The Rise of Fake Gurus and the Trap People Fall Into

We all want to be rich, get a fancy sports car, and live in a luxury mansion. It is on everyone's wish list in their life. However, most of us do not come from a wealthy family or have a high paying job. We are stuck in a job that we probably dislike and suffering from an endless nine-to-five rat race. Because of wanting to find a solution to becoming wealthy, we often lured to an advertisement video content of how some gurus became wealthy. I am sure you have seen them before. It is usually someone telling you how they can transform your life through their so-called 'secret' business opportunity or the 10-step mastermind course. You will usually see these gurus driving that nice sports car or the mansion they live in.

I encounter these video ads when I am browsing videos on YouTube or scrolling through my Instagram App on my iPhone. As someone who also wants to achieve financial freedom, I want to learn the secret formula to become rich quickly. However, the truth is that to succeed in life financially is not as easy as you think. These gurus' campaigns that you usually see on the Internet are not telling the whole truth and only want to make money from you by purchasing their expensive course.

 

Many people out there fell to these traps; it makes me want to write an article on this topic. I want to inform readers about these gurus that claim to have the secret formula to becoming rich. In this article, I will explain why these gurus are fake and only wants your money. Signing up for their course will not teach you how to be rich, and you will only regret paying a large sum amount of money for information that can be found for free.  

Why Pfizer Stock is a Great Buy Now

As an investor, I have been looking around the stock market for stocks that pays out dividends and great value. I came across this company called Pfizer Inc. (Ticker: PFE) when I found out about a close friend of mine who is a value investor mentor, Chris Lee Susanto, who has invested in Pfizer Inc. as one of his stock position in his portfolio. I was attracted to this company because it was a stock that pays out dividends, but its price was trading at an attractive valuation.

Anyways, if you readers haven't heard of Pfizer Inc. (Ticker: PFE), let me introduce you to this company profile. Pfizer Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation headquartered in New York City. In 2012, it was one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies and ranked 57 on the 2018 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.
 
Seeing my friend invested in this company had made me curious about the company. I decided to research my own on Pfizer Inc. and became interested in investing in it for my dividend growth portfolio. Pfizer Inc. stock has dropped 15% and climbed back to the price it was a quarter ago. It's currently trading at $37.20 (as of October 22, 2020) and yields 4.02%. 
 
After researching on my own on Pfizer Inc., I believe that this company has a potential upside. It was, of course, trading at a valuation that is attractive for many value investors. In this article, I would explain why Pfizer Inc. is an outstanding dividend growth stock currently trading at an excellent price for investors to buy. Moreover, Pfizer Inc. is a great company to invest in with or without a Covid-19 vaccine. This reason had led me to place Pfizer Inc. as my second-largest position in my stock portfolio. 

Benefits of Writing Your Own Book as an Entrepreneur

As an entrepreneur, I have been pretty ambitious to working many side hustles of my own. I have many ideas that I can one day monetize. One of the side hustle I am working on is actually writing a book about personal finance and stock investing. I have been writing this book during my spare time from working in my dad's company. It is currently not finished yet at the moment, but I have written close to forty-five pages so far.

I have zero experience and knowledge of becoming a book author. I do not expect for it to become successful at all. I enjoy working on this since it can be a great time to express the knowledge and experience to others out there. I already planned a mindset not to be discouraged if it does not succeed. I will be happy enough if people out there are willing to read the things I wrote. I hope the book I am currently working on can somehow help people out there.

 

I know readers probably think that writing a book of my own is a waste of time, and it is not easy to be monetized. A typical book author barely makes more than minimum wage. You receive an advance and 10% royalties on net profit from each book. If your book retails at $25 per copy, you would need to sell at least 4,000 copies just to break even on the $5,000 advance. 

 

 Yes, indeed, publishing a book is not an easy task. However, this does not stop me from working on it. I think there are many benefits to having a written book of your own. This is why I decided to write this article in regards to my own curiosity and a topic that I would like to share in this blog. From my research, I learned that writing your own book can make you some money on the side and come with many beneficial factors on the side. 

