Category: Investments (Page 1 of 24)

5 Powerful Strategies To Begin Growing Your Net Worth

How to grow your net worth.
How to grow your net worth.

What is net worth? Your net worth is the financial value you have after deducting all your liabilities from your assets. Think of your net worth as the vitality to your personal finances.

An over-simplified example would be:

You have $10,000 in savings but owe $2,000 on your car loan and $5,000 in student loans. Your net worth is then $3,000.

Or, you have $10,000 in savings but just financed a brand new vehicle for $35,000 so your net worth is -$25,000. In this scenario you owe instead of own.

Building your net worth can be a challenging yet fun experience during your financial growth.

how to grow your net worth

Welcome to Franknez.com – the blog where you can digest content on personal finance, side hustle ideas, entrepreneurship, and trending investing topics.

Lets get started!

So, what are some strategies I can use to grow my net worth?

I’m going to walk you through 5 ways I’m personally growing my own net worth.

Anyone can use these very simple strategies to have money multiplying for them.

Also Read: I Made A Whopping $65K Online Without Showing My Face

1. Open a high-yielding savings account

What better way to grow your net worth passively than by having a bank consistently pay you a percentage per month for holding your money.

This is exactly what high-yield savings and money market accounts do. I’ve personally seen accounts generating $20 per month in passive income to a little over $200 per month.

This type of account is a better alternative to your traditional savings account from Wells Fargo or Bank of America.

How does this work?

One thing you have to understand is that banks are always moving money. They are always investing money which is why they’re so powerful.

The instance you deposit any money into your bank account, they’re already investing it. Huge commercial banks like Wells Fargo and Bank of America will typically only pay you a penny per year for banking with them.

Ever notice that $0.01 or $0.02 randomly deposited into your savings account? Yup, that’s what you earned for banking with them.

High yielding savings accounts simply pay you a higher percentage for banking with them.

How safe are these bank accounts?

Most of these banks are FDIC insured and can insure up to $250,000. Just like Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo.

What banks offer high-yield savings accounts?

It is important to note that APY rates do change depending on the circumstances of our economy. They were higher previously to the pandemic and have gone down during the pandemic.

This is completely normal though and should not stop you from generating passive income to increase your net worth.

You can calculate an actual interest earned on an investment using this APY calculator.

Here’s are two banks that offer high-yielding savings and money market accounts:

*Rates are applicable to change

While CitBank and AMEX offer competitive rates, exploring offerings from other banks like Western Alliance bank interest rates can provide surprisingly high returns on your savings.

Given the dynamic nature of APY rates in our economy, it’s wise to consider all available options for maximizing your net worth growth.

Now, although these aren’t very high at the moment, you certainly get a better APY than with a traditional account.

Before the pandemic, my high yield savings account had an APY of 2.05%. I didn’t include BMO Harris on the list because the account now earns less than the others on the list above.

There are more banks I didn’t include simply because they’re around 0.20% and I want to provide you with the highest return possible at the moment.

How can I get the best out of my high-yield savings account?

  1. Use it for your emergency fund and watch it grow
  2. Deposit money every month to accumulate compound interest
  3. Don’t withdraw unless it’s for an absolute emergency

A high yield savings account is not going to make you rich. I personally think the best way to utilize this account is by putting money in it you don’t intend on using unless it’s for a priority emergency.

This strategy allows your emergency fund to grow a little passively without collecting dust in a traditional bank account.

Can I withdraw money from a high-yield savings account?

Yes. However, this is usually done through an ACH transfer which can take up to 3 days to see the balance reflect in your personal bank account.

For this reason I suggest funding both your high yield savings account as well as you personal savings account. Always have liquid funds available.

Your personal savings account should have enough money to take care of something quick and unexpected. Dave Ramsey recommends $1,000 if you’re still paying off debt in efforts to continue paying off debt. I prefer more, but everyone’s situation will vary.

Now that you have your money bringing back more dollars every month, I’m going to discuss a little more about purchasing assets to further grow your net worth.

