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I was doing some more research into property clubs and found out these clubs (also known as PICS) have received bad press here in the UK. Some of these investment clubs are not regulated by the Financial Services Authority. (FSA)

The British Property Investment Federation, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the Association of Property Unit Trust wrote to the FSA recently calling for more monitoring of such investments clubs. A lot of companies charge thousands of pounds for people to join on a membership basis and advise on buying property, usually on a no money deal.

Property clubs usually present investment deals to their members before the general public, through negotiation. This is a result of bulk purchasing power, but do your due diligence before parting with any money. If you are in any doubt about any company, Rip Off Report, one of the most popular consumer advocate sites, allows you to air your complaint, publicly about suspected scrupulous individuals or organizations.

Despite there being a credit crunch, life still goes on for property investors, which  is more than just investing in bricks and mortar. it’s looking at the country’s bigger picture.

It is always advisable to visit the country where you would like to put your money, rather than relying on textbooks. You actually get a feel for the place, and can see where the market is heading. Study the economic and political climate and look for stability. Bucharest is becoming one of Europe’s emerging markets. Like with most property, long term investment can be a sure winner. Look out for Properties that can get you high rental yields and real rental guarantees. Again Bucharest comes out tops, especially with retail parks. These are becoming very popular amongst shoppers. A 35% deposit is what is required, but the completion process can be lengthy.

Mirleft, a beautiful coastal fishing village, not far from Agidir in  Morocco is no longer untapped. With a 30% deposit and 70% mortgage, you will be able to buy an apartment and rent it out based on a nine year rental agreement.   

According to Ready 2 Invest, land is the best form of investment, and they rate Bahia in Brazil one of the best places for land investment with a 30% deposit and 70% finance. Their site shows the latest hot-spots for investments and provides events and seminars throughout the UK and Europe, as well as more informative information. 

Economists are predicting the fall in house prices this year. Jean-Michael Six, Chief European economist at Standard and Poors, the Ratings Agency, predicted that if the global credit crunch were to continue without sight of it being resolved, there could be a fall somewhere between 10% and 15% This is bad news for sellers, but almost good news for buyers. I say almost because there are some good mortgage deals at the moment, but mortgage offers have dropped from 13,000 mortgage products to less than 3,000. This is according to Moneyfacts. A swing by the Bank of England expects 42.5% of British lenders to limit credit availability to consumers within the next 3 months. So make haste if you want to go for a good deal. At the time of writing, I believe HSBC had a 2 year fixed at 4.99% with a fee of #1499 with a 10% deposit.

If you want to venture into the buy-to-let market, proceed with caution, as buy-to-let lenders are not as free as they used to. They are now pulling the reins in. Years ago, in the UK before buy-to-let properties were popular, it was very easy for buyers to become landlords of second properties. Therefore, it is wise not to bite off more than you can chew. Plan before jumping head first. Buying property should now be seen as a long term investment, and not a short term plan.

Established landlords are seen more favourable by lending institutions, because they are seen as more experienced, therefore they pose less of a risk, than a first time buy-to-let landlord. Either way, buying at auctions would get you a cheaper deal, than buying the conventional way. Auction property For Sale is a popular and informative site listing forthcoming auction dates, as well as financial information relevant to all aspects of buying and selling property. 

Well I finally took my my confused self on a free trading course run by Knowledge To Action Ltd. Their programme, Traders University teaches you how to  trade on the Stock Market. However today was just a taster of what could be if I enrolled on their two day course.

It was a fairly relaxed atmosphere, (no tea and biscuits though, just water) and the speaker obviously knew his trade very well. These courses are run by professional full-time traders, and Knowledge To Action claims that they are the only ones in the UK where their courses are taught by full-time traders. The seminar was rushed, but for a free course I didn’t really expect it to be any other way. Imagine, an overview of the complexities of share trading in two hours. I made notes as best as I could, (a lot I thought, but when I re-read them later, the notes were very minimal) but I was also trying to keep up with the elaborate PowerPoint display. I learnt some new terms and interesting strategies, but I would need to read my notes  again, oh I forgot about the free trading secrets ebook and technical strategies workshop that came with the seminar. So I guess I have some bedtime reading to do! At the end of the seminar, I half expected the trainers who were lurking at the back of the room, to suddenly pounce on all  the prospective traders. With these type of free seminars, there is usually a catch. Well the catch was #1999, if you enrolled today, for the two day course. And the reason? Well we were informed that the trainer Greg Secker who will be running the two day event, will be his LAST training programme (supposedly). After today, the price will go up to #2995+vat -  you know the usual sales pitch).  So I was pleasantly surprised when the trainer said coolly, ‘if interested in the program, then see a trader, if not, then thank you and goodbye.’

