Best Money Tips, Great Investment Tips Ever. (final set)

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Adapt your skills and strategy

Darwin said it: You need to be adaptable. As it relates to your portfolio, if you regularly put money into your 401(k) or invest in mutual funds, you might have to change your strategy as the economic times change around you.

As it relates to your skill set, make sure you have a broad understanding of where the growth is in the job market, so you can apply your talents there. We are seeing different skill sets required. We are seeing traditional industries change. Some positions are leaving and aren't coming back.
-Maria Bartiromo

Be a good saver -- and credit risk

Live below your means and be frugal. The economy is going to get worse before it gets better. And folks who have savings have the best chance of getting through this.
-John Schnatter

Do the homework before investing

Unless you think you've done more research and have better insight on a stock than a multibillion-dollar hedge fund, why are you trading?
-Mark Cuban

Stick with what you know
Be patient. You don't have to be the first person to come into a promising investment.
-Thomas Atteberry

Expand your skill set

Many people who have been laid off start looking for a new job right away, but sometimes it's better to go back to school for additional training and education. When the economy does turn around, the opportunities are going to be there for people with new skills and additional bandwidth.
-Gwendolyn Sykes

Focus on your needs, not wants

We all have to learn from our mistakes of overleveraging ourselves and acting like 5-year-olds -- "I want four cookies." You don't need four cookies; you only need one. It's not about what you want, it's about what you need.

We all must reassess our consumer behavior. It's not good enough to live within our means -- we have to live beneath them.
-Liz Claman

Have faith that you'll persevere

You are more resilient than you imagine. And if you ever doubt that, remember the many people whose troubles were much greater than yours yet who survived
-Meir Statman

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Article source: cnn.com

Best Money Tips, Great Investment Tips Ever. (2nd set)

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Be on the lookout for opportunities

Focus on opportunities that are going to come to the table -- because prices are low, whether it's in the market, distressed debt, a foreclosed home, or a business.
-Robert L. Johnson

Bet on stocks to beat bonds

One thing I see with our clients and individual investors is an aversion to risk, and a favoring of fixed-income funds and Treasuries. In the past 20 years, we've been in an environment that's been good to bonds relative to stocks. But it's rare for that to happen over an extended period -- and the last two times it happened, the subsequent five-year period favored stocks.
-Liz Ann Sonders

When you invest, focus on price

Always remember that price is the most important aspect of an investment. Today we keep hearing people talk about "toxic paper" on bank balance sheets. Well, it's toxic to the banks because they paid 100¢ on the dollar for it. To somebody who gets to buy it at 30¢ or 40¢ on the dollar, it's not toxic at all. So there is no such thing as a toxic asset. There's no such thing as a damaged property. There is only a bad price.
-Barry Ritholtz

Get involved and network

Become deeply engaged in civic, professional, and educational organizations that matter to you. And constantly build new relationships with people through these affiliations.
-John Challenger

Create your own safety net

Every retiree and pre-retiree should have a retirement income plan in place that incorporates a realistic estimate of anticipated expenses. And if possible, your essential expenses, including health insurance, should be covered by reliable sources of lifetime income such as Social Security, pensions, and perhaps certain types of guaranteed income or sustainable withdrawals from savings.
-Abigail Johnson

Take a long view on the economy

Most of Wall Street is focused on next month's numbers, but by taking a long-term view on economic statistics and investment fundamentals, you stand a better chance of not getting whipsawed by the volatile economy.
-Bill Gross

Listen to what this wise man has to say
Fear is your friend.

The past two years were an "ideal period" for value-minded investors. For example, Buffett managed to scoop up bargains ranging from municipal bonds to securities of Goldman Sachs, GE, and others. "When it's raining gold," he writes, "reach for a bucket, not a thimble."

Focus on the (really) long term.

Buffett notes the investments that he and partner Charlie Munger prefer are "businesses whose profit picture for decades to come seems reasonably predictable." Not the next two months or quarters or years, mind you. Decades.

Stick with what you know.

Against the advice of the firm's managers, Buffett pushed Geico -- the home and auto insurer that Berkshire owns -- into the crowded credit card business several years ago. Geico bailed out in 2009, losing about $50 million in all. The moral: If you don't understand that commodity ETF your pal is bragging about, pass on it.

Maintain a cushion.

While firms were fighting for their lives in the credit crisis, Berkshire kept doing deals. Why? Because Buffett keeps about $20 billion in cash on hand. This reserve is earning "a pittance," he says. "But we sleep well." A reserve will help you sleep better too, especially as you near retirement.

The buck stops with you.

Buffett oversees virtually all derivatives contracts on the company's books. "If Berkshire ever gets in trouble, it will be my fault." You need to adopt the same attitude. Whether you go it alone or work with an adviser, understand the level of risk you're assuming. If something goes wrong, you'll suffer the consequences.

-Warren Buffett

To be continued...

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Article source: cnn.com

Best Money Tips, Great Investment Tips Ever. (1st set)

Challenge the big guys

Bad times are the best times to move your business forward, especially if you are a small business. The big guys are back on their haunches, waiting things out. If you are willing to stick your neck out, this is when your energy and creativity can outmaneuver the big companies. This is your opportunity.

-Barbara Corcoran

Look beyond your home

People are mistaken about the long-run gains they might make in real estate. I put together a home-price series going back to 1980. And it's wrong to think real estate investments as a group will have to go up much in price.
-Robert Shiller

Teach independence

Raise your children to make a job, not just take a job. If they don't know how to create a plan, they'll always be beholden to someone else.

-Joline Godfrey

Retire your debt before you retire

Many people are now going into retirement with debt. So how about this for an old-fashioned idea? Pay off your mortgage before you retire if you want financial safety and security. There is bankruptcy among people in their seventies and eighties who had a lot of debt that they couldn't carry when the paychecks stopped.

-Jane Bryant Quinn

Save (but don't invest) like me

The first section of my new book with Charlie Ellis, "The Elements of Investing," is titled "It All Starts With Saving." If you don't put money aside now, you won't have money later on.

-Burton Malkiel

Stick with like-minded people

Good money management is a lifestyle. If you surround yourself with people who share the same values, you're more likely to stay on track.

-Lynn Truong

Invest age-appropriately

There is much that is worrisome in our economy. That's why your bond position should be commensurate with your age. In my case that means I have more than 80% in bonds. Someone in their fifties should consider 50%.

The value of the bond position is not just that it provides you some protection in a down market -- it does, of course. But its value is that it keeps you from making behavioral errors such as selling stocks during a panic.

-Jack Bogle

To be continued...

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Article source: cnn.com