3 Smart Ways to Overcome Your Anxieties about Investing

Anxieties about Investing

Most of us have the most basic understanding of finances. We work hard to earn our money. We use that money to pay our bills, buy a house, pay for our kids’ education, and whatever is left over we put in the bank to save for the “future,” whatever that means. But we all know there is another world out there. A world with people in nice suits and fancy cars. People who seem to know how to get their money to work for them. The people of Wall St. We don’t want to be like them. Most of us just want to lead simple lives but, man, wouldn’t it be great to be a little like them? But there’s no way. There’s just too much to learn and it requires skills we just don’t have, right?

No. That kind of “I don’t belong” fear is what prevents most people from investing. Here’s what you can do to get over it.

Start learning
You want to get over your fear of investing? Learn how to invest. It’s not as hard as you think. You don’t need an Ivy League education to become a wise investor. You can teach yourself by buying a few books. Just Google, “top rated investment books for beginners,” and you will see many options to choose from with detailed reviews. There are also websites dedicated to the subject such as The Balance, Bloomberg, and Yahoo Finance. Teaching yourself how to invest is easier than you think.

Realize you are just as wise as everyone else
Remember those Wall St. people with their fancy stuff? A lot of them go on TV to talk about “dividend plays,” and “price to earnings multiples,” and whatever highfalutin terms that don’t make sense to us. They obviously know something we don’t know, right? No. Believe it or not, most investors under-perform the market. That means if all you do is put money in an index fund and do nothing else for the next 20 years you will have outperformed most investors. Seriously. Why? Most investors are really bad at timing. They buy when they should sell and sell when they should buy. Does that mean you should just put your money in an index fund and forget it? No, there are a few really good investors who consistently outperform the market. Learn from them. Buy their books.

Go with what you know
You might not know which pharmaceutical company might be developing the next great cancer drug, but maybe you love watching movies on Netflix, or eating at Chipotle. Behind each great company you love there is a stock that you can invest in. Do some homework on them and invest if their future looks bright. You’ll feel more comfortable investing in companies you understand than ones you don’t. 

Remember, investing isn’t a members-only club. You belong. Go out there and buy wisely.

5 Ways To Get Your Kids Excited About Investing

5 Ways To Get Your Kids Excited About Investing
5 Ways To Get Your Kids Excited About Investing

Every father and mother wants the best for their kids, and this often includes financial security. Financially savvy parents often provide sufficient financial education for their kids throughout their time in the house. This may begin with a basic savings account and learning about the benefits of saving regularly, and it can grow into stock investing. Financial planning and personal finance are topics that many adults prefer to avoid altogether, and this can be a source of stress. However, when you talk to your kids about long term investments and financial security earlier in life, they can actually get excited about the money. By understanding these steps, you may be able to get your kids excited about their economic investments.

Encourage Them to Save Money For Their Own Investments


Saving money can generally be rather boring for kids, and it may even seem like a punishment to some. For example, if a child received money for allowance or as a birthday gift and you require the child to put half of that money into a savings account, he or she may feel punished because the money cannot be spent on their terms. However, when kids are permitted to save money for their own investment purchases, they may see a reason for their savings. 

Let Them Research and Pick Their Own Stocks


Everyone likes to be in control of their money, and this includes kids. There are many ways to pick stocks, and you may want to save an earnings per share analysis or another similar form of analysis until kids are well into their teen years. Younger kids may be able to pick their stocks by choosing brands they are familiar with, reviewing stock charts on a basic level and looking at buy, sell or hold recommendations from experts. Of course, you should have the final say in their stock picks. You also should show them how dividends work and the benefits of choosing dividend stocks.

Make Investing a Regular Activity They Can Look Forward To


The best way to watch your child’s account grow is to make regular contributions. Consider setting up a regular time when you and your child sit down to make stock picks and to review account growth. By making investing a regular activity that you do together, you may find that he or she begins to enjoy this quality time with you.

Show Them How to Monitor Account Growth


Everyone loves to see their money grow, and this holds true for kids as well. Show your kids how to read their account information online. Clearly, show them the number of donations they have made, their total balance and the current growth. Monitoring account growth is an excellent way to encourage kids to take a greater interest in their finances.

Use an Online Investment Growth Calculator to Project Their Future Wealth


Even children understand the importance and value of money on some level, and this knowledge expands as they get older. When you think your child has a solid grasp on how much things cost and how much money they may need when they get older, show them investment growth calculators online. These are excellent tools that can be used to determine your future account value if you continue to enjoy the same rate of growth and make the same regular contributions to your account. Many kids who start investing at an early age and who continue the activity into their young adult years can retire with financial security at a very young age. 

Finances and investments are common challenges for adults, and the unfortunate reality is that many adults were never formally educated by their parents about these matters. By teaching your child about finances and by getting him or her excited about money, you are taking great strides to promote your child’s financial security. 

Has the World Wide WebModified the Film Trade?

Has the INTERNET CHANGED the MOVIE BUSINESS?

