Do you recall the story of the Tortoise and the Hare? This is a flawless analogy of speculators and investors detailing their differing methods of winning the proverbial race to the finish line. These two competitors are the Yin and Yang, the night and day, or the men versus women of the financial world. They have entirely different goals (excluding making money) and typically attract specific personality types to each financial strategy based upon the daily rigors of their financial strategies.

The speculators are the so called “risk takers” willing to take large (but calculated) risks in search of large rewards over a short time period. In fact, the time can be so short that a speculator can make a buy and sell in less time than it will take for you to completely read this article. The speculator is the professional after “the fast money.” It does not imply that he is gambling, quite the contrary, which sets him apart from the investor. It means he is taking a calculated risk based upon years of training and expertise. For example, if the speculator can forecast a particular stock will make a sudden upward move in price based on his analysis, he will effectively have ruled out a substantial percentage of risk. Based upon his skill level, a good trader can achieve greater than a 75% success ratio of predicting a stocks price movements. Some of the best speculators work for so called “hedge funds” that scour the market in search of Company X predicting an increase in share price, as well as Company Y which is expected to decrease in share price. Then, the speculator will buy Company X and sell short Company Y in a trading scheme known as “hedging their positions.” These are often very risky, and reserved for wealthy clients who can sustain a greater than normal risk tolerance.

An investor on the other hand, has a fundamental “buy and hold” approach. Investors are not overly concerned with the day to day volatility of the actively traded securities that exchange hands (today its binary code through fiber optic lines) at a break neck pace. The investor is making a purchase for the hopes of increased future income in a less volatile market. These are generally large, well known corporations with a history of adequate company management and a steady increase of predictable growth or cash dividend payouts that provide a source of passive income. Similarly, the investor would buy real estate to access the capital appreciation of the property while simultaneously having the rental occupant pay the mortgage for him. Other investment choices would be treasury bonds, Certificates of Deposits (CDs), savings accounts, and any other financial vessel that provides a steady source of income or increases in value over an extended period of time.

Each strategy has its own positive and negative aspects, but as mentioned before, this is largely influenced by an individuals tolerance for stress, hard work, and a little bit of chaos. I myself am a speculator, specializing in short term trading in the hyper volatile penny stocks and it would be a terrible career choice for the risk intolerant individuals. That is, unless they had mass quantities of Pepto Bismol and Maalox stored away in their desk!

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Think you’re ready for a Visa student credit card? Most students assume they are without giving the matter very much thought. If this describes you, then you might be biting off more than you can chew. Before you jump into the world of credit cards with both feet blind, make sure you ask yourself these three important questions…

1. Who’s Tab Is It?

First and foremost, before you decide whether or not you’re ready for any Visa student credit card you’d better make sure you have a way to pay the statement when it comes in each month. If you don’t have a job you won’t be able to pay your bill. Remember, this is your credit card — not your parents’. It’s your responsibility to pay it.

2. How Disciplined Are you?

Okay, so you have a job and you can pay the bill when it comes in. The other question you have to ask yourself is how disciplined are you? Will you have the willpower to use your Visa student credit card wisely, or is it just going to put you under a pile of debt?

If you can barely resist the temptation to spend when you have cash in your pocket or a checkbook in your purse, how are you going to resist it when you have plastic in your wallet?

Remember, a Visa student credit card is not a license to spend. It’s supposed to be a tool to build your financial future and help you out in case of emergencies.

3. Do You Realize This Will Go On Your Permanent Record?

Another thing you need to consider when applying for a Visa student credit card is that everything you do with it is going to go on your “permanent record”. No, not your academic record, but a record that is just as important.

If you make a late payment or max your card out it’s going to show up on your credit report. And it’s not just going to be there for the world to see — it’s also going to lower your credit score. You might not know it yet, but your credit score can make or break your financial future. This can interfere with your plans to get an apartment or buy a car when you graduate.

The above questions raise some valid points. If they’re making you second guess yourself, it’s best to stick with debit cards and leave the Visa student credit card for later. If, however, you are more confident than ever that you can manage a Visa student credit card with ease, you just may be ready for the credit card world.

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A confluence of trends in higher education are making student housing a potentially lucrative environment to park your real estate investment. While it’s potentially lucrative, it has its own unique mix of circumstances and setbacks, and you should be aware of them, and take measured steps into this market before sinking a lot of funds into it.

First, the positives: Across the country, university enrollments are increasing, and increasing fast. The children of the baby boomers, the so-called “echo boomer” or “millennial” generation. This is a generation that already represents one third of the US population, and spends over 170 billion per year of their own and their parent’s money, and they’re just cresting on their way through the demographic surge going to college. In general, an echo boomer is a child born between 1982 and 1996; we’re seeing the first wave of them head through school now.

