Invest Close to Home to Guard Against A Market Downturn

Investing close to home means investing in what you know - in industries and companies that you understand. More fully, it means investing where you can clearly identify where and how value is being created.  And investing close to home optimally means investing in things in alignment with what you're all about – your Soul Purpose.

Some people understand real estate, its ins and outs, its contracts, laws, tax and building codes.  People with that kind of knowledge know how to get the highest return from an investment in a property.  And because they know all that they do, they can mitigate risks and often make money, even when the market goes south.

If you're like most people, you don't invest very close to home. You have a 401(k), an IRA, and mutual funds.  By their very nature, these types of investments are wide-ranging and diverse.  When it comes down to it, you probably have no idea what you're investing in or how those companies or institutions are creating value.  They're are as far from home as can be. 

While you've been taught that the diversity inherent in your investments is a safeguard against losing big on one failing company, it leaves you exposed to risk associated with the market and relatively powerless to exert any real influence on your investments.  When the market tanked in 2008, many learned this the hard way as they lost much of the value in their 401(k)s and mutual funds, regardless of how diversified their portfolios. 

But there's a more meaningful reason to invest close to home.  Ask yourself this: does your 401(k) or IRA make you feel more or less confident?  In all likelihood, you derive little confidence or resolve from your unknown and confusing “investments.”  Instead, your uncertainty and fear keep you from living your purpose and really prospering.

When you invest close to home - and especially when you invest in yourself and your own ability to create value - you gain confidence, rather than losing it. You accelerate your money rather than storing it. You retain control rather than giving it over to the so-called "experts." And those benefits extend far beyond the financial.

How close to home are your investments?  How much risk are you exposed to should the market nose-dive?

The first step to bringing your investments closer to home and increasing your cash flow is to identify where you are currently leaking cash flow, and where you're at greater risk than you think.  Answer just 10 Questions - questions that have taken me half a lifetime to assemble, articulate, and interrelate - and I'll give you a clear, actionable insight into all of these aspects of your financial picture.

Taking this analysis is a mandatory part of all my coaching programs, and I'm providing it to readers of this site as my way of helping you begin investing close to home. If you're convinced the financial principles on this site make sense and you want to accelerate your ability to implement them, your next best step is to take my 7-Step Cash Recovery Analysis.