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Simple Guide to Investment in Gaming Stocks

It is no secret that humanity has been gambling since time immemorial. Today’s enormous casino resorts are nothing but a modern-day incarnation of something that has been loved by all people for hundreds of years, if not thousands.

The gambling industry of today is incredibly vast and has even spread all over the globe, which provides numerous investment options to anyone wishing to try it. To some, investing in gaming stocks is great, as it is always profitable to invest in a business that has the odds in its favor. Conversely, others view it as derogatory, claiming that investing in the industry encourages individuals to gamble excessively. Setting your own views aside, gambling is indeed incredibly popular nowadays and many companies capitalize on it, as well as on numerous non-gambling related activities within casino resorts, such as fine dining and many more.

Which Gaming Stocks to Invest in?

Before proceeding to invest in any business, you should make sure that your capital is big enough to cover the initial investment. It is also crucial to assess whether you will be able to add more money to the business if such as thing was asked. To put it simply, you need to familiarise yourself with all possible pitfalls, as well as obtain an in-depth understanding of the business you are about to invest in.

With this in mind, in the gambling industry, no gaming stock is better than the other. Rather, it is up to your individual preferences which type of gaming stock to invest in. Consider whether you like land-based gaming or online gaming more and if you find casino resorts a more suitable investment option than, let us say, local casinos.

Regardless of your preferences, however, you should familiarise yourself with all the investment opportunities you have, as this will help you better differentiate the good investment options from the bad ones.

Begin by Following the Money

As mentioned on www.casinogamespro.com/online-casinos, the gambling industry has permeated into almost every culture around the globe and you can invest in gaming stocks in most countries on the planet. And yet, rather than playing it risky, it might be safer to opt to follow the example of other investors, as it is likely to bring you more profits.

You probably know that the U.S. is a major gambling centre, which should definitely be considered by any gaming stocks investor. The gambling scene has undergone significant changes over the past decade, which makes it all the better investment option. While gaming activity still is centred primarily in Las Vegas or Atlantic City, there are now reservation-based casinos that can also be invested in. Additionally, riverboat gaming operators are another investment option that should not be turned a blind eye on.

Of course, if you do not feel like investing in smaller businesses, you can always back massive companies that operate in several locations within the country. International giants like Wynn and Sands are a great option to consider, as those companies have an appealing one-year return. Other major options to consider are Vegas-focused operators like Caesars and MGM.

Consider Investing in Macau

Major US operators are undoubtedly a good investment option, but you should also study the investment opportunities in Macau. Gambling has been legal in Macau since the 1850s and, as the industry was generating huge resources to the government, the Chinese government has decided not to ban it when it got the autonomous region back from Portugal in the late 1990s.

At present, Macau is regarded as the gambling capital of the world, and the Macanese gaming industry currently boasts a GGY of $33 billion, compared to only $7.09 billion in Las Vegas. If you find Macau an appealing option for investing in gaming stocks, you should also know that some of the biggest operators in Las Vegas operate in the area.

Investing in iGaming Software Providers

Some investors prefer to invest in companies that provide services for the gaming business. Not only land-based casinos but online ones, too, use the services of such companies to provide them with the most popular slots, table games, lottery cards, and many more.

Should you decide to invest in such gaming stocks, you might want to consider companies like Scientific Games or International Game Technology, which work together to provide casinos with some of the best casino games. Of course, iGaming software providers’ prosperity relies to a great extent on the state of the casino industry, which is why critics consider them way too risky an option to be considered.

In the end, remember that even with the odds in their favour, casinos can not always profit. In fact, it takes a lot of skills to govern gaming operations in a prosperous manner. As an investor, you should always try to invest in gaming stocks of casinos, which offer plenty of non-gambling entertainment options to visitors.

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What Do 2018 Retail Trends Tell Us About 2019?

One of the most temperamental markets we have, the retail space is dictated to by so many outside factors that its success or failure often has little to do with its own efforts directly. The first place to suffer when the economy is uncertain, people are obviously less likely to engage in what may appear to be frivolous spending if what’s coming in to their account isn’t as strong as it could be.