2. Purchase stocks

Purchasing stocks has never been easier with all the online platforms now available to you. The stock marketing on average provides a 8% return during a period of 10 years.

To put things into perspective, I earned a whopping 40% return of investment my first year investing in the stock market.

What are stocks?

Stocks are assets in companies you can invest in through the purchase of shares. Shares are fractions of a business that you can own through the purchase of said stocks.

For example: If you wanted to invest in Apple, you would invest in the (AAPL) stock and purchase ten, fifty, or one hundred shares of the company.

What are the risks of stock investments?

Most people instantly think risk when they hear the words ‘stock market’. The truth is the only risk is not taking the risk. In my honest opinion, not investing and having your hard earned money collect dust is the real risk.

Your mindset needs to change so you think ‘abundance’ when you think of the stock market.

“The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient.”

Warren Buffett

(Scenario)

What scares most early investors is when they see their first investments take a dive. They spend $50 on a share and a week later it’s worth $44, then they sell the share and lose $6. This is the game plan you want to avoid. Stock investment for the most part should be a long term play.

In this scenario, the strategic thing to do would be to purchase a second share at $44 at a discount and hold it until their worth increases over time. By the time the share is worth $55 your first share would have gained a return of $5 and your second share would have gained a return of $11.

This ladies and gentlemen is how a total investment of $99 can earn you $16 without having to work and give your time to someone else for it. By purchasing assets, you’re able to further grow your net worth.

I recommend you only invest in companies you believe are great companies and have room for plenty of potential growth. These are the companies that are always striving to get better. And when they do, your investments will grow alongside with that company.

How can I invest in the stock market?

You can invest in the stock market through online platforms such as Vanguard, Fidelity, E*Trade, Ameritrade, and Merrill.

Once you create an account with one of these platforms you’ll be able to connect your bank and begin funding your brokerage account so you can purchase stocks.

Bookmark: How To Invest In The Stock Market (Step by Step) For Beginners

3. Diversify your income

Most wealth builders have increased their net worth by diversifying their income. Multiple streams of income is what has allowed the wealthy to stay highly successful.

Having more than one stream of income allows you to pivot should one stream lose momentum. During the pandemic millions of people lost their only source of income. Those with multiple streams of income were able to pivot and thrive.

However, when all your streams of income are doing extremely well then you will be doing extremely well.

What are some ways I can diversify my income?

This is the fun part because diversifying your income varies from person to person. Ask yourself, what are you good at? What do you enjoy doing?

You may be working a 9-5 but enjoy making music. Distribute your music online and get paid for every stream. Perhaps you really enjoy driving, take on a ride sharing or food delivery service.

You can find several ways to make money using my side hustles tab where I provide my readers with creative ideas to increase their income.

One thing I will always recommend is building a scalable online business. This can be a blog, YouTube channel, or other streaming service.

The more income you’re able to generate means the more resource you will have at your disposal to begin growing your net worth.

4. Become debt free

What better way than to liberate all your income sources by becoming debt free.

When you’re debt free you can really tackle savings and investments to grow your net worth. Yes you can have debt and still have a positive net worth; however, by becoming debt free you can maximize your investment capabilities.

Freeing up your income capabilities will provide you with the best investing results. This is primarily because when an opportunity comes, you’ll be ready. You will not lack the means to invest like you mean it.

If you have debt, focus on building a small emergency fund then paying off your debt so you may continue to grow your net worth.

Hacks to avoid getting in debt:

  • In need of a vehicle? Purchase it cash.
  • Learn to generate money without a college degree.
  • Avoid payment options provided by store retailers.
  • Keep your credit card spending limit below 30%.

Debt has a lot to do with our spending habits. If most people cannot manage $1,000 then they won’t be able to mange $10,000 and so forth. Invest in your future self and eliminate debt. You will thank yourself later.

5. Live below your means

This last strategy on the list is very powerful. Very few people have the discipline to stay put as their income level increases.

Living below your means, just like becoming debt free can unlock your savings and investing capabilities.

