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Can You Invest Your 401(K) Plan Directly Into Real Estate?

Your 401(k) plan (or 403(b) or 457 Plan for that matter) is likely managed by one of the following companies: Ameriprise Financial, Credit Suisse Securities, Deutsche Bank, Edward Jones, Graystone Consulting, J.P. Morgan, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Oppenheimer & Co., Raymond James, RBC Wealth Management, UBS Financial Services, or Wells Fargo Advisors. These companies and their financial advisers control most of the retirement wealth in the United States.

Now, ask your financial adviser if you can invest directly in real estate with your current plan. They will probably tell you that you cannot invest directly in real estate, but they have a number of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) you can choose from. Even though a REIT has real estate in its name, it is not an investment in property. REIT is an investment in a fund that obtains its cash flow from investment properties. It is different from a direct investment in real estate.

REITs do not typically let you leverage your investment, which is one of the most powerful forces for creating long-term wealth. Even with an investment in a REIT, your retirement portfolio is likely 70 percent or more invested in various mutual funds, all of which experience stock market volatility. That’s neither diversification nor smart asset allocation investing. The Internal Revenue Service will let you invest directly in real estate, but your plan administrator will not. Why? Because they’re not set up to handle the administration nor do they earn a commission by recommending direct investment in real estate.

Let me give you an example: Say you have only one asset, $200,000 cash and no liabilities. You decide to invest $100,000 in mutual funds and $100,000 in direct real estate investments, both of which are appreciating at 6 percent per year. The only difference is that you can borrow additional money from a bank to buy more properties. You obtain a 20-year amortizing loan at 5 percent. To be conservative, you borrow only $300,000, so you have a 75 percent loan-to-value ratio. After 20 years, your mutual fund investment has increased to $320,714, while your real estate investment has increased to $1,282,854, an increase of $962,140 over the mutual fund investment. That’s a 300 percent increase in value with the same $100,000.

What about the payment of the debt over the 20-year holding period? The mortgage has been paid off by your tenant who operates his business on your property. You get the tax benefits of depreciation and interest write offs, if you’ve invested personally. If you’ve invested your money through a Self-Directed 401(k), that money is growing tax-deferred or tax-free, depending on whether you have a Traditional or Roth account.

You think this is unrealistic? The only unrealistic expectation is to think that your mutual fund accounts have appreciated at 6 percent. According to Dalbar, Inc., the average mutual fund investment has gone up on average of 3.27 percent over a 20-year period. The National Association of Realtors, on the other hand, reported that real estate has appreciated in value an average of 6 percent over the past 30 years, even with the downturn in the economy that occurred in 2008.

If most financial advisors preclude you from investing directly in real estate, how do you invest in real property with your 401(k) account? The answer is, you don’t with your company 401(k) account. The only money you should be investing in your company 401(k) account is enough to get the full matching funds. For instance, if you are making $100,000 a year and your company offers a 4 percent match, you invest $4,000 in your company 401(k) to get the 4 percent match. They do a 100 percent match up to 4 percent of your income. Then you create a Solo or Individual 401(k) account with an administrator/custodian that handles Self-Directed Accounts and invest the rest of your retirement funds in that account up to the $51,000 contribution limit if you’re under 50 or $56,500 if you are 50 or older.

So, if you contributed $4,000 to your company 401(k), and your employer matched it with another $4,000, you can contribute $43,000 to your new Self-Directed Solo 401(k) account. If you’re 50 or older, it would be $48,500. That amount can be invested each year for you and your spouse, if you have it set up properly. There are no income limits.

Eligibility for a Solo 401(k) account requires two things: (1) the presence of a self-employment activity; and (2) the absence of full-time employees. So you set up a consulting business either as an S-Corporation or limited liability company (LLC) and pay yourself a salary, 100 percent of which can be contributed to your retirement fund. Then you invest in commercial, income-producing real estate investments. It’s that simple.

A Simple Product Creation and Product Launching Formula

If you tried to think of people involved in product creation, who would come to mind? You may think of Edison, Franklin, or maybe Henry Ford. Would you ever think of yourself as someone who can create a quality product? Product creation is actually relatively easy and product launching is not that tough either! If you follow a few easy to understand steps, you could be starting the product creation and product launching process sooner than you think.

The first step in creating your information product is to know and understand your market. This can be very time-consuming, especially if you are unsure of what to do or where to look to know your market. Studying your niche market and understanding the buzz words and buying patterns can ease the process dramatically. Personally, I would recommend networking with someone who has had success in the niche market you are considering and learn from their results. If they are into product creation and not very business savvy expect some hesitation. If they only sell products and have nothing to do with product launching or product creation you may your first affiliate (sales person)! Something else you can use to find hot trends is with the Google Trends tool.

The second step is the product creation process. Take your niche market and brainstorm ideas and topics relating to it. There are a lot of product launching contests going on recently relating to a newly created internet marketing tool. There are so many aspects to the mentioned niche that literally, and unfortunately, anything can be considered an Internet Marketing tool. The reason that anyone can basically create an Internet Marketing tool is because of something called Private Label Rights products.

