Out of everything humans experience in life, getting married and celebrating the union of two people is one of the only instances where wearing your rose-tinted glasses is accepted. But as much as we imagine weddings as the final step to reaching one’s happily ever after, we know that real-life begs to differ. 

The exchange of “I do’s” does not guarantee a love life without arguments or problems. The reality is that married couples encounter multiple predicaments, most commonly financial and money problems. In fact, financial issues are one of the leading causes of why marriages break apart. Here’s where a prenuptial agreement can help. 

A prenuptial agreement is superior to the Family Code which states, 

“The future spouses may, in the marriage settlements, agree upon the regime of absolute community, conjugal partnership of gains, complete separation of property, or any other regime. In the absence of a marriage settlement, or when the regime agreed upon is void, the system of absolute community of property as established in this Code shall govern.”

This means that with a prenuptial agreement, both parties are in control of setting the parameters governing their properties.

The absence of the prenup on the other hand entails that each of their properties, therefore, becomes conjugal, or owned by both spouses. Following this route becomes a monstrous predicament in the instance of a marriage break-up. This is why entering into a prenuptial contract helps avoid and alleviate future disputes in case the couple decides to separate. 

Different couples have different circumstances and needs, and often have adverse reactions to a prenup. But whether you’re a hopeless romantic or a brutal realist, taking the initiative to think about having a prenuptial agreement is a step in the right direction. 

With anything involving marriage, communication of both parties is required regarding this significant financial matter. As early as the dating phase with your partner, talk about money matters.  Discuss the family budget, how to handle money in the household, and other financial considerations. Both parties should be educated and open in order to be able to make an informed decision before they enter into marriage.

We may not have fairy godmothers who can deliver us happily ever after, but we do have ourselves to decide how we can live happily with our partner, for the rest of our lives.

 

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The month of August marks the beginning of the slow trading activity, minimal financial dealings, and red portfolios all around. Ghost month has already begun, thus, many people wonder if it’s safe to keep investing during Ghost month or if it’s better to wait until the end of the month before they should invest and handle big money matters. But here’s what you should consider before you choose to invest or not to invest this month.

What is Ghost month

Ghost month is a tradition that originates from Chinese Buddhist and Taoist influences, which starts on the seventh month of the lunar calendar. During this season, it is believed that ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm and bring forth bad luck. In 2021, Ghost month starts on August 8 and ends on September 6.

Money Taboos

Because the gates of hell are believed to be opened during this time, there are multiple taboos that the Chinese advise people to avoid, such as: investing, selling assets, and buying a house or a car, lest you bring forth bad luck or misfortune.

Opportunities

However, if you’re the type of person who isn’t particularly superstitious, then we suggest you treat this time to look for more opportunities. If you’re investing long-term, this is a good time to average down your portfolio as the prices decline. You can take advantage of “discounted prices” to accumulate shares.

Whether you choose to exercise prudence, or take advantage of the market this month, here in Investa, we always encourage investors to be smart and make informed decisions about their money, whether or not it’s the Ghost month.

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Investing your money is a great way to jumpstart your future finances. It not only provides extra income, but it also provides a way for you to learn more about the financial market that can possibly make your investments your entire retirement package. However, in a time like this where making ends meet or even job opportunities are scarce, simply investing your hard-earned money into various mediums can be very difficult.

This has been more evident with the rise of heavy hitters such as more accessible online trading, various forms of cryptocurrencies, and more recently, NFT or Non-fungible tokens and games associated with it. While these are reliable and valid forms of investment, going blindly into them expecting a quick buck can be a source of concern. I present to you the dangers of blind investing and how to deal with them.

Lack of sufficient research

As previously mentioned, there are multiple mediums of investment open to the public, especially to beginners. These are easily accessible, legitimate, and quite popular. However, this popularity can lead to a lot of people mistaking this medium as a quick money bag, which can then lead people to losing their money without having a clue as to why they did.

They might then repeat that same mistake or another, until they’ve lost beyond the point of no return. A great example of this is people on Twitter losing their entire life savings because they relied on someone’s Tweet forecasting certain cryptocurrencies that will supposedly double in value.

As with any form of investment, nothing comes to you easily; you have to put in the hours! What this means is you have to research exactly how this investment form works to its fundamentals in order to have a better understanding of how matters operate within them.

Simply joining in without thinking about it is like buying shares of a random stock and expecting your money to double overnight. You have to look into it, see where it comes from and how it works, and that’s when you invest. Even if you lose money from a well-researched investment, at least you’d have enough knowledge to control the situation of your finances.

Choosing the wrong investment option for your lifestyle

Connected to researching an investment option thoroughly is understanding whether it will work for you or not. There are so many possible options out there and while they can all make you some good cash, not all of them would work best for you. Sometimes it takes a toll on your health to stay up all night for a 24/7 market, or the market schedule simply doesn’t compliment your job’s. 

