This is a great time to buy real estate and stocks. I believe that the US economy will not let us down. Historically, we have seen the rising and lowering of stock values, but if you keep your investments in balanced funds you should be just fine. Personally, I am contributing the maximum amount the government will allow me to save while deferring income taxes. But I think those investors playing the market in day trading are living dangerously. Cashing in now would probably be a mistake since most of us have seen our portfolios go down these past few months. Buying stocks should be a long-term investment.

I believe that buying real estate is a great investment. Look at your current home. If you have lived in that property for at least 10 years, it has likely doubled in value. Mortgage rates are low and sellers are willing to sell their properties at a very good price unlike the market of only a few short years ago. This way you are buying low with a low rate.

In business we are often faced with many different challenges that can affect us in different ways. Most recently our industry has suffered from a lack of desirable carwash weather which has been driving volumes down throughout the East Coast. As I write this article it is now the middle of February and we have not seen one flake of snow here on Long Island. That is just frustrating especially after a stagnant fall. We all could have really used a banner winter to pull us out of a hole.

When business is bad you may look to the stock market for your investments to pull a profit. This could definitely help ease the pain if you are seeing lots of green arrows on your portfolio. However, the stock market has been on a steady decline. This decline can affect
your wallet in more ways than one. In addition to the loss of revenue on your investments, we now must assume that our customers are experiencing the same losses and will probably not have as much disposable income to spend on keeping their cars clean.

So what are we supposed to do now? I am certainly not a financial planner or anything even close to it, but I can tell you what most would tell you at this time and that would be to dump more money into the market now while you can get a bargain. It is a little risky but in the long run it will probably pay off as long you are patient and don’t need a quick return.
Have you ever thought about investing in something a little less risky such as yourself? If you are tired of seeing the red arrows everyday and are looking to improve or expand your business why not get out of the market and invest the money in your business? Now may be the perfect time to remodel your tunnel or fix up the outside of the building. How about putting the money into a new state-of-the-art point of sale (POS) system with customer tracking? Or, if you are really looking to expand you might want to consider looking for another location. After the lousy stretch we have had the market has dropped off a bit. It may be a good time to buy low and expand your operation.

You need to compare the return on investment you have been getting from your stocks to what you can make by investing in yourself. I am willing to bet that you can make a better return from the latter. At least you will have some control over it.