With huge factors such as Brexit and the rise of online shopping completely altering the landscape, consumer behaviour when it comes to both the high street and surfing online changes as a result. An obstacle for not only consumers to consider, but those who have related Forex interests such as traders OANDA, it’s an industry can cause ripples in places you wouldn’t usually expect.

State Of Retail In 2018

2018 was a challenging year for retailers, as despite consumer confidence rising, growth in spending has not. There was the predicted fall in inflation, but wage growth has also taken a hit, essentially squeezing consumers in to similar levels of financial pressure, not allowing them the disposable income to interact in the retail sector more.

Additional factors such as the infamous Beast From The East affected the first three months of the year, with the heavy snow and ice completely reducing both footfall and supply chains, which lead to depleted levels of stock and interest. However, later on in the year, the sales on offer did provoke a strong uptake, which directly contradicted what many experts had been anticipating.

One unforeseen boost was the hot summer, World Cup fever and popular Royal Wedding, which all combined to boost the food and drink market, with BBQs and alcohol proving particularly popular.

What’s To Come In 2019?

The high street will have to continue its evolution in order to remain relevant in an increasingly digital landscape, but as signs showed in 2018, it’s an area of the sector that’s far from dead. While there have been closures and job losses, these aren’t entirely down to just consumer behaviour, but other factors including rising costs and technological disruptions.

The online market place is likely to continue its dominance and growth, with further sales periods in January and Easter now joined by the Black Friday and Cyber Monday phenomenon’s, which have now all begun to take a real hold and provoke large spends across those periods.

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Plugging the Money Leaks: How to save cash without cutting back on services

When it comes to money, almost all of us want to save more when paying out for a service or product. For some, they would rather pay a little extra for a good quality service, while others are searching for the most frugal deals available, but rarely is the price irrelevant. For one-off payments, whether you pay $50 of $80 isn’t that much of an issue, but when it comes to monthly payments, a discrepancy of $20 a month can start to add up over the course of a 2-year contract.

About contracts, the consumer is notoriously lazy when it comes to changing their services providers. It seems that once we ‘sign-off’ on a service, we rarely go back to see whether that deal is still working for us. If you are starting to feel like you or your business is hemorrhaging money at the moment, there are areas that you can attend to that may save you some considerable cash in the long run.

Take an interest in credit

Credit cards can be a huge boon for those of us who are going through a slight dip in monetary fortunes, both personally or in business. They can also be useful for those who are looking to increase their credit score (so long as they keep up repayments, obviously). Unfortunately, they are also one of the areas that we can find ourselves paying out more than necessary if we don’t keep an eye on the finer details of the card we signed up with. If you have been using the same credit card for a while, it could be a good idea to shop around and look for a better credit. There are plenty of offers out there such as cash bonus credit cards, student rewards, Gas rewards, travel rewards credit cards and more.

Transferring an existing debt from one credit card to another is usually a pretty simple experience. Some credit card companies have made it as simple as filling out an online application, while others will require a quick telephone call, but in general most can be moved with little fuss. With many credit cards offering 0% APR on balance transfers for the first year or two, leaving a company who is about to start charging you for purchases is not a difficult decision, so long as you have the impetus to actually do it.

Simply moving your debt to another company doesn’t mean that you can take your eye off the ball however, especially if you are moving your money to avoid a large percentage increase in interest rates. The 0% interest rate on switching doesn’t always include new purchases, so if your new card falls into this category, it’s time to start thinking of your new credit card as an account that you only ever ‘pay into’, rather than using it is as a card for ‘all occasions’,

In competitive markets, the consumer holds the cards

Another area that we quite often find ourselves losing money in without even realising, is gas and electricity. Similar to our credit cards situation, we can often sign up to a provider, and simply forget about it. The problem with that is that we quite often end up paying over the odds for the same service that we would find cheaper elsewhere. Disgruntled customer need to start realising that they hold quite a lot of power in competitive markets, and as such, companies are vying for their attention with ever-increasing ferocity. Doing this means that deals for new customers are hugely favourable, but equally, your existing providers know that very few people actually go through the rigmarole of cutting ties with them, and are banking on you not being too bothered. Buck the trend, and save you or your business some cash by shopping around for the best deals.