To live below your means simply means your expenses do not exceed your level of income. In other words, you spend less than you earn.

Keeping your expenses low as you continue to increase your income is a guaranteed way you can grow your net worth even if you don’t invest. This is why this strategy is so powerful.

Example

If you were making $80K a year and got hired somewhere else for $100k a year, keep living the same lifestyle at $80K while you use the additional $20K to build your net worth.

More than often, people will fall into income creep lifestyle where they get a raise and they upgrade just about everything. This is how even high earners have trouble getting off the never-ending cycle of debt and living paycheck to paycheck.

Don’t be average, continue to increase your net worth so that you can look out for your future self and and for your family.

A few last words from Frank Nez

Growing your net worth takes time, serious dedication, and work. There will be times where you’re doing great, being consistent and something happens where you have to take money out.

It’s normal, it’s life. Do not get discouraged when you face roadblocks that halt your growth. Instead, continue to set goals to grow your net worth and make it happen.

Follow these strategies and you’ll be on the path to long-term financial success.

FAQs on Net Worth

Can net worth go down?

Your net worth can be zero if your assets and liabilities break even. A net worth at zero is much better than having a negative net worth.

Can net worth be zero?

Your net worth can be zero if your assets, and liabilities break even. A net worth at zero is much better than having a negative net worth.

Can net worth be negative?

If your liabilities are greater than your assets then your net worth will be negative. This is most common amongst younger people enrolled in college.

Why is net worth important?

Net worth is important because it reflects the health of your financial situation. Whether you’re negative, break even, or have a positive net worth, it says a lot about how you manage your finances.

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How to Invest In The Stock Market For Beginners

There comes a point when you realize that in order to build wealth it will require you to build multiple streams of income.

The average millionaire has seven.

The stock market is one way you can invest your earned income in order to start earning passive income and multiply your money.

Here’s how to invest in the stock market step by step for beginners.

Franknez.com

Welcome to Franknez.com – the blog where you can digest content on personal finance, entrepreneurship, market news, and trending investing topics.

Lets get started!

I’ve been investing in the stock market since 2019.

When I learned how to open a brokerage account and buy company stock, I knew I had to show people how to do it too.

Everything I found online was outdated so I wanted to make it easy for people to start.

Benefits of investing in the stock market

One of the greatest benefits of investing in the stock market is that you get to hedge against inflation.

Inflation is at an all-time high right now and simply letting your money lose its value isn’t going to create wealth.

The stock market also provides an average return of 7%-8% annually which means those CDs and high yielding savings accounts are a thing of the past.

Even so, you can always create a portfolio bringing in 20%+ annual returns!

In June of 2021, AMC shareholders saw a whopping 3000% return on their investment at its high.

GameStop shareholders saw about half!

Although these trades are much different anomalies then traditional long-term investing, it paints a picture of the power of the market.

Let’s get you started!

#1. Set a Budget When Planning to Invest

How to invest in the stock market

Before you begin to invest you will need to set a budget on your first investment(s).

The great thing about the stock market is that you can invest with as little as $50 or so depending on the cost of a share.

A share is a fraction of a company you can own and earn money from as the company grows and profits over a period of time.

Example

If you set a budget of $200 and the share of a company you want to invest in costs $50 then you can purchase (4) four shares of said company.

If a month later the shares you purchased are worth $60 each then your shares would now be worth $240, resulting in a $40 gain.

This is how investing in the stock market works.

Note: I highly recommend having your emergency fund built prior to proceeding with investing in the stock market.

It is important to highlight that the money you invest in the stock market will need to be money you can tolerate losing.

The stock market is volatile meaning the value of your assets is constantly going up and down.

Something to keep in mind is that the value of your investments can go down just as fast if not faster than they went up.

Now, this is not addressed to scare you. The stock on average has an annual return of 6-8% per year.

Why should you invest in stocks?

Investing in stocks is a great way to diversify your portfolio.

You don’t want to keep all your eggs in one basket.

For this reason, the wealthy invest in companies they believe have long-term potential to thrive and to multiply their investment.