My Retirement Plan as of October 2020

It has been five years since I manage my own stock investment portfolio. When my older brother and I decided to split, our portfolio was in October 2015. I started with $400,000 capital when I started managing my own portfolio. Moreover, I have been contributing money ($2000/month) in the portfolio every month. Now, my portfolio is valued at $810,000 (As of October 12, 2020). That's a CAGR of 10% every year since October 2015. If I compare my portfolio performance to the S&P 500 performance, I actually underperform the market. I made many bad investment decisions during my journey; however, I learned from it. I hope for the future; I can make better decisions in investing.

New Year's, it's about to come soon. It's going to be in 2021 soon. I'm going to grow older, but I am still committed to my financial plan toward financial independence. Even though my portfolio has grown in value over the years, I think it is still far from the goal I want to achieve. I still want to keep working on my portfolios for another 15 years ahead before I start enjoying the passive income the portfolio will generate for me.

How to Promote & Market Your Blog - 8 Fundamental Steps

There are countless reasons why someone starts blogging. Some start as a hobby and some do it for a living. With a blog, you can expand your networking opportunities with professional peers. Through a blog, you can establish their expertise and extend their online reach. I personally have started blogging as a side gig aside working in my dad’s company. Writing financial related contents for my blog can be a fun lifestyle that can potentially increase my alternative income. I’ve started my finance blog that you are reading right now since 2015. However, I was not really active in writing content for my blog for several years. It was just after this year, I started to put more time into it. I hope the contents I wrote can be beneficial for readers as well as helping me improve to become a better investor and businessman. Creating a blog is an easy matter that anyone can do. The challenge is being able to get your blog known by others on the internet. There’s no point of having a blog that’s beautifully made and has interesting content, but having no one coming into your blog. Promoting and Marketing your blog is a crucial step to become a successful blogger. By promoting and marketing your blog the right way can expose your content to broader audiences, which could lead to business and career opportunities. I am personally is still working my way to figure out how I can promote and market my blog. This led me to do more research on the internet so that I can be good at it. In this article, I would like to share the information and knowledge I learned and the experience I undergo to promote and market my blog. 

5 Reasons Why Buying Materialistic Things Will Never Make You Happy

Do material things make us happy? This is a topic that is controversial to many people. Studies show that most people believe if they could get a new house, a new car, or some other possession, they would be happier. The media today portrays people with a huge mansion, expensive exotic cars, and the hundred-foot yacht to have a fulfilling, happy life. However, the truth is that the pursuit and purchase of physical possession will never fully satisfy our desire for happiness. It can indeed bring us joy, but that is just temporary. Happiness found in buying a new item rarely lasts longer than a few days. Researchers even have a phrase for this temporary fulfillment, which is called retail therapy. 

I personally experience this myself as I was quite materialistic in my early 20s. I see an expensive brand to be a symbol of success and happiness. I will also feel the need to own certain possessions so that I can show it off to my friends and others. I did this so that I can feel secure and accepted by my friends and others. But after going through with personal experience in trying to compete, who has the coolest stuff made me realize that material possession doesn’t make you happy. In this article, I would like to discuss why buying stuff will never make you happy and what you should do with the money you have.

7 Genius Tips to Save Money on Clothes and Still Look Fashionable

Our society has made us unconsciously distinguish people who dress well to be more attractive than those who aren't. People who dress appropriate and fashionable are perceived more positively than those who wear in unattractive clothing. By being well dressed, you instantly become more attractive and presentable. This is especially true when it comes down to women. When men see women who dress fashionably, they tend to have a different perception of her. Dressing well helps you make a considerably better first impression. This means you're more likely to make a good first impression of yourself when you approach people. You are likely to be seen positively when you have a job interview, meet someone important, or going to events such as night outs or weddings.

