Part 10: "In favor/Out of favor" stock strategy

Do you understand what we are doing here?

I was talking to a very good friend about the sale of Penny Marijuana Stocks. As we were discussing the issue, I realized that she had buying and selling of these stocks mixed up with buying and selling of Marijuana. She lives in Pennsylvania and thought that she had to wait until Marijuana became legal in Pennsylvania before buying stock in Marijuana companies.

No, you are a citizen of the United States meaning you can buy stock on the Over-the-Counter Market (OTC) or the organized exchanges in any company that makes any product in any state that you want. So someone in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, Delaware, or any other state can buy Marijuana Stocks anytime they feel like it without fear of law enforcement.

Starting your own business

In fact, I suggest since this industry is in its beginning stages, you should borrow $1,000 or more and set up a portfolio of Marijuana Stocks using a "In favor/Out of favor" stock strategy. If you want, your family and friends could form a stock club and invest in only Marijuana Stocks. You may want to focus on one company in the hopes of buying enough stock to influence the management in such areas as employment, the environment, and social activities.

http://www.betterinvesting.org/Public/SingleTabs/clubs/default.htm

Click on the link above to lean how you, your friends, and family can start your own stock club or business with very little money.

Some of you talk all the time about starting your own business. Well here is a way to get into your own business with very little money. You only risk what money you put into it. Now this is for people who are “doers” not “talkers.” This method of investing is how I got started in the market some 42 years ago and I think that I made out OK.  

 Here is the result of my successful investment life.

Setting up a Portfolio

In this last part of investing in Penny Marijuana Stocks, we will discuss a strategic approach to your speculative investment. If you want to gamble, just pick one or two stocks, buy the stock, and take your chances. If you want a better chance of making money off of these investments then you want to approach this with a strategy. The main point of your Marijuana Penny Stock Strategy is to diversify your portfolio. That is to protect your investments. By diversification, if one or two companies fail, you have three companies that still can make a profit for you.  

When it comes to gambling, it is all or nothing. Usually when you are gambling and you are unlucky, you can’t recover. I prefer high speculation.

Here is an example portfolio for you to learn from.  Let’s say you have $1,000 to work with. You may have borrowed the money or saved up for it. You bought the following stocks;

1. Bought 1,500 shares of Hemp, Inc. (OTC: HEMP) at 20 cents per share, spending $300.00,

2. Bought  222 shares of Greengro technologies Inc. (OTC: GRNH) at 45 cents per share, spending  $99.90,

3. Bought  10,000 shares of Tranzbyt Corporation (OTC: ERBB) at 2 cents per share, spending  $200.00,

4. Bought  40 shares of Endocan Corporation (OTC: ENDO) at  $3.37 per share, spending $134.80,

5. Bought  829 shares of MediSwipe, Inc. (OTC: MWIP) at .32 cent per share, spending $265.30.

I would check each one of these stocks every day. When some good news comes out about a stock, it may double or triple in a day. If that is the case, I would sell at least half of the stock and put the profits into another stock. If good news comes out about the industry and all or most of the stocks go up, doubling or tripling, I would sell half of the stocks and wait until the price comes back down and buy the same stocks again. Make sure that it is 30 days after selling the same stocks so that the IRS does not charge you with “short selling.”  

Above is an example of how I would set up a portfolio of stocks in the industry. This is in no means an endorsement of these stocks by me. 

As I said before, you risk the money that you put into your investment. In my opinion and it is only my opinion that this industry will grow rapidly and the stocks that I talked about over the past 9 parts will be the leaders in this industry. 

Parts 1 Thru 9

  

Parts 1 thru 9 talked about the individual Marijuana Stocks on the Over-the-Counter (OTC) Market. These are the stocks that you may select from when building your Marijuana Portfolio. 

If you are interested, open your brokerage account, send in your money for your account, then purchase your securities. It is that simple.

With any investment, speculation, or gamble, you have risks. I suggest that you take my free online course before you make any investments or speculate.  Here is the link for the course below.

http://greedyfriendsstockclub.blogspot.com/2012/06/greedy-friends-stock-club-stock-and.html#!/2012/06/greedy-friends-stock-club-stock-and.html

The Greedy Friends Stock Club Stock and Bond Course   

How is my IRA portfolio doing?