#2. Know What to Invest In

Now that you’ve set a budget you’ll need to know what you want to invest in.

Once you do, find the stock market symbol of the company on Google search engine.

If you wanted to invest in Coca-Cola for example, you’d search ‘stock market symbol for Coca-Cola’ on Google.

You’ll see that the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) symbol for Coca-Cola is KO.

This is how you will identify and search for companies to invest in when you’re in the market to buy stocks.

Here are some different type of investments you can invest in within the NYSE.

Stocks

A stock is a share of a company just like Coca-Cola.

Buying a share from one specific company is a stock.

Stocks are good to purchase if you strongly believe in the continued success of your choice of company.

Invest in companies that have room to grow and are constantly innovating.

Stocks I personally favor are Tesla, Apple, and Amazon.

These tech companies are always innovating therefore I have strong conviction towards their continued growth and success.

Index Funds

An index fund is a fund that tracks and follows the index (growth) of a group of companies.

When you own a share of an index fund, you own a percentage of a pool of companies oppose to just one company.

What makes an index fund great is that if a company within an index fund isn’t performing very well there are other companies that may balance the overall performance of the fund resulting in a fair return.

A popular choice is the S&P500.

This index fund tracks the performance of the top 500 companies in the United States.

This type of investment tends to be a less risky and yield great profits over the long run.

It’s an investors favorite and I personally hold shares in the S&P500.

Bookmark: Retire a millionaire with the S&P500: is it possible?

REITS

A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust Fund) is very similar to an index fund.

The only exception is that it invests exclusively in real estate companies oppose to other businesses.

If you want to invest in real estate without the hassle of learning the game, using cash up front, or getting into debt, REITs are a great way to diversify your portfolio into the real estate sector.

A great REIT I’m invested in is VNQ with Vanguard.

Which investment is right for you?

Each of these investments has their own benefits.

My suggestion is to research them individually as all of our needs are very unique.

As your skills develop as a retail investor, you’ll find yourself having a diversified portfolio consisting of all three.

Invest in the stock market and learn to identify which investment is best for you.

Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.

Warren buffett

#3. Choose a Brokerage Firm to Begin Investing in The Stock Market

This is the fun part.

Choose a reputable online brokerage firm.

A brokerage firm is a platform where you will be doing all of your investing through the NYSE.

Here you’ll be able to purchase stocks and sell them.

Each brokerage firm has their own customer advantages but are very similar to use.

Here is a list of brokerage firms you can open an account with and sign up for free.

Check out each brokerage firm’s website and see which feels more comfortable for you to navigate.

Do some research on each of them to see which has the strongest potential for your needs. I personally use Vanguard.

How to invest in stocks
How to invest in the stock market for beginners

Note: When you purchase investments, there are small commission fees your investments will pay out to the firm.

They are very small in most cases and don’t hinder your earnings like you’d think. Vanguard has the lowest fees.

Each brokerage firm will have different commission fees and the percentage will vary in each firm.

For example: Coke (KO) will have a slightly different commission fee in every firm despite having the same share cost.

#4. Open your account

For this step-by-step on how to invest in the stock market I’m going to use Vanguard.

Vanguard is one of the most reliable brokerage accounts you can use.

how to invest with Vanguard
Franknez.com
How to invest in stocks for beginners

Head over to Vanguard and select ‘Open an account’.

Finance blog - Vanguard
How to invest in stocks with Vanguard

Select ‘Start your new account’ to get started.

Vanguard Account

Choose the method you will be funding your new account. You can choose between:

  • Electronic bank transfer or another Vanguard account
  • Rollover from an employer plan (e.g., 401(k) plan)
  • Transfer investments from another financial firm

Most new retail investors will be choosing the first option, using an electronic bank transfer to fund your account.

Before you open your account to begin investing in the stock market you’ll need your bank account and routing number as well as other personal information.

Once you’re in it’s time to transfer funds into your account.

