Is this the year that you get your financial matters in order? Are you tired of having to much month and not enough money? Do you want to build wealth, but the banks aren’t offering you the returns you need to become financially free? Find out how to save money, build wealth and take your first steps towards becoming financially free in 2019.
1. The power of compound interest
Warren Buffett once said that the one single factor behind his investing success was compound interest. Albert Einstein described compound interest as “the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it and he who doesn’t pays it”.
So, what is compound interest and how does it work? Compound interest allows you to build on your investment over time. The easiest way to explain it is through an example. If you invest £100 today at a rate of 10%, at the end of year, you will receive £100 + £10 interest. Then the following year you reinvest the £110 at 10% and you will receive £110 + £11. When you first start saving it can come across as slow and incremental, but utilised consecutively, the results are astonishing. Compound interest is literally FREE money.
Property investment is a great way to save money and build wealth using the power of compound interest. Through a crowdfunding platform you can invest relatively small amounts of money into multiple projects and when those projects complete, you can reinvest your money again. Jatin Ondhia, CEO of Shojin Property Partners, goes into more detail about the use of compound interest in property and how to invest using an ISA.
2. Diversifying your portfolio
It is always good practice to diversify your portfolio and never put all your eggs in one basket. Diversification allows you to spread your risk and maximise your returns. Every market has both peaks and troughs. When some markets are up, others are down. Diversifying your investments and mitigating their risks allows for successful wealth generation.
This way of thinking also applies to property. Traditionally people would buy a home and invest in one particular buy-to-let investment. With the advancements in technology, property investment crowdfunding provides an easy solution for investors looking to diversify their portfolio. Now an investor can invest across the entire property spectrum including corporate bonds, buy-to-let and even property development such as student accommodation. Find out how to invest across the property spectrum.
3. Investing through an ISA - tax-free investments
Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) apply to UK residents who are older than 18 years old, providing a £20,000 tax-free allowance in 2018/19. This means that when you invest, you don’t pay capital gains tax on investments smaller than £20,000. Investing through an ISA and combined with compound interest results in a powerful combination. There are various types of ISAs; the most common is the cash ISA. You can also invest in a stocks and shares ISA as well as an innovative finance ISA allowing you to invest in property.
Read our blog on the benefits of investing through an ISA. Did you know that you can invest in property using an innovative finance ISA (IFISA)? One of the ways to save money is to invest in a buy-to-let property or a property development project. Using an IFISA would mean that your returns on a £20,000 investment would be tax free. It is always best practice to talk to a financial adviser before investing your ISA in stocks, shares, or property. This is the smart way to save and have your money work harder for you every year.
4. Surround yourself with the right people
There is a common saying in the industry, “your network is your net worth”. One reading of this is that if you surround yourself with successful people, you in turn will become more successful as your network will inspire you. Where do you think you will find the latest news about property investment, stocks and share or how to generate wealth; from the people who have done it before or from the people who haven’t?
People who have built wealth look at money and investments as a mindset. To manage your money and build wealth requires a change in mindset and by surrounding yourself with the right people, your investment journey will become a lot easier. The right network will guide you with money saving and investment tips which compounded over years will save or earn you thousands. See what others have to say about what to look for before investing in property.
The concept of property investment crowdfunding allows you to invest alongside like minded investors. Knowing that you are not alone in your investment decision is very reassuring. Did you know that from as little as £5,000 you can actually invest in property through crowdfunding?
5. Investing in property
In the UK many of the super-rich have built their wealth through property. Property has been a great investment and over the last 17 years has outperformed the FTSE 100. Property is a great investment but, in the past, it has been difficult to acquire property if you didn’t have large sums of money, know the area or have experience in investing. Now that the government is clamping down on buy-to-let landlords by increasing taxes and stamp duty surcharges, reducing mortgage interest tax relief and implementing new HMO rules.
Although these recent changes may not sound positive, property remains a fantastic investment opportunity, but you just need to know where to invest. Crowdfunding property investment companies are helping people invest without the hassle of tenant issues, increase in government taxes and void periods. Investing through a crowdfunding property investment company is hands-off and allows you to invest from as little as £5,000 across the entire property spectrum. Now investors can help to build new developments in their community.
6. Invest in yourself
One of the most important principles on this list is to never stop learning. Robin Sharma said, “Investing in yourself is the best investment you will ever make. It will not only improve your life, it will improve the lives of all those around you”. By constantly learning you are taking small steps every day that will improve your life in the future. Benjamin Franklin said, “an investment in knowledge pays the best returns”.
If you are prepared to do what other won’t, you will be able to live the life that others can’t. When others are spending their time watching TV series, you are out their learning. If you spend only 1 hour a week learning, you would have 52 hours of learning at the end of the year… Just think what you can do with that extra potential.
Getting educated is great, but you need to be able to act on what you have learnt. We don’t want to be those people who have ‘shelf education’ instead of ‘self-education’ where they put what they have learnt on the shelf and never utilise it. Go out there and put what you have learnt into action.
7. Get to know your money
Many of the most successful people in the world will know how to monitor their money. That includes how much they spend, how much they make and will track their spending patterns. By managing money and by becoming aware of where you are spending money, you can change the bad habits and improve the good ones.
If you know that you have £XXX coming in every month and you need more money, don’t turn to the credit card! Think how you can make your money work harder for you. How can you invest it to create a passive income to help generate more money? What would you do if you had an extra £500 coming into your account? By investing your money into an income generating asset it will benefit you in the long run. This is the difference between good debt (which makes you money) and bad debt (which costs you money). By managing your money, you become cleverer about where you spend it.
Conclusion
We are not saying that the above advice is the only knowledge you need to build wealth in 2019. What we are saying is that if you follow these principles, you will be in a much better position than last year. Obviously, there are several factors that can influence the above.
It is not as hard as you think to build wealth through investing in property. With the advancement in technology, property investment crowdfunding is making it easier to invest small amounts of money into property. No longer do you need to save money, buy a property and rent it out as a buy to let investment. Now you can invest in property through an ISA from as little as £5,000 and spread your investment across the entire property spectrum.
In closing, it is important to diversify your income and not rely on one income source to live the life that you deserve. Find the gaps in the market and be able to act when opportunity presents itself. The definition of luck is when preparation meets opportunity.