REI Wealth Monthly Issue 12 | Page 72

FOREX RATES – THE “SECRET INGREDIENT” OF OVERSEAS DEALS ZIV MAGEN Only, this time, it's horrible - flat, tasteless, and The chef is your own common sense, advance stale. Frustrated and disappointed, you leave mid- plan-ning and analytical skills. course, throw your money on the table with disgust, and vow never to return. Furthermore, you The market said chef goes to is none other than make sure none of your friends ever make the the world's global markets and their respective same mistake you did, by letting them all know economies. what a terrible restaurant this is - all false promises and incompetent staff, you tell them, and even go as far as posting a venomous review on the Internet. When you invest only in your own home country, where your income rises and falls with local inflation and market swings only, as do your expenses, Funny thing is, in the process of posting said review, you notice a multitude of other reviews , all of which are absolutely glowing, glorious and full of praise. All of them with one common theme - all reviewers followed the chef's recommendation, time and time again, and came out completely satisfied. You begin to feel like a complete idiot. you lead a relatively sheltered investment life. You'll have to get creative to make big leaps and bounds, granted. But even if you don't, following the same, sound investment strategy will yield the same, sound, expected results. Nothing too exciting, but no big surprises either. Kinda like your corner burger place or Chinese restaurant - you know exactly what to expect, within reason. You probably won't be blown off your feet, but you won't be fed dog food either. When you invest overseas, however, things are quite different. Kinda like going to a new, exciting restaurant. Even if you've been following the advice laid out in REI Wealth Monthly and other worthwhile sources out there, built your team, learned the ropes and setup the infrastructure perfectly, there's always an element of unexpectedness - a "secret ingredient", if you will. That secret ingredient, much like the story above, can make or break your portfolio if you don't THE ANALOGY practice common sense. It can make you an extra few thousands (or tens of thousands, depending Foreign exchange and overseas property investing on the budget involved) on every purchase, sale or are a little bit like the above story. annual income cycle - but it can also cost you the same. The restaurant is your portfolio.