Two Money Moves You Should Be Making Now.

Many years ago, I took a finance course as a part of my college curriculum.  I was already working in my career field by day while taking classes at night. I'll never forget the guy who taught the course.  He was an investment banker who taught college courses in his off time.  A portion of the class was dedicated to reviewing required coursework. The rest of the time, he would show us how to find high-performing stocks and mutual funds using resources online.

This guy was a bit of a genius.  He often boasted about being the youngest person to pass the Series 7 course in our state.  Because of him, they developed a law that no one under the age of 18 could take the test.  At at the age of 17, he couldn't legally sign binding agreements with his clients although he was technically licensed.  He loved his job and gladly gave out free investing advice to the entire class.

On the last day of the course, one of the students raised his hand and asked for permission to speak. He then stood up and thanked our professor for the advice he graciously provided about how to pick out high performing investment opportunities. This student immediately applied the technique taught to us.   His picks performed so well that it provided him the income to purchase a boat.  I sat in my seat in complete shock.  We were all given the same knowledge. But he was the only one to apply the stock picking advice.  And he was rewarded handsomely for his efforts.

From then on, I made a vow to apply any financial tips and strategies that came my way.  Today, I'm here to share a small tip that 100% of you can and should apply ASAP to start earning more money right away.
This is a strategy that I started implementing over a decade ago.  Before I started investing, I developed a habit of saving.  I was very adamant about saving several months of salary in the event that I found myself without a steady paycheck.  Then, one day, I saw an infomercial encouraging people to pull equity out of their homes and place it into an investment account this company was offering.

I had no equity at the time, but I did have a nice cushion of savings.  I was pretty convinced the company on the infomercial was a scam so I looked for an alternate way to make money work for me.  After searching around, I found a few FDIC insured online banks that paid out high returns on savings accounts.  Much more than any traditional banks.  Months later, I was pretty pleased to see the interest deposits coming in.  Instead of earning pennies, they were depositing dollars.

It wasn't a ton of money, but those deposits encouraged me to save even more.

Currently, the economy is strong and interest rates are creeping up again.  That means that it's more expensive for us to borrow money.  But, if we become the lender, we have the upper hand.  This year I learned that American Express offers a savings account with rates higher than any of my current banks. Soon after discovering this piece of information, I moved some of my money over.  On February 8, I made a deposit and on February 20, I received my first interest payment of $51.30.   

Over fifty dollars for doing pretty much nothing.

 And now, I'll earn interest on $50.00 that was essentially given to me for free.  Soon the compound effect will come into play and the money will continue to multiply, especially if interest rates continue to rise.   Everyone reading these words should immediately consider opening up a high-interest savings account. They cost absolutely nothing. And they give you free money!

This is one of the easiest ways to generate passive income that I know.  Most other "passive income" opportunities require some form of work. This is a no-brainer.

The other tip I have for you is to apply advice that you receive from people you trust.  Particularly people who are already wealthy.  A few years ago, I used to watch an internet show from a couple of young tech millionaire entrepreneurs.  During the unscripted show, they would sometimes discuss shares of stock they purchased.  I listened without taking action. Many of those stocks are so expensive now. If I would have invested back then, my current net worth would be so much greater.

After learning my lesson, I decided to invest a small chunk of money into a stock that a mentor of mine recently purchased. I never heard of the company before but I really trusted his advice. Actually, he wasn't giving advice, he just casually mentioned that he acquired this specific stock and I followed in his footsteps. Several months later, the shares have already generated $500 in revenue. That's not enough to retire on but, hey, it's free money.

As the economy grows stronger we have to become financially savvy.  Opportunities abound. We must identify and take advantage of them.  If you're thinking about launching a business,  consider launching it sooner rather than later.  Your potential customers have disposable income now. Once the economy shifts, it might be a different story. Set a goal for how much savings you'll have and what your net worth will be by the year 2020.  When you're exposed to sound financial advice, make a move. Don't let these opportunities slip by. Be like that guy who took immediate action and was rewarded with a nifty boat.  Who knows how much money this guy has by now.

There's no time to waste. You gotta make moves now.