Discover the Secret to Becoming a Successful Covered Call Option Writer

By Marc Abrams

Wow! I can't believe how interesting the stock market is these days. Many people, including me, have given up trying to predict the direction of the market. Happily, I'm now in the position to say "Who cares!"

My new attitude is not because I have surrendered to the stock market and accepted the uncertain fate of my future. I have made a monumental change in my investment strategy.

The world is full of people that fail to see the advantages to covered call writing. Here is my favorite piece of advice I often get from these so called stock market experts "covered call writing fails because the market takes away your winners and leaves you with the losers". I find this hilarious. If my stock gets called away and I am left with an 8% return on my money for the month I am thrilled that I locked in that gain. Who cares if the stock continues to rise in value, I just made 8% for the month!

In order to be successful using covered calls the average investor needs to remain focused on their goal. Forget about what might have been. It is easy to lose sight of why you entered into a trade to begin with and instead focus on the unforeseen benefits that you never received. Month after month of 2% to 10% gains will certainly make me more than the appreciation in value of a couple of stocks that ended up being called away. Keep focused on your goal which is to make money!

Since we have addressed the issue about the market taking the winners, we need to focus on the losers. Please be aware that stocks decline at a faster rate than they go up. People sometimes act on emotions such as fear rather than logic. It is critical that the covered call option writer protect himself in this situation. How does he do this? It can be done rather easily, but the answer is beyond the scope of this article.

What if you can use a strategy to protect yourself when the market goes down thereby locking in those same gains. Think about it, knowing what your gain will be even before you enter into a trade! I call that taking control of your investments. I am here to tell you that you can do that reliably and that I do that very thing month after month.

The key to being a successful covered call option seller is to remain focused on your goal and protect the downside. The secret is in finding a proven strategy that will keep you on track regardless of which direction the stock market is moving in. Now you need to make a decision. Do you want to be the kind of investor that continually searches for the next super stock? Or do you want to be the investor the builds wealth and becomes rich by using systematic, low risk strategies to beat the market month after month?

I've made my decision. - 23305

About the Author:

Visit Marc's website for more information on how to successfully write Covered Calls in a declining stock market

Repossessed Houses Can Be A Positive Investment

By Mark Knowles

There are a plethora of bank owned properties that are popping up for sale all over the world. However, many people want to know what they can do in order to turn these properties into a home of their own.

Bank owned properties become the possession of a bank when the person that is presently staying in the home cannot afford to make the necessary payments to the bank in order to keep the home. These properties have been called by several different names some people call them foreclosed houses.

The real estate industry is searching aimlessly for ways that they can get rid of these bank owned homes. However, with the way that the economy is many people are hesitant to even try to buy one of the properties for themselves.

However, the people that do decide to make an investment in these properties will inadvertently end up reaping the benefits after a short period of time.

In many accounts these dwellings are extremely cheap. Banks do not get any money from holding onto the houses so they are quick to give the houses to someone that they know will be able to meet the financial obligations of the property.

If you find some bank owned property that appeals to you, the first thing that you should do is make an offer on the property. You don't want to get into any bidding wars with the bank or things of that nature just make a guesstimate of what you believe the property should go for and leave it at that.

Most of the time the bank is quick to get the property off the sector so if you bid is reasonable nine times out of ten you will end up getting the property. While the bank runs your information through their database to check things such as your credit score and things of that nature, you can begin thinking about what you plan to do with the property.

Normally the bank takes several days to come to the conclusion if they are going to grant you with the property or not. As long as your bid on the property is fair you should have nothing to worry about as far as the approval process is concerned.

After you have been approved for the property you will then need to find an inspector to look over the home. The inspector will tell you everything that needs to be fixed in the home before it can be lived in by someone. A few things that the inspector will take a gander at are the electrical socket in the home, the water heater, the stove and things of that nature.

You need to take note of the things that your inspector specifies that is wrong with the home. You need to take into account how much it is going to cost you to fix the things in the home in order to make it a place that people can reside in.

Many people use bank owned properties for a plethora of different things. Some people may choose to live in the properties themselves, while most people fix up the dwellings and decide to rent or sell them to another family after they have made all the proper alterations. - 23305

About the Author:

One up and coming market segment for the property investor is bank owned properties and with thousands of bank foreclosures for sale, now is an excellent time for cash buyers.

