to 101 reviews, 96 of which are 5 stars, so thank you everyone who has written a review. If you're a regular listener and you haven't left a review yet, please do that and let me know what you think of the show, or at least wish me a happy 2nd anniversary! It helps new listeners find the show and since all the content is free, it's you're way of saying thank you and I really appreciate it.

Learn why you want to start saving for retirement the moment you have income and why it should be higher on your priority list than it might be. Last episode I was talking about spending priorities and I gave you my list of 10 spending priorities. Spending priorities are a way for you to decrease impulse spending and really focus on matching your money with your priorities. If you know where you want to spend money, you'll be less tempted by purchases that are thousands of dollars and totally unplanned. Don't get me wrong, I'm NOT a fan of budgets, unless you have a very limited income and must watch every penny. But for people who have excess money every month, I think budgeting can feel like a diet - too restrictive, you want to go off it as soon as it starts and it may give you a bad relationship with money because you always feel guilty when you spend. Rather, I think you should have spending priorities and be very clear on what they are because then you are matching your money with what matters most to you. What matters most HAS to include retirement savings from the time you begin to earn income. Ten percent (10%) into a retirement plan and ten percent (10%) into savings (so it's available as an emergency fund and for more investments outside of your retirement plan), will get you on the path to building wealth and having a comfortable retirement.

Learn how to prioritize your spending following the 10 essentials and 6 questions to ask yourself. This will keep you growing your net worth and keep you away from impulse spending.

Learn 3 things John Paul DeJoria and other billionaires commonly do. Their habits, thought processes, attitudes. How they evaluate business opportunities.

Learn how to make money on Amazon using Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA). Hear Brad DeGraw's story about starting with $100 and now having many products selling on Amazon under his brands. Learn the steps to become successful, what not to do, and why you need to tap into emotions to sell. Brad shares his formula: Problem, Fantasy and Desire and explains why it's important to have for each product you market. The steps Brad mentioned are: (First decide to be successful - it's always mindset first!) 1. Select your market.2. Search products and social media. Check competition.3. Read 1, 2, and 3 star reviews on Amazon products you're considering to see how you can improve them.4. Find suppliers5. Sample products6. Get good images and copy7. Connect with bloggers for them to write about and review your product. Brad's website is AmazonSherpa.com. Tools & apps he recommends are: Scan Power - $10/mo.Profit Bandit - $10/mo.JungleScout.com That Kat Radio podcast

Learn my favorite economic indicators I use to follow the economy. Find out why I don't go to their websites and what they are telling you about the economy and possible direction of the stock market. This was a listener's question I answered. I'll also show you the website I go to to find out the direction of the stock market, see when it's about to rollover and keep myself from buying at market tops and selling at market bottoms. They include: GDP, Consumer Confidence, Consumer Price Index, Housing Starts, Employment Situation Survey, Producer Price Index, ISM Index, Baltic Dry Index, S & P 500 Index, and MACD.

Learn what emotions are underlying credit card debt. How past, present and future emotional fear can cause spending that is out of control. How to change your negative subconscious beliefs with positive ones. Why and how shopping effects your brain.

Learn more about why opportunity cost is a key to your wealth building, how you might have the wealth you want in your backyard and what NOT to do with your money.