Plan 2 Prosper

I won’t promise this is my last post of 2008 but it’ll be close to it.

My kids, like most others, have finished school for the year and we are juggling our time keeping them occupied and avoiding cabin fever while finalising those things that need to be finalised before we close the office from December 22^nd through to January 5^th .

While the ofrfice is closed, we’ll be spending much needed time with our family and “relaxing” to charge our batteries up for next years challenges. Not wanting to sound like an ‘Ebeneezer Scrooge’ but I continue to be amazed that our boys enjoy the less costly activities while camping and travelling just as much as the more expensive treats.

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?  It came without ribbons.  It came without tags.  It came without packages, boxes or bags.  And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore.  Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before.  What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store…  What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.  ~Dr. Seuss

With all the volatility and turmoil that has occurred in the markets this year many of you may be feeling like the Grinch has once again tried to steal Christmas. We kid ourselves … it hasn’t been fun … the year hasn’t been a great one for the markets; but take a step back and recall some of those other great experiences you have had and hold onto them instead.

Our plan to buy some gifts throughout the year to ease the financial burden has worked wonders for our bank balance so far. Now we just need to be careful of how we spend our money while we are travelling and visiting relatives. In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season as it is for many people today through political correctness. The Christians called it ‘Christmas’ and went to church; the Jews called it ‘Hanukkah’ and went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank.  People passing each other on the street would say ‘Merry Christmas!’ or ‘Happy Hanukkah!’  or (to the atheists) ‘Look out for the wall!.

Whatever your plans over the next few weeks, we trust you enjoy many good experiences and safe traveling to and from your destination, if doing so. Consider the words of D.D. Monroe who commented,

“It is the one season of the year when we can lay aside all gnawing worry, indulge in sentiment without censure, assume the carefree faith of childhood, and just plain “have fun. Whether they call it Yuletide, Noel, Weinachten, or Christmas, people around the earth thirst for its refreshment in the same way as the desert traveller for the oasis.”

Borrowing from John Lennon, and …..

So this is Christmas
And what have you done?
Another year over
And a new one just begun

And so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young.

A very Merry Christmas
And a Happy New Year
Let’s hope it’s a good one
Without any fear

Thanks for your support in 2008, and heres to a prosperous 2009. 

The media continues with stories of doom and gloom. You’d have to be on Mars not to know that we’re experiencing some of the most volatile markets in history. Let’s not kid ourselves…this is not fun!

The essence of chess is time … a point Bobby Fischer always used to be fond of emphasizing. Give an inferior position an extra tempo and it may suddenly become tenable. Now what seems like the worst time to get into any market with long term capacity for growth can, in reality, be the best time. Successful wealth makers today realise that they can use time to their advantage.

In fact, a weak market is a wealth creator’s paradise, because a weak market is a buyer’s market, and one of the first steps to any wealth creation project is securing the right level of diversification on the best possible terms. History shows markets go up, they go down and then they go up again. When one market is weak, another is performing stronger.

When liquidity starts to free up, money will begin to flow through to markets shunned by investors in our current period of heightened fear.

As recently as 3 months ago, investors could achieve close to 8% return on cash. This meant decisions to hold cash or term deposits rather than long term growth assets seemed easy. With interest rate movements downward, income returns from cash are now nearly 40% less and still falling.

The ‘flight to safety’ has distorted asset prices and made government guaranteed assets very expensive, while other income and growth assets are now relatively cheap. A very low ‘risk free’ rate also makes valuations for shares and other growth assets appear much more attractive. The current dividend yield for the Australian share market of nearly 7 % is now higher than the yield investors can achieve from Term Deposits, even before allowing for the benefits of franking credits.

Over the past year, share markets around the world have fallen around 40% on average, and experienced extraordinary levels of volatility along the way. While this has tested the resolve of even the most experienced investors, those who shun the markets at these levels, risk missing the opportunity to buy growth assets cheaply and the rebound as the markets recover.

Our belief is that this is a golden time to act – perhaps a once in a generation opportunity.

Maybe it is not the time to sell existing growth assets held, but it is certainly a great opportunity to secure new ones. Now this acquisition strategy is not for everyone – you must have the necessary resources, funds and wherewithal to buy and also the appetite to hold firm during any further volatility that may occur.

The best approach for anyone contemplating further wealth creation through investment in growth assets will depend on his or her own personal and financial circumstances, but the key message here is that you must do something! There are many strategies that wealth creators can access if they don’t have vast sums of money or other resources available to them.

Successful wealth creators know that times of opportunity like this only come along once in a while, and they’re taking action so they don’t miss the boat. Regardless of your immediate financial situation, this is the perfect time to reconsider your own capacity to leverage your habits and resources into current or future income.

If you have any doubts about your ability to do this, or you would like advice and assistance to guide you through the many options, act now to get the knowledge and mentoring that you need.

There is no time to waste – and there’s no time like now !

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