You must pay yourself first.
This is rule number one of wealth building, and should be a foundation of your stock growth plan. Set up an automatic deduction from any paycheck you receive so that funds automatically go into an investment account every pay period. Pay yourself before you pay anyone else. When you make it automatic, you adjust your budget to live off the rest.
Learn every detail of your business.
Your business is making your portfolio grow, no matter what the market is doing. There are tools you can use when the market goes up, and other tools when the market is sliding, and it’s your job to educate yourself on how to use those tools. It’s also your responsibility to learn how to make money when stocks go up, and when stocks go down.
Dedicate yourself to serving others by giving back.
Numerous surveys show that the wealthiest people in the world give more to charity than any other group. Part of your responsibility as a wealth builder is to support and share with a charity. Many people report that the more you give, the more opportunities to earn come back. Perhaps this is because word of your generosity makes people want to open up to you, and this includes invitations to IPO’s or other “hot” stock tips, but no matter what cosmic rule is involved, it’s true. The more you make, the more you should give, and the more you give, the more you make.
Be Absolutely Honest with yourself and others.
Doing your investing with integrity, operating a business you can be proud of is a great way to build your portfolio. There are companies now that report on how green a company can be, their practices, and their impact on the environment.
Set Priorities and Concentrate on building your portfolio.
Having a plan is the key to success, so define your goals with each stock trade. Long term portfolio growth will require a different strategy than short term swings, and research into which stock can deliver on the strategy can determine success.
By prioritizing each transaction based on how it will affect the goal, you will build your portfolio and wealth.
Develop Speed and dependability in transactions.
How quickly can you execute a trade? There are so many tools available today that allow you to research and trade from any location, that once you open your trading platform there’s no excuse for missed opportunity. Define an RSS feed or e-mail alert to ping your PDA anytime your stock is mentioned in the news, set your broker as a home page so you can instantly view how the news is affecting your stock, and even create “future” orders based on possibilities that sit in the draft folder of your e-mailbox, ready to go at a moment’s notice. This gives you the advantage of speed, and combined with a broker who executes your trade order quickly, can mean less money left on the table and more profit for your portfolio.
Be prepared for the Ups and Downs.
History shows us that the market will rise, and the market will fall. What goes up, will plummet, and what slides like there is not bottom will eventually rise again. The stock market almost has a psychology all its own, based on feelings, hints, rumors and innuendo. It’s your job to learn about how to protect your capital using the proper tools. Research can’t prepare you for a panic. But you should allocate a part of your plan for a panic. It’s like the emergency kits you keep in your car or home. You hope to never have to use them, but they are nice to have, just in case. Stop orders can protect you in a dramatic price slide. Conversely, if you’ve done the research and you’re dollar cost averaging to gain more stock, you can place orders to buy if it dips to a certain level, or sell for profit once it rises. The key to all of your success in the market is to build a plan, and follow it, either based upon your own research or the findings of a trusted advisor.
