USING THE PRESENT FINANCIAL INSTABILITY TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

The present economic crisis is really putting everyone on their toes, people are scared and angry and do not know what to expect. People who have money are scared to spend it; those who have none are worried about where their next income will come from. Thousands of people are losing their jobs daily; the housing market is also not helping as banks are having difficulty giving out loans both to people who want to build houses and small business individuals. Are we to even talk about Wall Street? The stock market has plunged and everyone is running scared, people are taking their money out of the stock market, the few people who have 401k plans see their retirement benefits dwindling by the hour and health plans can no longer cover everyone.

Of all these and many more in the mind of people, everyone is wondering when something will happen, when a change will occur, a change for the better. But I would like to say despite all these economic crisis people can still use it to their advantage, just as the billionaire Warren Buffet said in the New York Times that now is the best time for him to buy stocks simply because everyone else is scared, people who have stocks are selling them at ridiculously low prices and even people who have money to buy are scared as well. That means the prices of stock will drop and there will be a lot of desperate individuals out there that would want to sell their stocks before it becomes a total loss to them. I am not advising anyone to plunge into the stock market because it’s not certain when the economy will be back on its feet, this advice is only for people who have more than enough to spare.
But what about average people out there, who just manage to survive from paycheck to paycheck and are not even guaranteed job security. I would like to say that as odd as this may sound to some people, now is the best time for holiday shopping because the present market has made even the retail market a much harder place, no one is willing to let go of their money but what people don’t know is that the holiday shopping is inevitable and people will have to buy Christmas gifts for their friends and families. Wholesalers and retailers alike want to try as much as possible to get rid of excess merchandise and so the prices of these products have dropped and everyone is willing to sell, so I say why wait till the holiday season to buy what you want. Now is as good as any time to place those orders for those items you want and buy them for a whole lot cheaper now that manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers are literally begging you to take the merchandise off their hands. So people I would advice that you go out there and spend what you will now on the holiday shopping and save yourself a few $100 bucks this year. Prices will definitely go up this holiday season regardless of the financial crisis because then there will be a lot of demand for these products.

Now is also the best time to buy real estate, prices have dropped drastically and everyone wants to sell and even below market value. If you are having problems getting approved for a loan because you have credit issues but somehow you have the money to buy a house now then I suggest you go for Rent to own homes, the reason I suggest homes like this is because you get to benefit at the long run. Instead of renting an apartment or a house that you just keep paying for month after month without it benefiting you in any way rather you are helping the owner of the house add value to their home, you let the home owner know that you intend to buy off the house at a particular time down the road, so the rent you actually get to pay for the house goes towards the amount you would pay for the house eventually and the good part is individuals who agree to sell homes to you in this fashion do not care about your credit history as long as you make your monthly payments when you are supposed to. But there is a down side to this; you are expected to make a down payment which is usually about 5% to 10% of what you have agreed to buy the house for, if for some reason you fall short and are unable to pay your rent or can’t afford the house, you will lose your down payment. So a lot of home owners who maybe moved to a different state or bought a house elsewhere would be willing to agree to this kind of deal especially when they will also be reaping benefits because then they won’t have to list the house with a Realtor and get to pay a percentage when the house gets sold. At the end of the day, you and the home owner would be happy.
There are other factors that I haven’t covered in this article but I intend to research more and post more articles, so feel free to subscribe to my blog for updates and important information that will help make your life better.
Regards,
Richard Watchman.