There is no denying it: the Internet has changed our world.  Nearly every aspect of our society has been affected by it and has had to adapt.  If telephones and airplanes made the world smaller, the Internet shrank it many times more. The ability to communicate instantly with anyone in the world—with words, pictures, music, and video—has forced us to change how we do business, how we interact with the world around us.  The Internet has changed the movie business drastically as well, not only by affecting how movies are marketed and watched but also by changing the pathways and entrances to the movie industry itself.

It used to be that if you wanted a career in film, there was a narrow path to take to get there—one that involved a lot of face-to-face networking and “dues” paying.  Most people couldn’t make independent films, much less get them seen, unless they went to school to get access to the equipment, or grew up on the set.  Most people didn’t make the right connections unless they moved to Hollywood and were lucky enough to land a job on a movie set doing whatever.

Today, there still is a lot of networking and dues-paying to get into the movie business, but the Internet has radically changed what that looks like; and the biggest change has been in accessibility.  Combined with the advent of cheap digital technology, the Internet now makes it much easier for almost anyone to do a video project and get it seen.  Web sites like YouTube and Vimeo have made it so anyone with a camera can post a video, and computers now have editing capabilities to help anyone “tweak” their projects and make them look better.  As a result, millions of aspiring filmmakers, who otherwise would not have the resources to get seen, can now “go public” on their own. 

The Internet simplifies the process of entering films into contests and makes it possible to network with many more people. Most of all, it allows filmmakers to get their work “out there”, getting attention on the web before a movie mogul ever sees it.  There are also (obviously) a lot of mediocre projects posted by amateurs for fun, but for the serious-minded, the Internet has become a virtual “calling card”.  Not only does it help unknown filmmakers gain more access to the public and to industry professionals; it also makes a possible career in film more accessible to more filmmakers.

As with anything else, the movie business has had to adapt to the changes the Internet has brought and is still adapting; neither is the Internet a guaranteed ticket to Hollywood. You still have to be good to stand out, especially with all the competition on the web.  But the Internet does provide much more access than before, and forward-thinking individuals may even find more innovative ways to use the web for filmmaking in the future.

5 tips to send stress on vacation and recharge

These 5 Destressing Practices Will Restore Your Energy Levels

Between family obligations and career responsibilities, stress mounts up quickly and can leave you feeling drained and unmotivated. If you’re like most people, you don’t take the time you need to distress, believing you’re too busy to worry about stress. In fact, if you make the time to follow these five tips, you’ll find that your energy levels are restored, you feel better about life in general, and you’re more productive on a daily basis. 

Take One Vacation Per Year

Taking a vacation isn’t just about doing something fun. There are very serious health-related reasons for taking one week a year to yourself. First of all, it takes you away from those daily stressors and helps you recharge your spirit. Just getting away from the everyday frustrations in your life is enough to relieve tension, but it will also help you live longer. Studies have found that people who don’t take yearly vacations have a significantly higher mortality rate at younger ages.

Schedule Meditation into Your Day

The best thing about meditation is that it only takes a few minutes and you can do it almost anyplace. There’s no reason you can’t meditate at least once a day. You can do it in your office, your car, a secluded area of the park, or in your own home. As long as you can arrange to be left undisturbed for five to 10 minutes, any location will suffice. In addition to eliminating stress, regular meditation improves memory and boosts cognitive functioning. If you’re unsure how to get started, you can find many tutorials online.

Exercise Each Day

This may be the most important suggestion on this list. Doctors wore that failing to get a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate to high-intensity exercise daily will have negative effects on your health. Ultimately, it will decrease your lifespan. Alternatively, working physical activity into your daily routine will have the opposite effect. In addition to reducing stress, it will have positive effects on mood, concentration, heart health, digestion, and respiration. In fact, there isn’t a system in the body that isn’t helped by some exercise.

Socialize with Family and Friends

Socialization is important to emotional health, so making more time for your loved ones will help you. When you spend time with family and friends, it gives you an opportunity to vent your frustrations and share your insights about your day. This is enough to relieve stress in itself. Additionally, laughing, having fun, and simply communicating with people you like will reduce stress and strengthen your emotional health. Your loved ones will appreciate it, too. This is an opportunity to attend your child’s game, or take your spouse out for dinner.

Eat a Healthier Diet

Most of us don’t realize that the foods we eat have direct effects on how we feel. One obvious example is excessive sugar intake, which gives us a quick high that only lasts for a brief period. Conversely, whole grains and a plant-based diet provides us with energy that the body regulates over a longer period of time. The vitamins, nutrients, and proteins in healthier foods also chase away feelings of anxiety and depression, while promoting better mood balance. A plant-based diet has also been found to strengthen cognitive functioning over a longer period of time, reducing the risks of developing age-related mental illnesses.
Emotional health is as vital to your wellbeing as your physical health. It may mean making some sacrifices, but taking the time to follow these suggestions will have a positive effect on your life. You’ll feel happier, be healthier, and live a longer life.