There are several factors that contribute to making the road to riches more difficult for women, one of them being the gender pay gap. Overall, women working full-time earn 83 cents for every $1 that men working full-time earn, and the gap is wider for women of color, a TIAA study found.
Yet, there are several moves women can take to help them become millionaires — and several self-made millionaires shared which ones contributed to their success with GOBankingRates.
Real Estate as a Cornerstone To an Investment Strategy
Brenda Christensen — CEO at Stellar Public Relations and a female self-made millionaire — said she found that real estate has been a cornerstone of her investment strategy.
She shared a few actionable tips which have worked for her. For starters, she said to invest in value add properties.
“Focus on properties that you can improve or renovate. This approach allows you to increase the property’s value and sell it for a profit. The process of buying, upgrading, and selling can be very rewarding and profitable,” she said.
Then, she also strongly recommended that you understand the market and conduct thorough research to understand the real estate market trends, especially in areas where you plan to invest.
For instance, she said to look for properties in neighborhoods poised for future growth.
Christensen also suggested looking at tax benefits — one of the key advantages of real estate investing. She said you can take advantage of capital gains tax exemptions when you sell a property at a profit, especially if it’s your primary residence for a certain period.
“By focusing on improving properties and staying informed about the market, you can make smart investment decisions that not only build wealth but also maximize the tax benefits available in real estate,” she said.
As for her own journey, Christensen invested in luxury real estate in the SoCal area, primarily beach properties.
“For example, I purchased a large home near the ocean just north of Malibu at a bargain rate — $440,000 — and did some light renovation,” she said. “I sold it two years later for nearly double the price — $775,000 — and just under the capital gains tax.” She said she then took the proceeds and purchased another home in the Malibu foothills for another below-market rate ($400,000) and flipped it a year later for $750,000.
Control Your Retirement
Taylor Bradford — a seven-figure entrepreneur, owner of Sugar Creek Event Rentals and Boss Girl Creative — said that for her, it all started as a way to have some control over her retirement. More particularly, a path that was not stock market-dependent.
“We chose to start investing in income-producing property as soon as we could. Not only do you have someone else paying the mortgage, but you stand to have a little mailbox money each month as well,” she said. “Once the mortgage is paid — I highly recommend 10-15 year mortgages on your income-producing properties — that monthly income becomes yours, minus taxes and insurance. You can create a solid little nest egg for yourself as an entrepreneur.”
The way she went about it is by buying a duplex when was 23 years old, then moved into one side — with a tenant residing in the other side.
“We lived rent-free and only had to pay our utilities,” she said, adding that she highly recommends starting in the town you live in.
“It’s helpful to know your town — that gives you an advantage of knowing the market, knowing the schools, and knowing where people shop. I also highly recommend purchasing an investment property you would actually live in yourself. If it’s not good enough for you, don’t buy it,” she said.
Use Your Gains To Launch a Business
Jaime Raskulinecz — founder and CEO of Next Generation Services, Next Generation Trust Company, Rainbow Property Management and a self-made millionaire — also said that her wealth building journey began with real estate investments.
“Then, becoming a business owner was key to building my wealth,” she explained. “As that progressed, I began making non-publicly traded investments with my retirement plan, such as private equity along with having a wealth manager to manage all my traditional investments at a brokerage firm.”
Her journey started when she bought her first property — a two-family house — and the rent helped pay for the mortgage.
“I later bought another two-family house as well as two rental condos on Cape Cod,” she said, adding that these — combined with her savings — allowed her to buy her current primary residence while renting out the other properties.
Then, she started a property management company in 1994. In 2004, she started a third-party administration company specializing in self-directed IRAs. Finally, in 2017, she started a trust company to act as custodian for all the retirement account assets.
NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Tesla soared Wednesday as investors bet that the electric vehicle maker and its CEO Elon Musk will benefit from Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Tesla stands to make significant gains under a Trump administration with the threat of diminished subsidies for alternative energy and electric vehicles doing the most harm to smaller competitors. Trump’s plans for extensive tariffs on Chinese imports make it less likely that Chinese EVs will be sold in bulk in the U.S. anytime soon.
“Tesla has the scale and scope that is unmatched,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, in a note to investors. “This dynamic could give Musk and Tesla a clear competitive advantage in a non-EV subsidy environment, coupled by likely higher China tariffs that would continue to push away cheaper Chinese EV players.”
Tesla shares jumped 14.8% Wednesday while shares of rival electric vehicle makers tumbled. Nio, based in Shanghai, fell 5.3%. Shares of electric truck maker Rivian dropped 8.3% and Lucid Group fell 5.3%.
Tesla dominates sales of electric vehicles in the U.S, with 48.9% in market share through the middle of 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Subsidies for clean energy are part of the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022. It included tax credits for manufacturing, along with tax credits for consumers of electric vehicles.
Musk was one of Trump’s biggest donors, spending at least $119 million mobilizing Trump’s supporters to back the Republican nominee. He also pledged to give away $1 million a day to voters signing a petition for his political action committee.
In some ways, it has been a rocky year for Tesla, with sales and profit declining through the first half of the year. Profit did rise 17.3% in the third quarter.
The U.S. opened an investigation into the company’s “Full Self-Driving” system after reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian. The investigation covers roughly 2.4 million Teslas from the 2016 through 2024 model years.
And investors sent company shares tumbling last month after Tesla unveiled its long-awaited robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night, seeing not much progress at Tesla on autonomous vehicles while other companies have been making notable progress.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.
The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.
The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.