Investing Tips For Stock Market Beginners

By Riz Goodman

If you are new to stock market then you should first take small steps and the first baby step is that you should learn all the stock market terminology. The other steps that you need to get done are the opening of an account with a stock broker as well as using a dummy account to get some good fail safe testing in the stock market.

There a few places from where you can actually get the real knowledge about the stock basics as well as the stock market terminology. If you are looking at online place then the best place to start are the stock exchanges site of NYSE, NASDAQ and FTSE. These have ample of terms and terminology apart from the fact that they have a nice introduction to the way the market works.

Another good option is to buy some journals and then read them end to end. An ideal way to learn with the books will be to join some virtual stock market gaming site where you can turn the theory you are reading into a real practical work. These sites simulate the stock market real time and you will get a feel of the stock market

Futures and options should not be ventured into. Stick to stocks initially. Futures and options are very high risk products and chances are that you will burn your cash in little time. Patience and perseverance is the name of the game. In stock market you can make money but you need to be slow and patient and you need to stick to a strategy. This helps in taking a long term view of the investments

After a few weeks of understanding the next best thing is to open up an account with an online share broker and use that account to buy a first few stocks. Never buy high number of shares but small amounts to begin with.

Stock Market is a risk place so you should be well prepared. In that preparation make sure that you have the risk taking ability. The stock market is not for the faint heart - 23305

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Learn the stock market basics before you start stock market investing.

Trading In Gold

By Mike Swanson

Gold is the most popular investment in the world, and has been for centuries. The reasons to invest in gold and gold stock picks are quite straightforward. In any type of crisis, gold will usually keep its value, where all else has lost its value. For example, in times of war, money or currency is worth almost nothing.

Even real estate, which is a pretty solid investment, loses out in political unrest, war or any other instability that may arise. But, gold is a solid investment all around.

The majority of people invest in gold to either profit from its rising prices or for the safety it provides and has done so for centuries. Many occurrences cause investors to buy this particular precious metal. Such occurrences could be wars, social unrest and the like. This is because gold will maintain its value and therefore, provide investors the safety they are looking for.

With that said, investors choose gold in both bear markets and bull markets. The latter is when investors start increasing their investments in hopes that they will gain as the market begins to recover. The former is when the markets start to decline and people begin to feel afraid of losses.

In 2008 the price of gold rose above one thousand dollars and has pretty much maintained its value in and around that price, even today. When interest rates are really low and putting money in the bank to earn very little interest, smarter investors opt for gold as well as commodities, which usually fare better than other types of investment.

So, if you are looking for a solid and safe investment in current times, where the market is beginning to show some kind of rebound, gold is definitely the solution. As we are heading into a bull market, you could stand to gain considerably or at least keep your money safe. If you have noticed in this current recession, many people have lost everything in the market unrest. - 23305

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To invest in gold in the stock market get my free gold stock picks newsletter.

These Are Important Real Estate Facts To Consider

By Paolo Koster

Your first avenue for finding good deals is the local newspaper (the property newspaper). Just search for properties that are listed directly by the owners who want to avoid paying commission to the real estate brokers.

Although a business credit card has more requirements and has higher interests compared to other types of credit cards there is, contrary to the common conception, t can be very helpful if used properly.

Aside from bearing the image of a dependable credit card, business credit card boasts of having detailed reports and giving quality customer service as its major trademarks.

Another good way to hunt for real estate investment opportunities is by using the services of real estate brokers. Some people use real estate agents as their first (and maybe the only) touch point for getting real estate investment opportunities.

When one applies for a business credit card, there is no need to visit the bank. There is also no need to wait in the queue just to talk to a bank representative. When you apply business credit card online, all you have to do is to select the business credit card option that would perfectly suit your small business or corporate credit requirements right from the comforts of your home or office.

Most business credit card applications offer free fee for the first year and no pre-set spending limit or finance charges. Other business credit card offers viable membership rewards program that enables the member to earn points towards travel, merchandise and other rewards for his or her business.

Another good way to get a property, that is a good real estate investment, is to look for foreclosures by banks/ VA/ FHA or to visit public auctions. You can generally get a good deal here. Divorce settlements are another good real estate investment opportunity.

So, real estate investment is really about finding good deals. And finding good deals does take some effort - 23305

About the Author:

Next toarticles I write about real estate and mortgages, I also have a fewwebsite about financial topics. These you can find here: same day loans and lenen