After 5 years, is my investment strategy still working?

Going toward the end of the first quarter of the year, my portfolio has increased by 2.377% since January 1, 2014. The Dow has moved down 1.88% in the same time period. I have made 6.88% in interest income on my account since January 1, 2014.

I think that I have moved into retirement in good shape.

I would have to say that I have come a long way since 3 years old.

Long Term Family Planning

US Army Major Tongs age 32; Income $75,000

IT Specialist Tracy age 31; Income $80,000

Children: Daughter 10 and Son 8 years old

Goals:  Pay for kid’s college education and buy a place to live. Want to retire by age 62.

Major Tongs age 32 and his wife Tracy age 31 have been together for 12 years. They have a combined income of $155,000 per year.  They have a good family working relationship.  They have a son and a daughter that will be ready to start collage in 8 and 10 years.  This couple wants to retire at age 61 and 62. The Major will not leave the Army for another 10 years. When he does, he will receive 50% of his base pay.  His wife plans to work until age 62 then retire. 

Retirement program

Tracy invests $4,800 or 6% of her income per year. Her employer matches 100% of her income or another $4,800 per year. Her company is under a 10 year contract supporting a state computer system.  Over 10 years, she will have invested $96,000. Making an average of 8% in the Junk bond market, she will have $103,680 by age 41. If she continues her program until age 51 at 8%, she will have $1,036,800. By age 62, she will have using the same 8% return with the same amount of money $11,404,800. If she makes this goal, her families’ retirement should be secure.  

Home Living Expenses

The major’s money goes toward the mortgage and household spending.   They have the money to put down on a $350,000 home paying a 30 year mortgage of $300 per month.  In 30 years, they will be 61 and 62 years old. This will reduce retirement expenses or give them the option to sell the house and move to something more suitable.  They have an account set up to save money for new cars as soon as they buy the old car. They try to keep their cars for 10 years.

College funding

The major is going to get a degree in engineering on the GI Bill when he retires from the Army.  The couple contributes $12,000 per year each to the children’s college 529 program.  The children’s 529 Program allows the children to pay for college credit when they are purchased years before they have to be used. By doing so, they can get as much as a 50% discount on college credits.

They plan to have them go to college nearby so that they can live at home and drive to school in their own cars. By doing this, they can cut down on college expenses.   

When the Markets Fall!

When the Markets Fall!

Have you noticed that the Stock Market seems to be topping and running out of steam? You may not notice because you are listening to all the people who have done well in the markets in the past 4 years. So you are going to get in at the top and think you are going to do the same thing as they did. I agree somewhat with the ad that Josh Mellberg sent out by email; “98% possibility of 2014 stock crash?”  He claims that bubbles are all around us. Below is the Josh Mellberg’s ad.

Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch contends as much from a poll, citing  “10 bubbles blowing into biggest crash in 30 years.”

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/10-investments-where-a-bubble-may-be-brewing-2013-11-12 Click on the link above. The next 10 investment bubbles

So many appear to be ignoring these indicators. Truth is, bubbles are everywhere.  Are they ready to pop? According to MarketWatch, the evidence is overwhelming,  and with only one clear outcome:

Up to 98% risk at the apex. This 2014 crash is effectively guaranteed. There’s a small 2% chance of dodging this bullet.

They claim that there is a 98% chance of a stock market crash in the year 2014. This part, I disagree with. Anything could happen but in my opinion, the stock market will correct itself but not have a bear market crash like we saw in 2006 to 2010 or in 1929.

What is Risk?

The stock market is filled with risk. You may ask, what is risk?

The chance that an investment's actual return will be different than expected. Risk includes the possibility of losing some or all of the original investment. Different versions of risk are usually measured by calculating the standard deviation of the historical returns or average returns of a specific investment. A high standard deviation indicates a high degree of risk.

Many companies now allocate large amounts of money and time in developing risk management strategies to help manage risks associated with their business and investment dealings. A key component of the risk management process is risk assessment, which involves the determination of the risks surrounding a business or investment.

A fundamental idea in finance is the relationship between risk and return. The greater the amount of risk that an investor is willing to take on, the greater the potential return. The reason for this is that investors need to be compensated for taking on additional risk.