#5. Transfer Funds into Your Brokerage Account

Congratulations! Now that you’ve chosen a brokerage account to invest with, you’ll have the tools at your disposal to begin investing.

Navigate throughout your brokerage website. Get comfortable with where things are.

Things might seem very new at first, intimidating even.

Don’t worry, now that you’ve begun something new, you’ll begin to take the first steps toward self-education.

First, you’ll want to learn how to transfer funds into your brokerage account.

I will be demonstrating step by step how to do this using Vanguard.

Toggle the settings to connect your bank account with your brokerage account so you can start to invest in the stock market.

This direct line will allow you to transfer funds into your account so you may begin to purchase shares.

Once you have this set up you may transfer the money from your budget to invest in.

#6. Make Your Very First Investment in The Stock Market

Now that you’ve transferred your funds over to your brokerage account, navigate through the site to make your very first purchase.

Search the symbol of the stock, index, or REIT you will be investing in.

Note: Before purchasing, make sure you thoroughly navigate the website to get comfortable using it.

This will make the purchase experience a lot easier.

Once you pull up the investment, go through the details provided on the page.

You should be able to see its history, it’s projected return, its risk level, and so much more information about the investment.

Invest Vanguard

Purchase the investment!

Purchase the investment with the option set to ‘Market’.

This option will allow you to purchase the investment instantly at the price it’s worth.

We suggest doing a test purchase since this is your first time investing in the stock market.

This will help you get a feel for it. Purchase one share so you understand the process.

It will serve as good practice and experience.

Congrats on buying your first share!

Follow up on your investment the following day and see whether your investment had gains or losses.

You’ll see for the very first time how your investment grew in value or decreased in value.

You now have a taste of what it’s like to invest in the stock market.

Bookmark: My top picks of stocks to invest in right now

Final thoughts

franknez.com

I have personally invested in stocks since 2019 and have learned a lot about the stock market.

In fact, I’m still learning today.

I published an article on the best tips and advice for beginners investing in stocks to further help you on your journey.

Stock investing is all about strategy.

When you make money in the stock market you may let it sit and accumulate over time, or you may cash in your profits and allocate those gains towards other opportunities.

This is why I believe investing in stocks is extremely important to someone who wants to build wealth.

The stock market allows you to multiply your hard-earned money so you may further invest it in other assets.

If you received value from this post please be sure to share it with someone who’s working towards becoming financially independent and who is also building their financial future.

My mission is to help people all around the world attain financial stability in order to live their best lives possible.

Here’s how you make money trading the S&P 500.

Need a financial advisor? Click here.

You can follow me on: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram


MMTLP Scandal Recognized as Biggest Wall Street Fraud

Market News Daily: MMTLP scandal gets recognized as one of the biggest Wall Street fraud events.
Market News Daily: MMTLP scandal gets recognized as one of the biggest Wall Street fraud events.

The MMTLP scandal is being recognized as one of the biggest Wall Street frauds of the decade.

One of the most recent scandals has been that of the ‘meme stock’ frenzy when broker firms, hedge funds, and even regulators colluded to stop AMC, GameStop, and other stocks from rising.

Investors who held shares of MMTLP stock on the record date of December 12 would receive a preferred dividend of Next Bridge Hydrocarbon on Wednesday, December the 14th.

Investors anticipated a long-awaited MMTLP short squeeze during the last few trading days prior to the spinoff — primarily due to big buying volume flooding the market to receive Next Bridge Hydrocarbon shares.

However, MMTLP stock stopped trading on Thursday, December 8 after FINRA delisted the security without notice or warning.

FINRA released the following statement:

NOTE: This report has now been acknowledged by the Congressional Research Service.

“Effective Friday, December 09, 2022, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) halted trading and quoting in the Series A preferred shares of Meta Materials Inc. (OTC Symbol: MMTLP).

Pursuant to Rule 6440(a)(3), FINRA has determined that an extraordinary event has occurred or is ongoing that has caused or has the potential to cause significant uncertainty in the settlement and clearance process for shares in MMTLP and that, therefore, halting trading and quoting in MMTLP is necessary to protect investors and the public interest.

