Grant Cardone (Grant Cardone / Courtesy)
We are all looking for a way to invest and get the most out of our investments. Take it from me, and how I got here — it wasn’t without sticking to a few basic principles:
My advice is simple. Do not put yourself in a situation to lose money. I have been investing in myself, my business and specific real estate for 35 years and never lost money in any of them. Saving money in today’s economy means you are violating principal No. 1: losing money. The average checking account in America pays less than 1/8 of 1%. With inflation at 5.9%, you are losing money. It will take you eight years to earn 1% on your money. An amount of $100,000 at today’s rates will earn you $1,000.
Just last year it is suggested the U.S. dollar lost 11% of its value. There are sure things. What does a sure thing look like? Something that eliminates all speculation and can benefit from inflation. Real estate answers that perfectly, especially if it has a renter to pay all expenses of operations. Unless you are already very rich, only invest in asset classes that provide dependable cash flow. Cash flow will allow you to hold assets through turn downs and basically fund operations while you wait for appreciation.
Cash flow is the holy grail of finance and what will allow you and your family to hold great assets until you can either sell or refinance them. When making investment or spending decisions, prioritize those things you can write off. If you are unable to legitimately write off the expenditure from your taxes it reduces your single greatest expense. Lastly, the most important tool for creating wealth today is to utilize great debt. Great debt is debt which is funded by the operations of the business or real estate and is tax deductible and costs less than the production of the operations. This is one of the most misunderstood strategies the wealthy use when investing.
My advice is to stand by these 7 non-negotiables when investing:
1. Don’t lose money.
2. Don’t save money.
3. Invest in sure things.
4. Don’t speculate; if it doesn’t appreciate, don’t invest.
5. If it doesn’t have cash flow, say no.
6. If you can’t write it off, don’t buy it.
7. If you can’t get great debt, don’t invest in it.
Grant Cardone is CEO of Cardone Enterprises, Cardone Capital, an international speaker, entrepreneur and author of “The 10X Rule” and creator of 21 best-selling business programs. Visit GrantCardone.com.
Copyright © 2022, Sun Sentinel
Copyright © 2022, Sun Sentinel
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