For example, a U.S. Treasury bond is considered to be one of the safest (risk-free) investments and, when compared to a corporate bond, provides a lower rate of return. The reason for this is that a corporation is much more likely to go bankrupt than the U.S. government. Because the risk of investing in a corporate bond is higher, investors are offered a higher rate of return.

Market Risk is the possibility for an investor to experience losses due to factors that affect the overall performance of the financial markets. Market risk, also called "systematic risk," cannot be eliminated through diversification, though it can be hedged against. The risk that a major natural disaster will cause a decline in the market as a whole is an example of market risk. Other sources of market risk include recessions, political turmoil, changes in interest rates and terrorist attacks.

For the stock market, the two major categories of investment risk are market risk and specific risk. Specific risk, also called "unsystematic risk," is tied directly to the performance of a particular security and can be protected against through investment diversification. One example of unsystematic risk is that a company, whose stock you own will declare bankruptcy, thus making your stock worthless.

Operational Risk is a form of risk that summarizes the risks a company or firm undertakes when it attempts to operate within a given field or industry. Operational risk is the risk that is not inherent in financial, systematic or market-wide risk. It is the risk remaining after determining financing and systematic risk, and includes risks resulting from breakdowns in internal procedures, people and systems.

Operational risk can be summarized as human risk; it is the risk of business operations failing due to human error. Operational risk will change from industry to industry, and is an important consideration to make when looking at potential investment decisions. Industries with lower human interaction are likely to have lower operational risk.

The possibility that shareholders will lose money when they invest in a company that has debt, if the company's cash flow proves inadequate to meet its financial obligations. When a company uses debt financing, its creditors will be repaid before its shareholders if the company becomes insolvent.

Investors can use a number of financial risk ratios to assess an investment's prospects. For example, the debt-to-capital ratio measures the proportion of debt used, given the total capital structure of the company. A high proportion of debt indicates a risky investment. Another ratio, the capital expenditure ratio, divides cash flow from operations by capital expenditures to see how much money a company will have left to keep the business running after it services its debt. Financial risk also refers to the possibility of a corporation or government defaulting on its bonds, which would cause those bondholders to lose money.

Now you can see why I invest 95% of my money in Corporate Bonds.

Getting the Wrong Advice from the Right People

Being With Your Investment Adviser

People ask me questions all the time about finance. Most of the time they ask me what I would do in their situation. Most of the time, they never tell me what their situation is so I can’t answer their question. One man asked me what financial item should he buy but would not tell me why or how much money he plan to put into it, or anything else about his situation. He said it was none of my business. So I can’t help him.

This is why you see articles like the U.S. News article below that is rather veg about how to invest.

5 Money Myths You Shouldn't Fall For

When it comes to these so-called money rules, following conventional wisdom can cost you. by U.S. News  Dec 6th 2013 12:43PM

Conventional wisdom is often a good thing, or at least harmless. For instance, even if chicken soup doesn't help your cold -- and research shows it probably does help -- it won't hurt you. Plus, you'll help keep someone employed in the soup industry.

But there are plenty of times when conventional wisdom isn't just wrong -- it can cost you money. So the next time you're about to make a big financial decision, keep in mind that rarely is anything black and white when it comes to the green stuff. Here are five money "rules" that are largely wrong.

Carrying a credit card balance will help your credit score. Not at all. If you are carrying a balance you can't pay off, it will help to keep the balance as low as possible because credit bureaus don't like to see a high debt-to-income ratio. In other words, they want to see that you aren't maxed out to the limit every month. So intentionally carrying a balance on your card won't put your credit in better standing or save you money; paying interest only benefits the credit card companies. 

I agree with this one.

Having a zero balance every month on your credit card is fine, especially if you're making regular or occasional purchases and paying them off monthly. Credit bureaus like to see that people are using credit cards responsibly. That's why never using a credit card that has a zero balance won't appreciably help your credit score, either. 

The author should come out and tell you to use your credit card and pay it off at the end of every credit card cycle.
Pay off credit card debt before saving for retirement. Ultimately, it comes down to how much debt you're talking about, and what kind.

"One myth that young professionals -- actually, many professionals -- initially question is whether they should pay off consumer debt, like credit cards and student loans, 

before fully investing in their company's 401(k) plan," says John Oxford, director of external affairs at Renasant, a financial services company headquartered in Tupelo, Miss.