Cheaper internet, and cheaper apps are out there.

When it comes to our internet services, the same rule applies. Your 20MB line may have been a good deal back in 2014, but are you currently getting enough bang for your buck? Now, it is worth considering that changing internet providers can, sometimes, be more noticeable than a credit card or electricity provider. A cheap monthly bill is no recourse for a lousy service, so caution is advised when jumping ship in these waters. The grass isn’t always greener, but if you aren’t happy with the service you currently have, you could end up with either a cheaper service, or a more reliable one simply by shopping around for your internet connection.

Other internet services that you pay for, whether they are business applications or personal ones, often have a greater disparity in their abilities than the aforementioned services. It is all very well saving a substantial amount of cash when ditching Microsoft Office, but can Google Docs give you the same functionality? If the answer is no, then the money saved is irrelevant. If however you find that you are paying out for a service that is far more advanced than you need, further savings can be found here when switching to free alternatives. Libre Office and Google Docs have come on leaps and bounds over the last decade, and as such, many users will find everything they need in a package that costs precisely nothing.

Saving money on monthly bills is not difficult, but it can require a little time to implement. The savings that can be made however, are nothing to be sniffed at. So whether you are proactive enough to check your options every six months, or more realistically once a year, checking the value of the services you pay out for should be somewhere on your ‘to-do’ list. The other option is to be become one of the statistics that these companies rely on to balance their books. The choice is very much yours.

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How to Save Up Some Money and Invest

Before the Internet, you needed thousands of dollars to make an investment that would generate a decent return. But the Internet and smartphones have made it much easier for anyone to invest, even if you only have a small budget.

An app like Acorns, for example, rounds up the purchases you make with your credit or debit cards and invests that spare change for you. Sounds interesting? Read more about it in this Acorns app review. It suffices to say that today, there are plenty of ways to save and invest your money.

However, statistics show that saving is not as simple as it seems (let alone investing). Apparently, 65% of Americans save little or nothing, and 50% of Americans could end up struggling in retirement.

Even if you live from paycheck to paycheck, there are ways to save up some money. And it starts with the right mindset.

Change Your Thinking

First of all, you need to believe there is plenty of money to go round for everyone. Anything that you want is abundantly available if you give it time and dedicate yourself properly. When you move from thinking that everything is scarce and hard to get by, to thinking everything is abundant and available, opportunities will present themselves.

In terms of saving, the key is to start small. In the beginning, start with $10 a week. Put it in an envelope, shoebox, safe, or the good old-fashioned cookie jar. Or an online savings account. That $10 a week will amount to over $500 a year.

When you feel comfortable, slowly increase that the money you want to save. Could you make it $15? Try $15 for a few weeks. Make it a habit to regularly put some money away every week.

Invest Your Money

Once you feel you have enough money saved up and you have a rainy-day fund to cover sudden expenses, you can look to invest some of your saved money.

If you have any debt, your number one priority should be to pay off that debt first. This is particularly the case if your interest rates are double digits. You won’t find an investment that can consistently perform better than the interest rates of your debt, so pay off your debt first.

But if you don’t have any debt, a great way to invest is in your employer’s retirement plan. Again, start small. Invest 1% of your salary, to begin with. Then slowly increase that percentage. The tax deduction will make your required contribution even smaller!

Otherwise, you could look to invest in US Treasury securities. Although they certainly won’t make you rich, it’s a great place to park your money and earn a bit of interest. Some US treasury securities are also protected against inflation.

And once you feel you’re ready, you can invest your money in stocks, bonds, collectibles, commodities, and more. They’re higher risk, but they produce a higher return too. Educate yourself and step into a world where instead of working for money, your money will be working for you.

