Luck.
I haven’t decided if I don’t believe in it, or if I make my own.
Frankly, I think most people who have “good luck” are just better at capitalizing on opportunity.
And the best thing you can do to put yourself in a position to be able to capitalize on opportunity is be financially prepared.
Chance favors the prepared mind — but it favors the prepared wallet even more.
No parking within a few blocks of your restaurant? Hit the valet or the garage.
Sleep wrong and got a kink in your neck? Get a massage; don’t live with it for days.
Having a financial cushion turns setbacks into non-events.
But how do you get that money? You have to be willing to act.
For starters, you have to save money to invest, even if your friends and neighbors are busy spending.
Set up an automatic transfer from your checking account to a brokerage account. The more the better: If you earn 20% on $100, you make $20. If you earn 20% on $1,000, you make $200. This is no-brainer stuff.
Once you have the funds, you need to be willing to act on investments.
You have to put money into oil and gas stocks and funds while everyone else is complaining about rising gas prices.
You have to take advantage of dividends to diversify and provide income.
You have to open IRAs and other accounts to manage tax liability and plan for retirement.
If you don’t know how to do all this yourself, you need to seek the advice of someone who does — preferably someone who takes a flat fee, and isn’t paid a commission or forced to guide you to only certain options because that’s what his corporate parent company sells.
I keep and contribute to a SIMPLE IRA through work, have another IRA and brokerage account with Scottrade, and investor checking and brokerage accounts with Schwab.
I manage the investments myself and pay an Enrolled Agent a flat fee for tax strategy and filing.
I manage everything electronically and haven’t been to a bank in over a year and a half. Schwab refunds all ATM fees and you can deposit checks with prepaid envelopes or a smartphone app.
You can do the same.
And then you’ll be ready to “get lucky.”
You can get lucky and be ready to invest in the next big winner we find…
Or you can get lucky and take your dad fishing in the Keys. That’s where I am this weekend, spending the money I made by compounding preparedness and work ethic, which we discussed a few weeks ago.
Everything else from this week is below.
Call it like you see it,
Nick Hodge
Editor, Energy and Capital
Bakken Oil Field Reserves: Buy This Right Now
Analyst Ian Cooper explains why now is the perfect time to invest heavily in the Bakken region.
The New Face of Big Oil: Pass On These Widow-and-Orphan Stocks
Editor Keith Kohl highlights the new strategies Big Oil companies are undertaking to stay competitive.
Investors Are Betting Against U.S. LNG: Is Congress Blocking Our Gas Exports?
Keith Kohl explains why Congress could shut down U.S. LNG exports with the stroke of a pen.
The Death of China’s Rare Earth Monopoly: And the Next Rare Mineral to Run
I firmly believe graphite miners are about to experience the thousand-percent run-ups witnessed by rare earth companies over the past few years.
Natural Gas Starts a New Industrial Revolution: Jobs, Jobs, Jobs
It’s a new record for North Dakota: The unemployment rate is less than 1%, the lowest rate ever recorded in the state. The jobs are coming back, and they’re high-paying jobs… brought to you by the oil and gas industry.
Electric Vehicle Play: My #1 Play on Electric Cars
Editor Jeff Siegel reveals his number one play on electric cars and there’s only one company that’s got enough of this “miracle material.”
Obamacare Death Watch: And the Market Did Nothing
It seems impossible that the looming failure of the biggest piece of legislation in a decade wouldn’t move the market… but there it is.
See an Exploding Torpedo Dropped in an Oil Well: The Most Important Patent in American History
It has the unglamorous and nondescript title of U.S. Patent No. 59,936. It might be one of the most valuable patents ever awarded to an American… and it holds the key to untapped fortunes and national prosperity.
They Just Struck Oil an Hour Ago: This Stock is Up 53% Overnight!
Kenya doesn’t have just 2.5 billion barrels of oil… Nobody knows for sure how much oil there is in Kenya, but U.S. government geologists estimate the East Africa Rift contains 72 billion barrels of untapped crude.