The trading and quoting halt will end concurrent with the deletion of the symbol effective Tuesday, December 13, 2022.”

“See also Form S1 Registration Statement for Next Bridge Hydrocarbons, Inc. stating that…immediately after the Spin-Off, all shares of Series A Non-Voting Preferred Stock of Meta shall be cancelled. Available here.”

Next Bridge Hydrocarbons Weighs In

In simple terms, FINRA’s only explanation was that the halt was due to ‘uncertainty’ in the settlement process which could harm investors and public interest.

And perhaps that’s true — though shareholders don’t think they were referring to retail investors at all, but rather FINRA’s private investors and institutional partners, the hedge funds.

Next Bridge Hydrocarbons released the following statement regarding the MMTLP halt.

“We recognize that some of our shareholders who owned Meta’s Series A Non-Voting Preferred Stock prior to the Spin-Off might have been affected by FINRA’s halting of the trading in that stock while the Company was still wholly owned and controlled by Meta.

The current board and officers of the Company have no information from FINRA regarding the Trading Halt other than the information in the public notice published by FINRA announcing the Trading Halt.

Further, FINRA did not provide any advance notice to the Company or Meta prior to its initiating the Trading Halt.

While we were not involved in the Trading Halt, we certainly empathize with anyone adversely affected by the Trading Halt and are assessing the matter.

The Company believes that our primary means of delivering shareholder value is to develop our interests in the Orogrande Basin, and we remain focused on this objective.”

But investors remain confused as to what happened to their money which was frozen from trading prior to the delisting.

What’s happened with MMTLP has become one of the biggest Wall Street frauds in financial history.

Real People Have Been Affected

Market News Daily: MMTLP scandal gets recognized as one of the biggest Wall Street fraud events.

“It was the anniversary of my husband’s passing; it was a really hard time. My kids all understood what was happening with MMTLP, and it was hard for them to understand, it was hard for me to admit to my kids the depth of the dishonesty, and lying, and cheating, and stealing that goes on in our country”, says MMTLP investor Deborah W.

“I went through the 18 months of just stringing me and my family and everyone everybody with holding off on things that we might have wanted to do; vacations we wanted to take, because I didn’t want to pull any of the money out of what I had in. And MMTLP, I had liquidated other positions, I took every spare dime we had, and I put it towards MMTLP”, says Huck, another MMTLP investor.

FINRA placed a U3 halt on MMTLP on the final days before it was delisted.

It was one of three U3 halts in the OTC market in U.S. history.

The U3 halt froze MMTLP shares so shareholders couldn’t buy nor take their money out from the security.

MMTLP was delisted, robbing MMTLP investors of their money right in front of their eyes.

The delisting protected hedge funds from having to close their short positions right before shares of MMTLP stock began to rise, or squeeze.

Retail investors are naming the MMTLP scandal one of the biggest Wall Street frauds in financial history.

Investors lost their entire retirement funds and life savings in MMTLP.

Aside from the public announcements in the beginning of this article, FINRA nor the SEC have been able to explain truly what happened to investors shares of Next Bridge Hydrocarbons, or their money invested in MMTLP stock.

In the video below, MMTLP Studios goes over possible solutions the SEC and FINRA can take to make things better, along with other investor comments.

Were You Affected by the MMTLP Wall Street Fraud?

First, I’d like to say that my heart goes out to those affected by this unfair and unprecedented event in MMTLP.

Many investors in several communities are experiencing blatant manipulation in their favorite company stock in similar or their own unique way.

Raising awareness is the first step to getting the message seen.

I’ve seen and heard some of your stories through the community.

If you were affected by the MMTLP Wall Street fraud and would like to share your story, please feel free to comment it down below for other retail investors to see.

Share this article to get your voice and story heard.

Market News Published Daily

Market News Daily: MMTLP scandal gets recognized as one of the biggest Wall Street fraud events.
Market News Today – MMTLP Scandal Recognized as Biggest Wall Street Fraud.

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