Will I be attending the two day course?

No, not at this particular time. I want to do some background reading, to equip myself with the necessary knowledge first, and then take it from there. I wouldn’t want to enlist on the two day course, only to come out more confused. I went in as a complete novice, and came out thinking, ‘it makes sense’. Well at least more sense than when I first entered the hotel. I spoke to a woman there who had gone on these free seminars over and over again throughout England. She said she was trying to grasp the concept. The money she had spent travelling from city to city, she may as well have used it to fund the two day course!

Regardless of whether or not this company uses subtle salesmen techniques to rope in individuals, they are really doing great job. At the end of the day, they are making their money through trading, so I suppose they are just giving back to others through training and coaching.

Check out Greg Seckers blog, The Traders Journal for his daily trading. To me it’s just a bunch of figures, but it will make sense soon!

An interesting comment by the trainer today:

When you lose money, you should not worry. Never feel major pain. 

Money Clubs are not just about investing money. They are about uniting people with a common interest, assisting each others individual financial goals, acknowledging money needs such as savings, eliminating debt, budgeting and so on.  Although, the majority of meetings takes place in the physical sense, clubs can also be conducted over the Internet. The concept is exactly the same; bringing people together, in order to pool their resources together. One such  club is: MoneyClub.com This is an informative site, looking at all areas of money. You can even subscribe to their free newsletter which gives information on daily affirmations, motivation, encouragement and so much more. However, I will say that this club has received some mixed reviews on the Internet. I think the general consensus is that why pay to join a group when you can get all you need on the Internet. So I guess what that means is that it’s best to work in isolation, because everything we need is on the Internet. (Mm, I think that’s what it means. Anyway, no matter each to their own).

Well if you’re not into the above type of club, then check out this really excellent site for money clubs, meet-ups and similar: Meetup.com Excellent because you can search for any type of group globally, and meet up locally and are free to join!  For example in London you have the ‘Womens Business Networking Club, where business women can interact, learn from and inspire each other. WomensBusinessNetworking

In New York, you have the NewYorkCity Meetup  This group was founded in October 8 2002, and now has over 2193 members. The type of members include business owners, entrepreneurs and financiers. There are so many groups within your country and area of Meetup.com that you could get so carried away with socialising offline!

To really be successful, look for other like-minded people. You see most of the time, it’s not about getting what you can out of life on your own, it’s about sharing knowledge, ideas, encouraging and supporting each other. So you may be pleasantly surprised when you join a money club or meetup.

I’m a person who loves to save money, a real bargain queen that knows where to find true bargains. I can also look like a million dollars knowing that I didn’t spend too much money. I remember when I was dating my husband a few years ago, and someone told him, ‘you’d better watch her, she’s a high maintenance woman’ Far from it! I just know how to shop without breaking the bank. I’ve heard of a woman who always lets you know how much her clothes are worth, i.e equating to a weekly or  monthly wage, (and more) even going as far as buying her groceries from a top London department store, because you see the groceries from this department store are ’so special’. Oh please!   Okay once in while I’ll splash out, but when I do, it’s only me that knows how much I’ve spent. That’s one of the beauty’s of looking high maintenance.So it was quite refreshing to hear of another bargain queen - Angela Hreson. This savings specialist as she calls herself does not pay full price on anything, name brand you name it That’s my kind of woman! Her US website  freelancebyu is a haven of money saving information. For example, I was always suspicious about the ads I saw for mystery shoppers, like are they for real? and can you really get paid for eating, shopping, travelling and so on?  So to see legitimate companies on her site offering such services was great. There is information on Government liquidation items, ideal for Ebayers and other auction site buyers and sellers. In fact there is so much stuff on saving money, that it could give you a headache just sifting through; coupon codes, competitions, deal of the day, recycling-finished-with-items, magazines, etc, etc.Its no wonder Angela Hreson’s motto is ‘live lavishly for less.’

Problems in our lives either make us strong or make us weak. We can wallow in a bed of self-pity about how our lives are not going the way we want it to; constantly dogging ourselves for what we should have done or could have done. The more we direct ourselves to focusing on our problems, the more problems we create. What first started out as a simple case of ‘I do not have enough money to do plan A, germinates into problem B, C and D, like  an infectious disease. So how about focusing on our creativity, searching for opportunities, solutions and working on our hidden strengths. There are always solutions to problems. It’s only by making  positive choices, that one can see the light to a very bleak tunnel.

I’ve just registered for a forex trader pack with free traders course and risk free $10k practice account, having said that I’m going to explore forex trading in more detail. I have been inundated with forex emails these last few weeks. Very confusing I must say!