I personally like going shopping for clothes since I like wearing clothes that look nice on me. Moreover, my closet is filled with so many of my clothes collection to the point where I don't even have enough space for new ones. Trust me; I love good looking clothes a lot. I feel more presentable and confident when I wear clothes that look nice and fit for me. It actually makes me feel good about myself. However, the problem arises when you are on a budget and pursuing the early financial freedom you dream of. How can you save and invest if you are spending a lot of your money shopping for clothes? Studies show that average adults spend $200 per month on clothes. That's about $2,400 a year when you multiply the monthly spending by 12 months. That's a lot of money spent on clothing, but looking more fashionable isn't always about wearing the trendiest and most expensive clothes. Moreover, you don't have to spend much to look fashionable and trendy. It's all about being smart with your money when you go shopping for your clothes. I'm going to cover this topic in this article on how you can save money on clothes in order to look fashionable. Also, I will include tips and hacks to look great in your outfits.

Dollar Cost Averaging Investment Strategy

Many investors who are new to stock investing tend to worry about when to enter the market. It’s normal for new investors to feel this way since they don’t want to risk losing their hard-earned money. When I was new to the stock market, I got afraid when the stock went down in value and ended me to make an irrational investment move by selling the stock when the price was actually a bargain. I was frustrated and upset after seeing the stock I sold goes up in value years later, knowing that I would make huge returns if I have kept the stock. New investors worry if the stocks are too expensive while simultaneously fretting about missing out on market gain. The stock market price value fluctuates every day, and no one knows when the market will enter into a bear market or if the stock market is going to continue to going up. Peter Lynch, who is a successful fund investor, mentioned, “I can’t recall ever once having seen the name of a market timer on Forbes‘ annual list of the richest people in the world. If it were truly possible to predict corrections, you’d think somebody would have made billions by doing it.” What he meant by this is that it’s almost impossible to time the market.

Moreover, if you purchase a stock based on your feeling that the market will go up, that will be considered as speculating and not investing. So what’s the solution for new investors who want to start investing in the stock market? There is a simple solution for beginners who want to limit their risk while investing in the stock market. What I want to introduce to you readers is an investment strategy called Dollar Cost Averaging. Dollar-cost averaging is a popular strategy for building investment positions over time. This investing strategy is simple and can be effective for new beginners who want to start investing in the stock market. In addition, I will also explain the pros and cons of this investing strategy.

Dave Ramsey's 7 Baby Steps Financial Guide of Getting Out of Debt and Becoming Wealthy

Many people out there are always trying to figure out how to get out of their debt and become wealthy. They tiredly work so hard in their job but felt like they are going nowhere financially. Dave Ramsey, who is a financial mentor that wrote a book which title is "The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness" had inspired many on how to get out of debt and become wealthy. Before he became a financial guru, he went through the same mistakes many people go through, which is to use debt. At the age of 26, Dave Ramsey was a millionaire who used leverage (debt) to finance his real estate investment strategy. He has a real estate portfolio asset of $4 million dollars, which $3 million dollars of the asset is financed with debt. However, he lost everything two years later. He had to downgrade his financial lifestyle and felt humiliated for his downfall. It was a very tough moment for his life, which eventually changes his perspective of how he wants to live later life. He eventually worked his way out of his financial problem and became wealthy again (has a net worth of $240 million as of 2019). Now he became a multi-millionaire personal money management expert that mentors many people the problem of using debt as a tool through his talk show host and TV personality. Moreover, he has helped many people to get out debt through budgeting and invests gradually to build wealth.

I read his book and often listen to his radio talk shows on YouTube. I had learned a lot about how many Americans are stuck in debt and have difficulty getting out of the rat race. His book preaches about the simple 7 Baby Steps technique that many can easily follow to get out of debt and build wealth. Following his technique to get out of debt and acquire wealth is not a get quick rich scheme, but discipline steps that people need to follow. People who are wealthy didn't become a millionaire overnight, but through discipline spending habits, budgeting, and of course, frequent investing. I felt his teachings in his books and radio talk shows on YouTube are excellent for people who are sick and tired of being lost financially. Anyways, I know some readers here don't want to go through the hassle to read his book. Because of that, I want to point out the 7 Baby Steps that Dave Ramsey preaches that help many people get out of debt and build wealth.

