Credit to Motley Fool… Great Read…
I looked at my portfolio today…
I didn’t look for long. To say it was ugly would be an understatement.
All that money, up in smoke, in the twinkling of an eye.
All those hard-fought gains, wiped out in an instant.
Yesterday, the ASX plunged to a one-month low. It has fallen in seven of the last 10 sessions, lead by a rout in bank shares.
Worse, BHP Billiton shares have crashed to 2009 prices, its shares down 5% more today.
Santos is in a trading halt. Gold and gold stocks have been smashed. The ASX is close to dipping back below 5,100.
So much for those predictions of ASX 6,000 by the end of this year!
At the rate we’re going, the ASX will be lucky to hold on to 5,000… a level the market first broke back through almost three years ago.
Hard as it is to admit, I did warn you dark days like these would come…
So what do you do?
Let me guess…
You sit on the sidelines, too scared to make any move.
Too scared to sell in case the market recovers.
Too scared to buy in case the market falls lower.
Yet you know the share market STILL has been the greatest wealth creation vehicle on earth.
And you know interest rates are low, and likely STILL staying low for what could be years to come.
I get it. I especially get it if you are a retiree. You’ve worked hard to build your retirement nest egg. The last thing you want is to see half of it go up in a puff of smoke.
The problem is, leaving your money in the bank, earning just 2% per annum, may confine you to a miserly retirement, watching every cent, too scared to spend up on some of life’s luxuries.
There is another way.
A way that thousands of your fellow investors have already discovered.
A way that not only earns you a thoroughly decent return on your money, but also enables you to beat the taxman, potentially setting you up to receive a tax refund.
In this low interest rate environment, we believe dividend-paying ASX shares — particularly those paying fully franked dividends — are a truly compelling alternative to cash.
Below I’ll show you how you can get started, either by adding some of the ASX’s very best dividend stocks to your portfolio, or just get started earning a decent return on your money.
But first, before you get started, know these two simple yet critically important keys to investing success…
We think the ultimate secret to wealth creation, is having the discipline to…
1) Put money to work in the stock market every single month, no matter what the market is doing, either up or down.
2) Leave your money invested in shares for the long-term, no matter what the market is doing, either up or down.
Investing during a bull market is easy. Your portfolio only goes up. Happy days.
It’s what you do during the inevitable downturns — almost exactly like we’re experiencing today — that ultimately determines whether you’ll be prince or pauper.
If you’re the type of person to freak out at the first sign of share market volatility, you’re probably better off in cash.
I’m in cash.
I’m in shares too.
Cash helps me sleep well at night.
It also gives me options.
The option to buy shares whenever I see opportunity.
The option to pile a heap of money into the market when prices are cheapest.
The option to go on holiday, to repair the car, or to upgrade the TV.
You like a bargain. You like to buy a case of wine when it’s on special. Buy one, get one free. Half price on a block of Cadbury’s chocolate.
You’d think the same thing goes with investing. The cheaper they are, the more shares people will buy.
The strange fact is the exact opposite is true.
When shares are cheap — as many appear to be now, after the market’s recent correction — many investors head for the hills.
Worse, they sell, at the worst possible moment… like now, when the share market is going through one of its inevitable wobbles.
Pilkington Trading 