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You've moved out of your parent's house and you're finally on your way to financial freedom. There's one thing you don't have yet to complete your life goals. A relationship. Relationships are funny in way because every person you meet may like you, hate you, or have no idea what they think of you. That's the beauty of dating. But after a while you soon realize that you can't save money like your pals and you're soon deeply in debt.

What a lot of people don't realize is a relationship is an option in life. People may look at you differently if you don't date but soon after awhile, you may notice a nice return on your money and little less stress on your life. I'm not saying to drop relationships completely but I'm trying to recommend that relationships are a temporary debt relief strategy.

Let's take a scenario here and chart out the numbers. Say, you meet a partner and you decide to eat out three times within the week. You're going to be the nice fellow and pay for all three. The dinners will average forty bucks a dish totaling out to be one hundred and twenty dollars. The next week, you get a phone call and that relationship is now over. If this pattern keeps going, that's $6,240/year. After that full year, you're still single, $6,240 poorer while the other man working on his career track and investments is now $6,240 richer.

Now, you're probably getting the idea that I'm sexist. I'm not. When people get into debt, they try to see where the money is going. Credit cards, clothes they don't need, and food. They don't open their eyes and realize it's on the worthless dates they go on week after week.

After all this, I'm sure you're still thinking "Hey, I'm still going to date, money is not as important as love and I don't want to be lonely my whole life." That's great, you have to have an optimistic view on your future and plan accordingly. While you still try to find that partner, you are going to have to write all your expenses down on paper and include "relationships" as one of them. This is of course, if you're single and dating. If you're married, you shouldn't be reading this article anyways. Once you figure out your "relationship" budget, you will then be able to determine how much you can spend on movies, dinners, vacations, etc. This way, when the month ends and you look at your bank statement, you will be able to determine where the money has gone.

Of course, there are many other ways to save you money. Cutting back on your groceries, getting rid of the things you don't need like satellite radio, cable television with the three hundred channels, or just eating at home. [...] Read more!

We are considering the type of real estate investment that improves with time, so we must quickly and permanently reject any crepehangers who say it's too late now. I've heard it literally hundreds of times, usually followed by "you bought at the right time. There's no such good buys now." While I was learning what not to buy, I learned something that was most significant at the same time. I learned not to be afraid. It was a most important change in my thinking.

When the real estate investment field held many mysteries that I did not understand, I had the usual fear of the unknown, of the things that might hurt me. But with knowledge and experience comes confidence and fear fades. You, too, will soon experience the same thing. You will examine, evaluate, and decide yes or no. After a little experience, you will not be afraid.

Let us choose a typical case among those whose fortunes I've guided. We will study one which has most of the action taking place in 1959, to confound those whose plaint is about this not being the right time.

About two years ago, Ed R. came to one of my classes in Real Estate Investment. He had a driving force behind him. He wanted to leave a killing job he held as an executive in a large firm. He was not negative. Just as most others have done, he asked me the standard question: "Bob, are you sure it's not too late? So many of my relatives and friends insist that the time for buying properties at good prices and with good returns is all over." I told him my standard answer and he decided to go ahead.

True, Ed R. had some money saved, and he was able to accelerate the process much more than one who starts with one to two thousand dollars. But his case still proves that it is never too late. As he acquired each three-decker or six-family property he put it in order and started the flow of income. Ed did not drain income for living expenses. It was not long before the accumulated income showed a balance of $1,500 or so and he bought another. Today, as I write this, about two years after he started, Ed has some 82 tenants. The income grosses some $6,000 per month, and every tenant heats his own quarters. There are no janitors. I am not at liberty to disclose (he is my legal client) the exact net to Ed, but it is obvious what is being paid off on mortgages. Paid off, by whom? By the tenants! Sure, that's what we started out by saying - this is a wonderful business!

The net cash in hand leaves him in a position to take advantage of any new buys that come along - out of his profits. That's what may be termed the pleasantest kind of pyramiding. Because, let me emphasize this, Ed has almost never bought a building in which he was required to invest much more than $1,500.

In almost every case, the bank loaned some 80 per cent of the purchase price, the seller took back a second mortgage for perhaps 10 per cent and Ed put the remaining 10 per cent down in cash. In a few more years the second mortgages will be paid off and the amount cleared each month will rise substantially.

There is truth in my statement that there is still plenty of room. Do not hold back. [...] Read more!

The most used words of the stock market jargon are 'Bulls & Bears'. These words represent the market trends of a particular stock or stock exchange. In the stock markets, buyers are represented as bulls and sellers as bears. It becomes obvious that a bullish market correspond to a booming economy and a bearish market testifies for a bad economy looming with recession.

Market trends are described as periods when bulls (buyers) consistently outnumber bears (sellers), or vice versa. A bull or bear market describes the trend and sentiment driving it, but can also refer to specific securities and sectors ("bullish on IBM", "bullish on technology stocks," or "bearish on gold", etc.).

Bull market

A bull market tends to be associated with increasing investor confidence, motivating investors to buy in anticipation of further capital gains. The longest and most famous bull market was in the 1990s when the U.S. and many other global financial markets grew at their fastest pace ever.

In describing financial market behavior, the largest group of market participants is often referred to, metaphorically, as a herd. This is especially relevant to participants in bull markets since bulls are herding animals. A bull market is also described as a bull run.

Bear market

A bear market is described as being accompanied by widespread pessimism. Investors anticipating further losses are motivated to sell, with negative sentiment feeding on itself in a vicious circle. The most famous bear market in history was 1930 to 1932, marking the start of the Great Depression.

Prices fluctuate constantly on the open market; a bear market is not a simple decline, but a substantial drop in the prices of a range of issues over a defined period of time. By one common definition, a bear market is marked by a price decline of 20% or more in a key stock market index from a recent peak over a 12-month period.
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