Why Many New Businesses Fail and What to do About It

Many people dream of starting their own business ventures. These people dream of wanting to become their own boss and not have to work for others. Moreover, starting a business on the side may help a person build different sources of alternative income in order to generate more wealth and have a lifestyle that many dreams of. The vast majority of wealthy people started businesses and built them from nothing. In the last 20th century, businesses and fortunes have been built by people like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Walton, and Larry Ellison. These people started with almost nothing and became wealthy by building their businesses from scratch. Knowing the benefits of owning your own business inspires me to have something of my own, aside from just working at my dad's home appliance manufacturing company. I am currently working on my own side business ventures such as my finance blog that you are reading right now, and my other online venture such as my online e-commerce business called Cash Flow Hobby. Starting a business that turns out to be income-generating assets is awesome since it can give you the freedom to pursue other things in life. However, the problem arises when the business venture actually fails. According to the Small Business Association (SBA) states, 30% of new businesses fail during the first two years of being open, 50% during the first five years, and 66% during the first ten years. The SBA goes on to state that only 25% made it to 15 years or more. These high percentages of people who fail in starting their own business have lost not only their valuable time but the money they have invested in their business.

I personally have seen many businesses opening, and end up having them close in just a matter of time. I'm not here to discourage you readers from starting your own business, but to create a successfully running business is not simple. Even my business ventures such as my finance blog and my online e-commerce business that I'm currently working on the side is not generating me any income (not a single dime). This shows that starting a business is not as easy as it sounds. To create a successful business requires huge dedication and strategy. Even my dad, whose manufacturing business is now considered to be successful, has to undergo many challenges and difficulties to be where he is right now. In this article, I would like to share with you readers the reasons why many new businesses fail and what to do about it to prevent them from making fatal mistakes that can turn your business venture into a nightmare.

How Much Money Do You Need to Retire Comfortably

Everyone has a dream to be able to stop working one day in their career life and retire comfortably. Retirement can be an endless summer that anyone can get to enjoy during their golden age. However, they know to retire comfortably require to save a substantial sum amount of money from sustaining their everyday living expenses without having to work again. Just by relying upon and living off from Social Security (which millions of people do it) in your older age won’t be very enjoyable. Some studies show that the average monthly payout that social security will provide these days is around $1,300 per month. Many of you readers and I know that this number is impossible for someone to retire comfortably, especially if you are living in developed countries such as the United States. I’m not an American citizen, so I won’t even get the benefit of having Social Security to aid me when I’m old. I have to find my solution to achieve this dream. However, that doesn’t stop me from wanting to fulfill my retirement dream. I dream of being able to retire comfortably without having to worry about money problems. Moreover, I want to enjoy my old age, being able to spend quality time with my loved ones and family members. I mean, don’t you readers dream of having the ability to not worry about money again and getting out of the nine to five lifestyle (rat race). But how much do you need to save up to achieve this lucrative goal? Furthermore, how do you know if you meet the desired amount? Different people have different expectations of how their retirement life is going to look like. I have my own expectations on the way I want to retire, and my standard can be quite high compared to others. But to achieve that dream, I am required to have a certain amount of money and an excellent strategy to achieve that goal. In this article, I will discuss how much money you need to retire and how to check if you are qualified to do so.