What I use private label rights products for, and highly recommend them in this specific manner, is to cure writer’s block especially when it is lingering. Many people base their entire product creation and product launching on a private label rights product. This is where you can start to shine and build a strong brand for yourself. If you set goals for yourself, short-term goals to be exact, you can see your product creation come into being much faster and there is a good chance with less revision needed. If you keep hitting time restraint road blocks; however there is nothing wrong with a slow and steady approach, you can consider outsourcing portions of your project. Outsourcing can be an extremely huge benefit or just as great of a disaster.

You can find someone to outsource work to at a freelance site such as Guru.com or eLance.com. When reviewing proposals it is almost mandatory you perform a background check on them as you are in essence hiring them. Doing a background check on freelancers is as easy as asking for samples of their work and reviewing feedback on the freelance site from previous customers. Depending on the size and requirements of your project this can add up to a decent sized investment, so caution is very important. One tip I always recommend to people looking to hire an individual is to ask them what they can provide you that no one else can. This simple question gives them a chance to “toot their own horn” and acknowledge where they feel most competent as far as their skill set.

The final portion of the product creation and product launching formula is the launch. This can literally make or break the effort, time, and maybe (if you invested) money you put in to your project. There are numerous aspects to product launching and although their relevance is debated in terms to their effect, experts agree all must be followed. The person in your field who you asked for product advice from can help you substantially if you have kept in touch. If not, the first thing you need to do is to create a visually appealing website with flawless design work.

I also mentioned outsourcing before, this is one aspect of product launching I have little strength in and I always outsource this portion. The website does not have to be large however the content (ad copy in Internet Marketing) must be stellar and as perfect as possible. This is where advertising knowledge or experience is beneficial. When the site is set up you now put a lead capture form on your website.

I put two lead capture pages on all products I create on the internet and is one of the best methods of getting a solid start when you are in the product launching stage. When you gain information from a prospect or someone looking to get paid for referring sales you are able to provide them updates or specials. Many people abuse their prospect or affiliate lists by in turn emailing them with a new product daily and I find the recommendations to be totally unrelated to their original need, problem, or interest.

Another stage in the product launching stage is creating a free report or demo version of your product to entice the product to sign up to your email list. Using proper follow up with this can help generate numerous sales for you. One thing you need to ensure is that your free product completely relates to your main product that you are looking to sell.

You are now ready to advertise your product launching to customers as well as the opportunity to sell for affiliates. This is the single aspect that many product creations and launches fail on. It is actually not entirely difficult. One thing you can do is write articles (and a good amount of them) on topics relating to your product. I am a huge advocate of giving a solution in forums. When you join a forum you are normally offered the opportunity to create a signature. In your signature, you should enter the link to your opt-in or lead capture page. When you respond to posts, you are advertising your opportunity.

It is not impossible to create a product and it does not have to take a long time. You need to setup a plan and stick to it. If you get stuck, look at similar and successful products to your own and try and see how they did it. When you sit down and brainstorm you will be surprised with what you can imagine.

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Home Based Business For Women And Its Benefits

While the economy has started to even out, the need to earn a living outside the context of regular employment is still apparent. For women who want to earn cash, there are a number of possibilities to entertain, one of which is to venture into home based business.Benefits of Home Based Business for WomenMore Time with the FamilyStay-at-home mothers these days have the option of working while taking care of their children. Working from home certainly allows the flexibility in schedule that you cannot expect from a nine to five job. Home based jobs allow women to balance their time between managing the household and earning money, which can be used for improving the quality of life for the entire family.Being able to choose their own work hours is very important to many women, especially those who are not willing to sacrifice their home life in favor of a full-time job.Professional and Personal FulfilmentSuccess is no longer limited to the confines of the corporate structure since there are many other ventures that do not require an office. Women now have the chance to become professionally competitive without having to slave away trying to climb the corporate ladder. There are a number of home based businesses that do not only allow flexibility in work hours but also give a sense of accomplishment every day.Lucrative Earning PotentialWhile most people assume that home based jobs are for those who are looking to earn part-time, there are in fact a number of businesses that allow you to earn up to five or six figures a year. Many women have come to realize that they can actually earn more money working at home than having a full-time job.This reality is one of the things that attract women, especially stay home moms to explore the option of having a home based business.Wide Range of Jobs or Businesses to Choose FromAnother benefit of working at home is that you can decide what type of job or business venture you want to take up. Since there are about a thousand different things you can do online, the possibilities are virtually endless. Some women choose marketing or sales, while others are more inclined to provide services, i.e. writing, SEO, advertising, etc.Home Based Business for WomenThe internet is the best place to scout for home based earning opportunities, regardless of whether you want to go into sales or provide services. Online based businesses have become the norm these days, especially since they do not require any background in business or a large start-up capital.Internet marketing is one of the most popular ventures today, mainly because it holds the promise of abundant cash. While it takes work and dedication, internet based marketing has proven to be one of the best choices for women.In order to find the best earning opportunities on the internet, you must be willing to search for facts and ascertain the legitimacy of every business venture you come across.

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