It is therefore of the essence to choose an investment option that will work alongside if not improve your lifestyle. Find what works best for what you do in your daily routine, your work hours, and of course your health. Investing shouldn’t be taking so much from your life because while working for it is important, it should not be stressing you out at all.

Overspending your budget

The most important rule in your investing journey is only investing what you can afford to lose. This means that you have to make sure to set boundaries on what you’re willing to spend and manage in your daily budget. Don’t invest all of your money, especially your emergency funds because you’ll never truly know when you might need them. This is why blindly investing too much if not all of your money is a hazard in more ways than one.

Instead, it is better to simply invest whatever extra you have, or capital that you can raise from other means if possible. If you think that you can’t afford it, at least invest some other time once you’ve already earned enough.

Overall, I hope this serves as a reminder to be careful where you put your money into. Even legitimate and safe investment options can be a cause of loss when not evaluated and done properly. Remember, your financial safety is more important than whatever profit you might be able to get.

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The pandemic has proven to be a crisis in more ways than one. A year and a half and various market crashes later, we’re only beginning to adjust to the adverse effects of the situation brought about by the virus. This means the recovery of various facets of our country like government, healthcare, and of course our economy.

Plenty of establishments and industries have began to open up, employment rate is slowly but steadily beginning to improve. However, with the threat of every new strain or variant of the virus, the threat of it crashing down again is a very real possibility, and this could be especially bad for you, financially.

The silver lining of the situation is the country’s current vaccination program. With more than 3% of the population getting fully vaccinated, we have found the fighting chance for our economy. But with this hope comes another problem: vaccination hesitation.
This can come in a lot of ways like having a brand preference, waiting to observe the side-effects on others, and simply not wanting to get vaccinated entirely.

While some hesitations can come from a place of concern, vaccines have been proven to be an effective way of controlling the virus and therefore, the effect of its presence overall. So if you’re concerned over the status of your finances and eligible for your shot, here’s some reasons why you should get vaccinated!

It could keep you safe from a health catastrophe

The most important reason overall to get vaccinated is to keep you safe from the virus. Health is a number one priority nowadays for you and your family, and nothing matters more than your health.

In the context of your finances, getting vaccinated can keep your money, especially your emergency funds, safe from possible depletion from medical bills. All vaccine brands, while having different protection rates, have all been proven to protect you from the more severe effects of the virus that can lead you to getting hospitalized, and getting hospitalized can be very hefty.

It could reenergize the economy

The closure of businesses in pretty much every industry and the subsequent loss of jobs brought about by that has been a very heavy experience for many people. And now that things are slightly improving and various establishments are opening up, it’s the repeat of that very difficult situation that the vaccination program is trying to avoid.

Getting vaccinated means making a step towards the recovery of the economy, of the lives of others and your own, and of course, of your money and investments, if you have any.

It could be a free solution for a priceless outcome

In case you didn’t know, the vaccination program is free. So if you are eligible for any of the priority groups, you can get your shot at your local government center. Without spending a dime, you secure your health, your investments, and your finances.

So if you can, get your jab done as soon as possible because getting vaccinated in the context of today’s world is the best investment you can make.

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Every trader, beginner or expert, has seen these sticks with rectangles called candlesticks. In fact it has been a well-known symbol of the stock market but what makes it so important? Well, here are some reasons why candlesticks can be a possible strategy for trading.

Used in technical analysis, a candlestick is a type of price chart that displays the high, low, open and closing prices for a specific period. Originally from the Japanese, candlesticks are now being used by traders all around the world.

Candlestick charts are very visual, due to the color coding of the price bars and thick real bodies, which are better at highlighting the difference between the open and the close. Traders use these candlesticks to make trading decisions based on regularly occurring patterns that help forecast the short-term direction of the price.

Also, candlestick signals are used to analyze any and all periods of trading including daily or hourly cycles, even for minute-long cycles of the trading day.

Candlesticks are created by up and down movements in the price. While these price movements sometimes appear random, at other times they form patterns that traders use for analysis or trading purposes.

Patterns are separated into bullish and bearish. Bullish patterns indicate that the price is likely to rise while bearish patterns indicate that the price is likely to fall. A very important note is that no pattern works all the time since candlestick patterns represent tendencies in price movement. 

Some notable and more reliable candlestick patterns include:

The Bullish and Bearish Engulfing Pattern

The Bullish Morning Star and Bearish Evening Star

The Bullish and Bearish Harami

Candlesticks are a great indicator and a suitable technique for trading any liquid financial asset such as stocks and foreign exchanges. Reading and understanding candlestick patterns can help traders in making better and more calculated predictions about where an asset might be headed and can also use it as a factor in buying that asset.