While enrollments are up, a lot of state colleges are dealing with tighter budgets, and a greater demand in their facilities and spaces. With the growing demand for on campus facilities for activities and teaching spaces, they’re knocking down the old dormitories, while enrollments are rising. For schools without enrollment caps, the campuses are waiting for the private sector to pick up the housing slack, and it’s happening pretty quickly.

>From the perspective of a real estate investor, there’s a lot to commend this as an investment opportunity, even on the small scale, just buying a condominium for your college age student to sell when they graduate. First, housing demand in college towns is inflexible. It doesn’t wax and wane with the job market, local industries, or nearly anything else. Second, it’s a market where rent increases are expected nearly annually, so you can keep a solid cash flow going. Third, with a bit of scouting around, you can find the markets that give a near constant occupancy rate. That scouting is called searching out the “bed to student” ratio. By looking at the materials published by the university and its registrar’s office, you can determine the number of dorm room beds the university has, and the number of enrolled undergraduate students. Find out how what percentage of students have beds waiting for them on campus – if the percentage is 40% or lower, you’ve got a market that’s got solid demand campus student housing. Some campuses, this percentage can get into single digits.

Now, just because there’s a solid demand doesn’t mean it’s a prime investment opportunity. Look at campuses that are actively increasing their enrollment, like the ones in the southwest and southeast; a lot of students are going to school in the Sun Belt because of the climate. Second, while you may have a paper assessment of the demand for housing at a school, if that demand has already been met, then buying more rental property in a crowded space isn’t terribly wise; take some time to do some scouting around. Even more so, take the time to park your car on campus and do some scouting around on foot, and on the local bus system, to figure out where the places students hang out are, and where conveniently located housing “should be”. This will give you a good feel for what to look for in the local market.

Students want something within walking distance of campus. Other features that are considered essential are a place to park their car; covered parking is prized, especially on campuses in the Midwest and Northeast. Being able to get Internet access is important; talk to the local telco or cable provider to make sure that this can be added in.

If you went to school in the 80s or 90s, you may not have much of an appreciation for what a modern college student expects out of off campus housing. Newer construction is better than older, amenities like an exercise room, a pool or a sauna are considered selling points, and nearly anything you’d put into a high end home can be used as a market differentiator. Indeed, if you’re doing the “buy your child a condo” route, you may discover you’re buying them a nicer home than you’re living in, which can cause qualms of panic, particularly if you remember your own student apartment days of beer cans, empty pizza boxes and lounging on couches salvaged from dumpsters. Today’s undergrads don’t expect to live in bohemian squalor while they get an education; the flip side of this is that someone has to pay for it, and that someone will be you, in the form of cleaning fees after they move out, higher insurance rates, and generally more expensive setups to begin with.

Because this market is so specialized, bring in a professional to examine it with you. Start small, with a couple of condominiums, before trying to convert an old home into flats, or demolishing an older home to build an apartment building. If you’re buying a property in another state, by all means hire a local management firm that has experience with renting to students at the campus you’re supporting. If you’re buying an existing rental property, examine all the tax records, and hire someone to go through the facility with a camera taking pictures of everything – this will give you a good visual record of the state of the carpets, walls, paint jobs, etc.

Finally, send a survey, after each semester, to your residents, and find out what they’d like improved in the building. Student housing is competitive enough that being a “passive landlord” won’t cut it at all.

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Deposit receipt at periods of the longer running time pay higher rate than with short runners. It could be said that the best CD rate has the longest running times. Some investors believe that a deposit receipt is the best and safest investment. Others invest in a deposit receipt, in order to supplement their retirement income. Independently of it the reason all kinds investor the highest CD would like acquire fasten are called best CD fastened.

In order to obtain best CD rate, investors must buy either, by newspapers around on-line to find out the banks and loan banks of best CD rate of all time offer flags on local institutes or with the help of the broker companies for. Before CDs are bought, the best rate, customer need, to regard two factors the length of the ripe period and the present interest rate climate to offer. Investors, who above lock their money in the long-term CDs, acquire a better interest rate than those, which buy short term CDs. This is because of the fact that, if customers CDs buy with periods of the longer running time they specify their capital in the investment during the entire ripe period, before they can withdraw. The investor lets alternative courses of the investment go. For all these dangers, which investor experience, payment has best CD rate on such units. Similarly mass purchase gets best rate to investors also, because banks can insist on meeting of minimum requirement for the request of the best rate.

It is not advisable for the investor to remain with the same bank for more than one year. By clinging with the same bank, investors lose the probability of receiving the highest and best CD rate, which is offered by other banks and loan banks. Generally the interest rates offered the best, as compared to those on, by loan banks, which are nonprofit organizations, are offered by mercantile banks.