Altria: A Great Value Dividend Stock to Buy Now

Altria Group, Inc. (Ticker: MO) is a company that has been established for a long time. This company has been paying dividends to its shareholders for a long period of time and is considered to be Dividend Aristocrat Stock. Altria Group, Inc. is a well-known American company that produces and market tobacco, such as cigarettes and related products. The company headquarter is in Henrico County, Virginia, close to the city of Richmond and was founded by Philip Morris in 1847. The company sells the Marlboro brand cigarettes in the United States. They also sell non-smokeable products such as Skoal, Copenhagen, and the Ste. Michelle brand of wine. Moreover, they also have 10% ownership in global beer giant Anheuser Busch InBev. 

The stock has been going down in price due to the pessimism of the market. Most of the current worries are due to the declining volume of cigarette sales. The outcome has inevitably caused the stock value at the current price. Investors should ignore the noise surrounding their holdings and, instead, focus on the fundamentals of the company. I had been purchasing this stock since the beginning of 2018 and had been adding more additional purchases that make Altria (Ticker: MO) my 4th largest position in my portfolio. By adding more shares to my portfolio, my cost basis of Altria is currently at $52 per share. This also means that I am currently losing on this particular stock pick; however, the generous dividend multiple, steady earnings, dividend growth, and historically low valuation make it impossible for me to ignore this opportunity to add more shares into my portfolio. I believe Altria is a great dividend growth stock to purchase now despite many warning signs. Altria's current low valuation is too attractive to be ignored. This pessimism is the perfect time for value investors to initiate the purchase of this stock at the current price.

8 Reasons to Drive a Beater Car

First of all, before I start writing this article, let me explain what a beater car is. A Beater Car is a car that is generally more than ten years old and one that is typically cheap to be purchase. Many people believe that driving a used old car such as a beater car is embarrassing and shows a symbol that you are not successful in life. Used cars are usually not as comfortable as brand new cars that are out in the market. A person tends to want to drive a vehicle that is new and have up to date equipment system that comes along with it. I personally like new cars that out there available in the market. However, owning a new car can cost you to slow down your journey to financial freedom and early retirement since vehicles are assets that depreciate over time. 

I am driving a beater car at the moment. The brand and model of the vehicle is Mitsubishi Pajero 2009, and it was first purchased by my dad for my brother to use in the year 2009 when my brother returned from the United States. When I came back from my education in the United States in the year 2013, my brother gave me the car and decided to purchase a new car himself. The car which he gave me to use is currently ten years old and is considered to be a beater car. The mileage on my car is approximately 85,120 mileages (137,000 kilometers), which shows that the vehicle has been driven a lot. However, I'm still driving it to this day and planning to stick with it for another 5 to 10 years. I have seen many of my friends have newer and nicer cars than mine, but I'm still content with the car my brother gave me. Despite the vehicle for being old, I feel this beater car is the right car for me to use while walking the journey to my financial goal. It is interesting to note that the reasons for and benefits of driving a beater car.

11 Basic Financial Metrics to Value a Stock

Value investors often try to find a stock in the market that is trading in a undervalue territory. Investors usually use financial metrics to evaluate a stock whether the market overreacts to good or bad news. We can see a stock price movement that doesn’t correspond with the stock company financial fundamental. There are many successful and well known value investors out there such as Warren E. Buffett, Peter Lynch, and many others that use this strategy to analyze a stock. Looking at financial metrics gives the ability for a value investor to see whether the stock is overpriced or oversold. Also, they can use these metrics to see whether the stock is trading at a fair value or not. It is fine to buy great companies that have long term business potential at a fair price as mentioned by Warren E. Buffett himself. He also mentioned that it’s better to purchase a great company at fair price rather than a low quality company at an undervalue price. It’s great when you have this financial knowledge to evaluate whether a company is a potential buy or something that you want to avoid investing. Having the knowledge of utilizing financial metrics when investing give investors a more understanding of what’s going on with the company. People that have been following my blog know that I am a dividend growth investor who adopts value investing techniques. I’ve been using this technique since I initiated this blog to find great dividend growth stocks. It has a long term potential of increasing the companies’ dividend payout as well as capital appreciation to the stock price. I’m here now to share my experience on 11 basic financial metrics I use to find great dividend paying stocks.