Want to know more about the Stock Market and Technical Analysis? Check this free lesson from #InvestaUniversity:

Trading in any market is no easy game. If anything, it’s like driving, the better you are at it, the easier you’ll reach your destination– and safely at that. With this in mind, as a trader, you must constantly be striving to make the most out of your trades. 

However, you’ve been noticing lately your progress growing to be slightly more sluggish, and not making as much as you think you should. Here are three early warning signs to remind you to step your game up before it gets worse.

You’re not setting realistic profit targets

Every trader works on the idea of making as much profit as possible from short-term trades. However, when you set yourself to unrealistic goals, you’re only setting yourself up for disappointment and that disappointment can be expensive. 

Usually, it is ideal to set smaller profit targets because smaller yet consistent profit is much more favorable than bigger albeit riskier rewards. This is also relative to the amount of time traders hold on to positions because trading, whether you like it or not, is about the fast-life that requires a lot of care within, often times, a matter of seconds or minutes. If you expect extremely high profits and choose to mindlessly hold on to a trade for the sake of reaching said profits, you might just end up at a massive loss.

You’re not adapting to circumstances

The past year of financial turmoil in almost every market has taught us that we really have to constantly be on our feet when it comes to our money. This was especially true to traders all around the world, who through a baptism of fire, learned to roll with the punches to survive the worst of crashes. This is what separated the best from the rest, and what kept them from losing more than they should. How exactly did they adapt?

By understanding the severity of the situation and projecting realistic goals. This means setting lower than usual profit targets and carefully selecting trades as precariousness can lead to massive losses. This also means rehashing strategies because what worked before may not necessarily work in the current situation so it’s important to always be alert.

Adaptability isn’t exclusive to market crashes though, for it is for essence in regular markets as well. You must be able to adjust and be flexible to make the most out of your trades, and to make sure that you’re maintaining your financial safety.

You keep missing out on great opportunities

Opportunities come by the dozen in the market everyday. This is another principle that traders live by– to make the most out of the smallest of opportunities on a daily basis. 

When you feel like you’re not catching a whiff of these opportunities as often as you should, you might end up finding yourself in a trading stasis. So keep your eyes sharp, read the news, keep updated on any talks in the market, and spend more time monitoring indicators on stocks than usual. By doing this, you’ll find yourself in a higher abundance of possible positions.

As a trader, you must constantly be at the top of your game because your money depends on it. It is never good to be too complacent with your skills, so always be on the lookout for these warning signs and step up your game.

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Currently ranked number 6 in Forbes Billionaire 2021 and the world’s 7th wealthiest person with a net worth of over $100.6 billion, Warren Buffett has become a household name when it comes to investing. Also known as the Oracle of Omaha, Buffett is one of the most popular and successful investors of all time. Here are some first-hand tips from Warren Buffett himself on the topic of making smart and rewarding investments.

Never Lose Money

Although it’s impossible to physically never lose money when investing, you can always have a mindset of a sensible investor. Don’t go into an investment with luck. Enter it through knowledge. Warren Buffett only invests in companies that he thoroughly researches and understands. As an investor, once you go into an investment prepared to lose, you’ve already sealed your fate.

Don’t Forget Rule Number 1

Through his many years in the investment sector, Warren Buffett believes that the most important quality for an investor is temperament, not intellect. The stock market will definitely experience good and bad swings but you need to stay focused on your goals. In fact, Buffett rarely changes his long-term investing strategy no matter what condition the market is under.

If the Business Does Well, the Stock Eventually Follows

From the book “The Intelligent Investor” by Benjamin Graham, Warren Buffett was absolutely convinced that investing in a stock equates to owning a piece of the business. Part of his process in stock trading is seeking out businesses that exhibit favorite long-term prospects. If the company’s share price is trading below expectations for its future growth, then it might be a stock that Buffet (and you) may want to own.

It’s Far Better to Buy a Wonderful Company at a Fair Price Than a Fair Company at a Wonderful Price

With stock trading, the ideal scenario would be buying quantity stocks at the lowest possible price. To pick stocks well, you as an investor must first set criteria for uncovering good businesses and stick to them. The ultimate goal is finding the right company at the right price within a margin for safety against unknown market risk. Always remember, successful investors, can tell the difference between the price you pay for a stock and the value you get.

Our Favorite Holding Period is Forever

A popularly googled question among stock traders is how long should I hold a stock? Warren Buffett answers this question by saying that if you don’t feel comfortable owning a stock for 10 years, then you shouldn’t own it for 10 minutes. Unless a company has suffered from a sea change in prospects, such as impossible labor problems or product obsolescence, a long holding period will keep an investor from acting too human. What can destroy a portfolio appreciation, in the long run, is being too fearful or too greedy.

The amazing thing is that whether you’re a newbie or an expert, you can apply all of the Buffett rules to everything you’re potentially investing in. These tips are powerful tools for successful investments.

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