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10 Money Saving Tips for the Student Entrepreneur

Juggling between attending class, joining school organizations, acing examinations, and doing essays is not an easy feat for students. If you think being a student is difficult, imagine being a student entrepreneur.

Student entrepreneurs have to work smarter and harder to make things work in terms of academic and business progress. One of the challenges is to save money. So, we have researched and came up with money saving tips for the student entrepreneur.

  • Research on Technology and Software Deals for Students

Being a student has a lot of advantages when it comes to deals because of the requirements needed for the school such as laptops or tablet and computer software. You can use these deals in helping your business such as the use of Microsoft Excel in tracking or Photoshop for image creation. Back to school deals are also common so be sure to not miss that.

  • Choose a Student Friendly Credit Card

This tip might concern you as it is supposed to be tips for saving money and not spending. Credit cards have a bad reputation for putting people in debts but only for those who have no idea of how to maximize its potential. However, nowadays, there are Credit cards that offer credit scores

which doesn’t have an annual fee, and some have rewards or cashback programs that can save students hundreds of dollars a year.

  • Research on Grants

Another advantage of being a student is being able to apply for grants depending on your chosen field. It’s a great opportunity to start your business and have someone support it through a grant. Therefore, it will help you save money instead of using it for research and execution. It’s also a great avenue for introducing and marketing your brand without a cost!

  • Make Use of Free and Available Support

Being a student gives you access to amazing research tools which are usually free and available. Make the most out of it by reading on the industry you want to enter. Students usually have access to major newspapers which can keep them updated with trends and finance news. You can also utilize the experts, such as mentors, that surround you. You can share with them your business plan and have their feedback. Use them while they’re still free because consulting an expert after college will cost you a lot.

Source: Pixabay

  • Expand Your Connections

Being a student gives you the opportunity to mingle with fellow students, professors, and field experts. The more people who you can share your product or services with can mean a spread of word of mouth for your business. Interaction with these people can help develop your social circle, references, and support. Ensure that you have a perfect business pitch which is highly structured and easy to understand. If you think that going to college parties or general assemblies are not your thing, then you can explore social media. Social media can be very helpful and it’s easy to find peers on this platform.

  • Consider Starting a Retirement Plan

While investment means spending, it can help you save money in the long run. Having a retirement plan can prepare you in the future since you don’t have an employer to pay it for you. But don’t be pressured into buying a retirement plan at the early stage of your business as it can be a burden in the long run. Make sure that your business is already doing good and you can afford to invest in a retirement plan. If a retirement plan has interested you and you understand the investment, research on terms to help with ease of payment such as paying for a lower premium but on a longer time frame.

  • Take Care of Your Credit Rating

Credit rating is like a shadow that’s going to follow you even after college. Having a credit card while as a student will help you start building your credit history. Avoid creating risks that can lower your credit rating as it can decrease your chances of obtaining business loans in the future. It’s easy to have your card swiped for a lot of purchases and lose track of how much you have spent. Track your purchases by differentiating personal and business. Comparing credit cards, bank rates and savings accounts online could be an immense help and save you a lot of money.

  • Track Everything

As mentioned on tip # 3, track everything – from your allowances, income, expenses to budgets. It’s important to not lose sight of your financial goals. It’s not that easy especially if you’re just a student and want to have fun. Student entrepreneurs will always exert double the effort than those students only but expect to have a doubled reward in the future as well.

  • Create Segmentation with Your Accounts

In support of tip # 8, keeping your personal and business transactions separate can help in tracking your income and expenses. And you can start with opening a bank account for your business transactions. Opening an account is not that complicated and it usually doesn’t require a big maintaining balance.

  • Utilize Assignment for Business Research

Essays are the usual assignment for students that will require them to tap into their resourcefulness, patience, and understanding. Doing essays can be a chore if you don’t see any advantage from your point of view aside from passing English literature. Find passion in research as it can help you learn more about the business industry.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it’s not easy to balance education and business, especially in a financial aspect. But with focus, determination, and the right mindset, you can be successful in anything you set your mind into.

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