Introduction When it comes to investing, most people think of traditional assets such as stocks, bonds, and real estate. However, there’s a whole world of alternative assets that offer unique opportunities for diversification and potentially higher returns. Alternative assets include a wide range of investments, from precious metals and collectibles to private equity and cryptocurrencies. This article aims to provide
» Read moreIntroduction: Investing in real estate can be a lucrative venture, offering potential for capital appreciation, rental income, and portfolio diversification. However, it requires careful planning, research, and a solid understanding of the market. In this article, we will walk you through the essential steps to successfully invest in real estate. 1. Define Your Investment Goals: Begin by clarifying your objectives.
» Read moreIntroduction Investing, a cornerstone of building wealth and achieving financial freedom, is both an art and a science. It’s a journey that requires patience, discipline, and a clear understanding of the market dynamics. Whether you’re a novice looking to dip your toes into the investment waters or a seasoned pro seeking to refine your strategies, mastering the art of investing
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An HSA is one of the best-kept secrets out there because of its versatility. My current employer offered an HSA back in 2016 but I brushed it off to opt-in for the PPO plan. In 2019 when I did more research into what an HSA is and how it was helpful to the future financial goals I was determined to
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I made my first backdoor Roth IRA mistake and I’ll share it with you in this post along discussing my portfolio strategy for my Roth IRA account. Backdoor Roth IRA Before diving into how and what I am investing inside my Roth IRA account, I wanted to share with you my first mistake when contributing to a Roth IRA account.
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What is HENRY? High earner, not rich yet (HENRY) is a term a came across with reading an article. Investopedia states that a 2003 Fortune Magazine article defined families earning between $250,000 and $500,00, but don’t have much to show for it after taxes and costs of living. This term is applicable to professionals such as lawyers, doctors, dentists, and
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How Does Fundrise Work? Fundrise takes commercial projects across the states and turns them into Electronic real estate investment trusts (eREITs). This is in contrast to regular REITS whether privately or publicly traded REITS. You can think of this as similar to an index fund where each eREITS is a basket of various commercial real estate projects. Fundrise has declared
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Low-Cost Index Funds When it comes to investing, for the majority of people, low-cost index funds are the way to go. Low-cost index funds offer the following advantages. An index fund is like a basket of stocks that you can buy into. When you buy a share of that fund, you own a small portion of the basket of stocks.
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Vanguard funds are well known for its low-cost and broad diversity, in this post, I will list the best Vanguard funds you should buy and hold. Vanguard offers a variety of index funds and exchange-traded funds (ETF). Why Vanguard Funds? Vanguard offers 75 ETFs and 160 mutual funds to choose from. Which Vanguard funds should you buy? You should buy
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Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about how pharmacists can build wealth and I’ve come to the conclusion that getting rich slowly is the key. You’ve heard it on the radio, you heard it on television, or perhaps read it in a blog just like this one-uncover this secret, buy this and that to get rich quickly! That is not
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A 529 plan is a great tool for saving for college. So should you open a 529 plan for your loved ones? According to NerdWallet, there are two different kinds of 529 plans. 529 Savings Plan 529 prepaid plan 529 college savings plans are the most common type. Investments grow tax-free and can be withdrawn tax-free for educational expenses like tuition,
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What is a backdoor Roth IRA? In today’s post, I will discuss my experiences with my first backdoor Roth IRA and a subsequent step-by-step guide. In my opinion, Roth IRA is one of the most versatile tax-advantaged retirement account you can take advantage of today. If you’re interested, I discussed in more detail about Roth IRA in another post and
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Three years ago, my current employer introduced a health savings account (HSA) as an option for my medical benefit. I briefly went over the plan but ultimately chose a PPO version. It’s not until recently that I discovered that HSA plans offer so many benefits and can be used as my third tax-advantaged plan. Some even called the health savings
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In this post, I am going to compare a Roth IRA versus a 401k plan and recommend which one is better for you in your situation. What is a Roth IRA and 401k? Roth IRA (Individual Retirement Account) is essentially a self-directed retirement account. A 401k, on the other hand, is an employee-sponsored retirement account. These are two main ways
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There are many ways to invest in real estate. In today’s post, I am going to go over 5 ways to invest in real estate. Real estate can be argued as a part of a well-balanced investment portfolio and is a good asset class for diversification. Investment in Real Estate-traditional route Traditional real estate investment is self-explanatory. You acquire a
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In this post, I will go over the top five takeaways from Ramit Sethi’s book: I will teach you to be rich. I will teach you to be rich Becoming rich isn’t something that only happens to Ivy League graduates, elite athletes or lottery winners. Anyone can become rich. What you need to do is to define what being rich
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Today we’re going to talk about the controversial topic of pay off debt or invest? The fundamental question is should you pay off your debt first or should you take that money and invest it? Debt is bad Debt sucks! Debt is the worst! There’s definitely good debt and there’s definitely bad debt. In general, most people don’t want to
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What are the best investing apps out there in 2019? When it comes to investing, yup, you guessed it right, there’s an app for that! In traditional investing, you need a couple of thousand dollars to get started with either through ETFs or index mutual funds. Enter micro-investing apps. In today’s high-tech world, there are easier ways for you to
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In today’s post, I am looking at what are the causes of and how to prepare for a recession. Our economy is cyclical, we have had times of great economic prosperity for the past 10 years. Eventually, we will have a contraction, where we see unemployment rates go up, consumer confidence fall and possibly leading to a decline in GDP.