What's so wrong with paying off the massive credit card debt you accumulated in your early 20s before sinking money into a 401(k) plan? Oxford says if your company offers a 401(k) contribution match, and you instead shovel money into debt, you'll pass up on what amounts to free money that could have gone toward your retirement.

You're also losing out on the potential interest growth, he says.

So, yes, save for retirement at the same time, even if that means it will take longer to pay off your debt. 

Most 401(k) plans no longer match funds. Some will only match up to 3% of the 6% max. Pay contribution. If you are getting such a match then I would speculate in some of their mutual funds. However, if you have high credit card debt and your interest rate is over 10%, I would pay off my debt over a 10% interest rate as fast as I can, paying credit cards first. If you only have a car or mortgage left then I would buy junk bonds in an IRA if I could not take advantage of a 401(k) matching fund program.

Keep in mind that you may be able to reduce your interest rate by consolidating your loan.
Stocks make you rich -- and bonds keep you rich. A good rule of thumb, but this is another gray area.

"The bond bull market for the past 30 years is coming to an end," says Jon Ulin, a managing principal at Ulin & Co. Wealth Management, a branch of LPL Financial in Boca Raton, Fla. "Interest rates will begin to rise when the Fed starts to taper the monetary stimulus program. Bonds tend to fall in value when interest rates rise. As [when] there is a greater degree of price volatility for longer bond maturities, investors should move more into short-duration bond investments."

Benjamin Sullivan, a certified financial planner with Palisades Hudson Financial Group in Scarsdale, N.Y., echoes that thought.

He says it's a myth that retirees should be fully invested in bonds. "Even retirees may have a relatively long time horizon for a portion of their money," he says. "They need the superior growth that stocks can provide to retain purchasing power over their life." 

I can tell a stock broker or Mutual fund salesman a mile away. If you are retired or about to retire, I would not buy stocks at all. I would buy bonds with a Standard and Poor’s rating of “BBB” to “B-“.  They give interest rates of 7% to 16%. I would “latter” them meaning that I would have some maturing in less than 3 years, other maturing in less than 6 years, and some going out more than 6 years.  

Home additions increase your home sale value. Usually they don't, says Patrick Roberts, a certified financial planner and CEO of PKR Investments in St. Louis. If you add on a room or an amenity like a swimming pool for the sole purpose of adding value to your home, he says, you're likely to hurt your pocketbook. That's because even if your addition does add value to the house, you've likely taken on more debt in the process, so you may lose money in the long run.

Now, if your house needs a fresh coat of paint, feel free to slather it on. You will probably sell it faster and maybe for a bit more. But when it comes to high-priced add-ons and features proceed cautiously if your only goal is to add value to your home. 

What real estate people are not going to tell you is that houses do not sell as fast as they did in the 1990s. The baby boom people are in their late 50s to early 70s. They are starting to die off or going into nursing homes. Soon the housing market will be in a big glut. Instead of a house selling in 3 months, it may take 3 years. The chance of home prices falling is a better possibility than prices rising.  

Your money is safest in the bank. Not exactly. Money market accounts, savings bonds, your 401(k), a 529 plan and index funds may all be better alternatives (obviously, do your research or talk to your financial adviser). True, if your money is in the bank, it's safe because it isn't going anywhere. Banks' checking and savings accounts and certificates of deposit are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation up to $250,000.

But if you have a lot of cash sitting in a savings account, you're technically losing money with interest rates so low these days, Sullivan says.

"You might have the comfort of seeing a stable account balance, but you are guaranteeing that your buying power will decrease due to inflation," he says.

Currently, inflation is at about 1 percent, which is pretty low. Unfortunately, the average savings account yields about 0.06 percent, so you're still losing a bit of money. But a couple of years ago, when inflation was about 3 percent, the loss was more pronounced: People were losing about 3 percent of their income's worth because their savings yields weren't keeping up with inflation, Sullivan says. 

If you are going to make a large purchase in 6 months or more, invest it in Junk Bonds. If this money is for emergencies like a sudden layoff or firing then invest it in Junk Bonds that mature in less than 1.5 Years.
So the next time you're faced with a big financial decision, do your homework rather than making a snap decision based on what you've heard your entire life. You probably won't lose much if you believe in myths involving vampires and zombies. But losing thousands of dollars or your entire life savings -- now that's scary.

