Talk your way into confidence

Self-confidence is crucial to achieving your goals, but many people struggle with it.
Sometimes you’re your own worst enemy, running yourself down in your thoughts. NPR
offers these insights into being nicer to yourself so you can succeed on the job and in
your life:

• Talk to yourself like a friend. You wouldn’t call your best friend stupid, would you?
Don’t do it to yourself.
Learn to be kind to yourself. Be constructive when you make a mistake—not “I am such
an idiot!” but “How could I have handled that better?”

• Keep a log of your thoughts. Pay attention to how often you criticize yourself
throughout the day. You may find that you’re pretty harsh, which can help you realize
that you can be more gentle with your thoughts.

Also, when you have a negative thought, question it. You may have made one mistake,
but that doesn’t mean you always screw up. Think of times when you succeed instead of
wallowing in failure.

• Find authentic affirmations. Let’s face, lots of “positive thinking” affirmations can
sound cheap and cheesy.
Train yourself to respond to negative thoughts with something you can believe in— “I
learn from my mistakes,” or “I don’t have to worry about things I can’t control.”

• Redirect your thoughts. Try not to think about yourself so much. Find an activity that
demands your full concentration. Volunteer for a cause you believe in. Getting out of
your head can help more positive thoughts seep in.

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Appreciate that Appreciation!

All markets fluctuate based on external factors such as supply and demand. Your gold is worth one sum now, but in a few months might be worth much less or much more. It’s a little tricky to anticipate and keep track of where that value is going. 

The real estate market comes in cycles, too. A key factor in real estate as an investment, however, is that real estate tends towards gaining value, or appreciating, over time. The supply of property doesn’t really change too much, but the demand keeps growing because people always need a roof over their heads. 

The thing about this kind of market is that it ebbs and flows like tides. Sometimes, the appreciation that takes place is strong and fast, and other times, it’s gentler and slower. You have to have the ability to be patient. 

An option that’s going to be a good, safe idea in the long run would involve buying property and waiting to resell or refinance it. The value will come, it just takes time. You might be able to sell your property at 200% of the price you bought it for, but that kind of thing is typically going to take some years to get in motion. 

That’s alright! As long as you have that property, you can be making money through the numerous other profit centers of real estate, like cash flow. The trick with appreciation is that you need to be patient, and good things will come to you.

Another awesome factor in this is that, when you buy a property, you generally finance it through a bank, which can cover 75-90% of the cost of the real estate. So, when you buy a property worth 400,000, you might only put down 100,000 for the down payment (and closing costs, etc.) with the bank covering the rest. Let’s say that that property then appreciates by 10%. It gains 40,000 in value- that’s a 10% return on the total previous value of the property.

But it’s a 40% return on the 100,000 you put in. Nifty, yeah? Leverage and appreciation work together in wonderful ways.

But you’ll need to get started if you want to see the full effects. Since these things have such a timeframe, starting as soon as possible is key to watching your net worth grow and grow. 

Real estate is a fantastic investment for the short and the long term. You can make money every step of the way. You just need to get started!

KENDAL

A LAUGH OR TWO FOR GOOD MEASURE

HELPFUL LIFE HACK #2

WHY INVEST IN REAL ESTATE?

Tax Advantages

Investing in real estate comes with tax benefits. You can deduct several expenses associated with owning an investment property, including your property taxes, mortgage interest, property management fees, property insurance, the costs of ongoing maintenance, the cost of repairs and the money you pay to market your property to potential renters. If you sell your property for more than you paid for it, the gain you realized won’t be taxed as income. Instead, it will be taxed as capital gains, which typically come with lower tax rates than does income. If you invest in opportunity zones – neighborhoods that are in need of investment – you’ll pay even less in capital gains.