So, it’s time to start investing – but what are your investing choices?
Where do you get the advice, information and help you need to build a better life?

Have you read my story of how and when my investing began? Like so many newbies I didn’t know what investing choices there were. All I knew about was ‘property or shares’? So I went to a seminar in Queensland, where the spruiker promised to enlighten attendees to compare the two – wrong! I fled! Escaping from the seminar early, no money back (despite their $ back guarantee). I lodged complaints with the ASIC and the ACCC, hoping to prevent mum and dad investors being duped of up to $30,000 in ‘coaching and mentoring’. Total waste of time. I ended up buying two Queensland investment properties soon after, but that’s another story.

Hence, BestinvestmentGurus (BiG) was born. My mission? To help others, especially my millennial kids, find the best investing information, services and people around – and avoid the rest.

But how and where do you start and choose what you’ll invest in?
Watch, read, educate yourself and do some research. BiG has a huge hub of free resources for you.

Each of BiG’s areas: Wealth, Business, Property, Shares and Investing in You – sets out Strategies, Topics and sometimes Specialties. Such as:

Business Investing Strategies and Topics looks at:

• Branding and Marketing
• Entrepreneurship
• Health and nutrition products
• Leadership
• Managing people
• Managing yourself
• Mentoring
• Online businesses and strategies
• Publicity and Promotion
• SEO (search engine optimisation)
• Setting up your own business
• Website – building, design, function
• Women in Business

Property Investing Strategies and Topics cover: 

STRATEGIES

Pros and Cons of certain strategies. Some from Margaret Lomas in her ‘scam alert’ covering: Wraps, Renovators, Buying overseas, Investment Clubs, Contracts with a ‘rebate’, More than one company and Cash flow mortgages.

Other strategies, pros and cons, tools and circumstances in real estate (‘property’):

• Aboriginal home ownership
• Buy and hold
• Buying off the plan
• Capital growth (vs Yield) Should you buy for capital growth or rental yield?
• Creative finance – Buying ‘wholesale’ or at a discount/Cash backs and Rebates/Cash flow mortgages/’No money down’/Option contracts/Instalment contracts/Rent to buy/’Wraps/Vendor finance
• Direct property investing (vs Indirect – such as property trusts)
• Divorce and other circumstances
• First home buyers
• ‘Flipping’
• Gearing – Negative gearing/Positive gearing/Positive cash flow
• Niche properties – Apartments (serviced or not)/Defence Housing (DHA)/Holiday homes/ House and land packages/National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS)/Overseas properties/Retirement properties/Student accommodation Student/Timeshare
• Rent vs Buy
• Retirees
• Reverse mortgages
• Structuring – Companies/Joint ventures (JVs)/ Property syndicates
• Property trusts/Listed property
• Superannuation and Self Managed Superannuation Funds (SMSF)
• Trusts
• Teenagers and investing
• Value adding – Property development /Land banking/Renovating/Strata titling/Subdividing

 TOPICS

• How to get started in property investing
• Affordability
• Australian property bubble
• Buying in a boom market
• Capital growth
• Common property investing mistakes
• Divorce and other circumstances
• Due diligence and research
• Finance and mortgages
• First home buyers
• Interest rates
• Negotiating
• Property Myths – Property Doubles Every 7 to 10 years/The Secret of Booming Property Prices

So – there you have it! Just a taste of the strategies, specialties and topics in business and property investing. There’s still more in the other BiG areas wealth creation and investing in shares. 

That should be enough to get you started and help you understand your choices and areas of interest, or disinterest.

BiG’s constantly updated, so keep a look out and if you haven’t already, subscribe to our emails so you don’t miss out on important stuff.

I look forward to seeing you tomorrow, where we take a look at the analysts, commentators and gurus you’ll find in the investing industry – some good, some bad and some a little ugly.