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The Intelligent Investor In today’s post, I will summarize and discuss the top takeaways from the book, “The Intelligent Investor” by Benjamin Graham. Warren Buffet, one of the most successful investors the world has ever known has this to say about the book. The best book on investing, ever written. Warren Buffet Investment vs. Speculation Graham defines investment as: One
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If you have been keeping track of the stock market’s volatility lately, like most investors, you’ll probably want to take a peek your portfolio, asset allocation, and performance. Particularly, if you’re a fan of the three-fund portfolio, you’d wanted to know how it’s performing and make sure that you have the ideal asset allocation. I recently finished listening to The
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How does your 401k balance compare to your peers? Tax advantage plans like 401k and Roth IRA are one of the simplest and best ways to invest for your retirement. Do you wish to know how much you need to contribute? What is a 401k? A 401k is an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Employees can automatically deduct a portion of their
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In this post, I will review financial engines also known as advised assets group and decide whether or not it is worth it due to their fees and other factors. What is Financial Engines (FE)? According to its website, they are founded in 1996. They described themselves as: We provide objective, fee-based advice and asset management, with an aim to
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Continuing on my investing series, in this post I will show you exactly the strategy on how I will invest in Vanguard Index Funds. Advantages of Vanguard Index Funds Investing in index funds might the best, easiest, safest long term investment out there for most people. It’s one of my favorites ways to invest. This investment strategy requires very little
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Step by Step on How to Invest Your Money In the post, I will show you exactly how to invest money in seven steps. Starting with the lowest risk and progressing to higher risk forms of investment. How to invest Money Step 1: Low-Risk Investment Here, you’re looking for a basic place to put your money. The number one choice
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I signed up for a free trial of Audible and got a free audiobook. Due to the high recommendations from friends and other personal finance bloggers, I chose Rich Dad, Poor Dad as my starter audiobook. As a busy pharmacist, while maintaining a nascent blog, I find myself with less and less time. I turned to podcasts and now Audible
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I opened an account with Betterment 7 years ago in 2012. In this blog post, I will document my experience with Betterment. Betterment along with Wealthfront are the two best and most well-known of the so-called robo-advisers. They are called robo-advisors because they decided to cut the human middle man out of the equation and instead relied on its own
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What’s my net worth in May 2019? When I graduated from pharmacy school in 2011, I had a negative net worth of $218,000 with a combination of student loan and credit card debts! It has been a humbling experience clawing my way of that debt to having a net worth of $241,451 at the end of May 2019. I was
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High-yield savings are a fantastic way to stash your free money wasting away in your checking account. This Sofi Money Review will go over the pros and cons of opening an account with Sofi Money. You typically earn an average of 2.20 % APY or more dependent on which savings account you pick. One of the problems with keeping cash
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Let’s learn different strategies for your investment and saving today! Disclaimer, I am not a personal finance expert. If you’re a personal finance newbie just like myself, the SEC has a really good resource called introduction to investment for you to peruse. Because I’m not an expert I have to do a lot of reading on personal finance from various
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