The Financial Land mine for Pre-Retirees

Suze Orman

I am going to show you how people can save money in a Variable Annuity and have nothing to show for it when you retire.  Variable Annuity is very popular among brokers and insurance companies. But your taxes and risk is higher with a Variable Annuity.  Your broker may not tell you about the fees and taxes. They may not tell you about the risk.

I personally would not put this type of investment inside an IRA. I know a woman who did this and she could not get out of this bad investment for 8 years. With a bad market, she lost money all that time. 

http://www.seniorannuityalert.com/variable-annuities/?pid=1&eid=470?pid=1&elq=bdd743c28e52494fa4bfc85ce93e338c&elqCampaignId=564

Click on the link above.

The video above explains these fees and why you should not put this Variable Annuity in your IRA. Below is what this video covers.

§  Hard facts and evidence that the expenses, fees, costs, and POTENTIAL returns of Variable Annuities (VAs) may make them a poor savings and investment vehicle for retirees

§  What top experts, such as Suze Orman, have to say about VAs

§  Why J.D. Mellberg  Financial don’t sell VAs at their firm

§  Why a VA might not be a good choice for a retiree of today and why you may not receive as much income as you hope to receive with one in this day and age—it is the belief of J.D. Mellberg Financial that they were more suitable in the 80s and 90s but not now. 

Here is what Suze Orman says about Variable Annuities in her own words.

This is the Result of Investing

The above picture shows a sail boat moving from the Chesapeake Bay into the Susquehanna River. The red marker marks the river and bay dividing line. 

In 2013, I took my 274.292% profit that I have been accumulating since 2009 from my IRA Junk Bond investments and started looking for a place to retire. I watched Havre de Grace, Maryland grow from a small shipping port in the early 1980s to a resort retirement City of today. In a private area of the City, I found a place that was reduced in a short sell. Its 2006 price was $307,000. It was reduced in price by 53.746%. This property is in Havre de Grace, MD. This is the 4th house that I bought in my life time.

I only put up $28,000 to get my 274.292% return while the housing bust created the 53.746% wind fall. As a result, I got this property. 

What is a short sale?

A short sale allows you the seller, to sell a home for less than the amount owed on a mortgage and release the sellers obligation to repay the primary mortgage balance. This is done in most cases to avoid a foreclosure sale. In this case, the seller is not going to have to pay $229,984.93 of unpaid obligations. 

What did I get for my money?

I can sit out here by the bay and watch the ships go by in the small park on the shore. This is about 300 feet from my house. 

Both pictures are some of the common areas where I live. I can sit on the bay if I want. I can take a train about 10 miles to the next town; 

Amtrak 

18 W Bel Air Ave. 

Aberdeen, MD 21001

The train will take me anywhere I want to go; Miami, Richmond, New York, Philadelphia,  Chicago, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, the west coast.

I can take a boat to Baltimore, Annapolis, or Washington DC.

http://www.marylandregionalaviation.aero/content/mdpublicuseairports/m06.html

The link above will show you our seaplane port. I can take a seaplane from the Havre de Grace Seaplane Base down the street about one half to one mile from the house.  I can fly to Baltimore International Airport to go any where I want. On the way home, I can take the seaplane home, land in the bay and walk home.  

By the way, I live 2 miles from the famous Havre de Grace light house.

This is in a lower upper class neighborhood, next to a upper upper class neighborhood. So we are the poor people in the area.

 Let me show you around my new neighborhood. The place where I live is called Seneca Pointe.

As you can see, it is a private neighborhood with private streets for residents and guests only. Let me show you around my place.

This is the view from my side balcony. I can see the Chesapeake Bay. I also have a side parking lot for visitors.

For my car(s), I have a two car garage. You can see the side balcony to the left of the picture.

 Here is another picture of the side balcony. You can see that to get on it, you have to go through the sliding class doors. The back balcony is to the left of the picture. That balcony over looks;

  the swimming pool. The pool is in a hidden quiet place with a fence around it. I can sit on the back balcony and watch the people in the pool area.

  Here is the Living Room and Dinning Room area. The dog is not included.

Here is a picture of the bar in the kitchen. You can see the white sheet to the left, that is the double doors that go out into the side balcony over looking Chesapeake Bay. The right sheet hides the second double doors that goes out to the other balcony over looking the swimming pool.

  This is the kitchen.

This is the view looking at the front door and hall closets.

Here is the Hall Bathroom.

This is the Master Bathroom off the Master Bedroom.

This is the Master Bedroom. It also has a set of doors that opens up over looking the swimming pool.

 This is the Second Bedroom.

How did all this come about?

You are looking at these pictures and wonder how I can live in a neighborhood with upper managers of corporations? Two streets over are people of second generation wealth. No, many do not live here all the time. Many live where they feel like living with two, three, or four homes. Many of these people started with families that had power or some wealth. They just added to that power or wealth. This is what I have been telling you in my blogs. You can start the family trend and it can continue on with your next generation.

I started planning my wealth at age 8. I did not care to keep all the money that I made but lived so that I did not have to want anything. But since I was not coming from a family or environment that teaches such behavior, I had to seek out such an education on my own. At 8, my father took me down to People’s Bank in Homestead, Pa. and opened a trust savings account for me. This was a good way for me to learn how the banking system worked. The steel mills are gone, the town is not the same as before, but my elementary banking education is still with me. I set up an outline for my life plan;

• Get Baptized
• Get my driver’s license
• Learn a trade or profession
• Get married
• Buy a house
• Have Children
• Retire
• Die

Basically, this is what I have planned at age 8. I filled in the blanks as time went on. I made my life plan and worked my life plan.

As I learned about banking, I also read the financial pages of the local newspaper and taught myself how to read the Stock and Bond Pages. I started my own lawn business and employed two people. I was pretty much independent by the time I was 18 years old. By that time I had a technical trade in the computer industry. I was making good money. All I had to do was learn what the industry was looking for in an employee. After the problem of getting a high salary job was accomplished, I got married and continued working toward my BS Degree. While working and going to college, I bought my first house at age 21.  At the same time, I learned about the junk bond market.

I found out that what the media was telling people and how money was being made was two different stories. Reaching out to other people in other societies also proved to be fruitful as far as investing. I did not go to college just to say that I have a degree. I went to college to learn how to make money and stop money from leaving my pockets.  In college, I took such electives as ” Intro to Marketing, Business Law 1 and 2”, Commodities and Securities, Introduction to Finance, Economic History, “Real-estate 1 and , 2” and  “Economics 1 and 2.”  I started investing money at age 21 and by the time Commodities and Securities class came around, I strated teaching it. The professor gave my name to a brokerage firm telling them that I should be one of their brokers. They called me in to hand me a job but I turned it down. I am successful because I know what to buy. A brokerage firm tells a broker what to sell to the public. In that arrangement, I would not be able to sleep at night.   

I learned that you have to live your own life. You can’t buy the latest thing that comes out and increase your standard of living. If you do, all your wealth will go toward someone else.  You are just working as one of the cogs in the world economic engine if you follow society. In the end, you will have nothing. The upper class controls society through the media. They tell you what you should spend your money on.  Your friends may talk about you and call you all kinds of names because that is how society trains them to act toward someone who is not spending all their money and living off of credit cards. Making people act in alliance with the rich people's interest is how the rich become richer and the poor become poorer.  That is why people follow the "Jones." Who says that the "Jones" are financially behaving correctly?

To reach your objectives, you can’t follow them, you have to follow your plan.

Daughter Stephanie Tulloch MBA

The economy started to change at the turn of the century. I had to live on my savings while putting my children through college. One child finished and graduated with no debt. She went on to get her MBA and became very successful. I got a job with the state making a modest salary. By 2008 the US economy went completely into the toilet. The country was in danger of an economic collapse. This is when my college and self-education came into the forefront.  The economic situation looked very much like the great depression of the 1930s. In that depression, the bond market greatly increased in value, a long bull market in bonds. This is when I borrow money and put my own money into the Junk Bond Market and started making over 50% the first year on my money. Knowing how money compounds, it only took 4 years to accumulate real money.

In the Great Depression, real estate prices collapsed. That is what I expected this time around. I was not disappointed. You see the results. I bought a nice piece of property at a greatly reduced price in a great neighborhood.

What About Credit?

I have met many people who thought it was a badge of honor, telling me that "I know my credit is bad." So what they are telling me is that their word is no good. Many of these people claim to be followers of Jesus. Yea right!

If your credit is no good then how can you conduct business? If you can't be trusted then you can't raise money and banks will not trust you. Why would anyone lend a person any money that can't keep their word? A bad credit score can be a sign that a person can't keep their word. Factors that can damage your credit report include late payments or unfavorable credit card use. An absence of credit references does not mean you have bad credit. It means that you have to build your credit so that you can have good or excellent credit.

When studying banks, I learned how banks conduct business lending money. I learned what they looked for in a customer. I learned about credit ratings and credit reporting. I put myself in a position where I am able to keep the highest credit rating possible. I worked all my life to keep and maintain an excellent credit rating. You never know when it will come in handy.   I also made sure that I learned who the loan officers are in my bank. I made sure they knew me.

If you took my course on investing or if you read my blogs on Standard and Poor's credit ratings then you know that this is how investors rate the risk of investing in corporations. I told you that "AAA" through "A" are the safest bonds when it comes to business risk of these companies. When banks invest in consumers they use the consumer's credit score to figure out how risky it would be to invest in that person. The consumer with the best credit scores earn the lowest interest rates or cost of borrowing money.  The consumer with a fair credit rating pay "loan shark" rates. Here is why a person with an excellent rating pays less over all for buying the same product than the person with the fair credit rating over all.

Most scores range from 349 to 900, with the majority of people in the 600 to 800 range. To get the most favorable interest rates, you'll need a score of 720 or higher. In terms of interest rates, on average, a person with a credit score of 520 will get interest rates on loans that are three to four percentage points higher than rates given to a person with a score of 720.

At the beginning of 2013, my credit score was 786 meaning that my credit is excellent.  

The following consumer reporting agency provided a credit score or credit file that my bank used in connection with my home loan:

Global HR Research

2407 Park Drive

Harrisburg, Pa. 17110

(800) 790-1205

Credit Score: 812

Range of Possible Scores: 300 to 850

The following key factors adversely affected my credit score:

1.             004 Lack of recent installment loan information
2.             014 Length of time accounts have been established

This Credit Score was created on 07-02-2013.  

I have a credit score from Global HR Research of 812 out of 850 and I am still impacted by two negative “dings” on my report. If I open more installment loans and keep them open for a longer period of time, my score would go up. 

But is it worth it? Once you are above 750 you are lumped into a group that goes from 750 to 850.

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a level analysis of a person's credit files, to represent the creditworthiness of that person. A credit score is primarily based on credit report information typically sourced from credit bureaus.

 Use this link to see what your credit rating is today! https://www.creditkarma.com/

Lenders, such as banks and credit card companies, use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt. Lenders use credit scores to determine who qualifies for a loan, at what interest rate, and what credit limits. Lenders also use credit scores to determine which customers are likely to bring in the most revenue. The use of credit or identity scoring prior to authorizing access or granting credit is an implementation of a trusted system.

The General Consumer Credit Rating System 

Great or Excellent Credit (750-900)

You're most likely in the top 5%! The very best credit rates usually go to those who are above 750. This means you're probably a low risk borrower.

Good Credit (650-749)

A score in this range will most likely qualify you for the best rate your lender has to offer. This range typically represents a consumer with no late mortgage payments and no more than one 30-day late payment on consumer credit.

Fair Credit (620-649)

For many lenders, 620 is considered the dividing line between good and bad credit. Generally speaking, a credit score above 640 is considered pretty good.

Poor Credit (349-619)

Nearly 20% of the U.S. population has a credit score under 620. Fall below that and you are likely to be labeled a high risk for a loan or line of credit.

You can find more information in my blogs on credit.

I needed my credit!

When buying this property, the dates were not lining up correctly. I needed a $35,000 loan for about 30 days. I turned to my local Harrisburg bank for help. The loan officer said that properties in Havre de Grace, MD. was out of the banks business area. However he made an exception in my case because he knows me and knew the excellent shape of my financial condition as well as my credit report. He said, "Darnell, I am going to help you out!"        

Conclusion

I am telling you all this because you can do the same thing. If you have been reading my blogs for the past 4 years then you already have the information to economically improve your life. But it is up to you to do it. No one is going to hold your hand and give it to you.