Q: Before you go about getting rid of people in your life, make sure you're doing it for sound reasons. Are you stressed? Are they stressed? If so, now may not be the right time. But if this has been going on for a prolonged period of time and you just don't feel good around them anymore, this is probably the right decision. Life is too short to be around those who don't make us feel our best. Knowing exactly why you want to the friendship over with will help you explain to this person (or persons) why you're deciding to cut off the friendship. When you're strong in your convictions, they'll be a lot harder to argue with and to get angry about. Make sure you're not doing this on a whim or out of anger. If you get the impulse to end the friendship, sleep on it. If you still feel the same urge the next day, it may be safe to move forward. Initially, telling the truth about your feelings that the friendship has drawn to a natural conclusion may seem hard, but it can be the kindest thing to do in the long run and may save you the trouble of having to go through any other steps to end the friendship. Broach the topic gently with them. Take care to avoid placing blame or suggesting that your friend has character flaws that you can't stand anymore. This is partly about you, too. For example, you might say something like, "I don't know know how you feel and I am willing to listen to what you think. But it's important that you understand that I don't feel like our friendship is working well anymore. There are now many times when I feel we've [grown apart/started to bicker all the time/gotten too used to putting each other down, etc.] and even though I've thought hard about this, I just don't feel we can fix this anymore. I feel we should see less of one another and be honest about what has happened to our friendship." Be aware that if you give specific reasons for ending the friendship, these reasons must be as objective and blame-free as possible. Any reasons that attack the character or actions of the other person are open to your friend responding by saying that they'll be a better friend, etc. and you risk getting stuck in an unwinnable argument. Focus on you and how you feel things they cannot change. To avoid a defensive response, keep your reasons for ending the close friendship broad and non-judgmental. You want to stay the bigger person in this situation. Do not say negative things about your friend's character; this will raise defensiveness and can make you look mean and petty. If that happens, you may feel obliged to "repair" your nastiness and it'll take many more months before you feel strong enough to try undoing the friendship again. Criticize how you feel in the friendship rather than picking on your friend's annoying habits. You do not want them to feel attacked nothing good can come from that (especially if you have mutual friends). Be aware that anything you say will likely be construed negatively. This is only human and is a way of coping with pain. With this in mind, keep your message simple, kind and clear. This isn't a case of being "won over" by your friend's arguments that things will still work it's about having the courtesy to show that you have listened. You can summarize how you see their side of the story and then repeat that despite that, you still feel that it's over from your side of things. This conversation is likely to cause a lot of sadness, hurt and even anger on behalf of your friend. Be prepared to acknowledge this but don't let it be a reason for sweeping the problems under the carpet. Don't stand about taking abuse; angry responses are a sign that a timeout is needed. If closure doesn't happen, that's fine. You did what you had to do. If your friend becomes upset during the conversation, don't feel compelled to explain your ways. Just repeat that you don't want to be close friends anymore. Emotions are going to be on high alert during this time, so it's important you stay as logical as possible. In some cases, it will be obvious to both of you that the friendship has been going nowhere for a while. Most likely, the friend will be having the same feelings and be relieved that you have been open about it so try it. You shouldn't have to be stuck in a friendship that you aren't interested in. Since you did it openly and honestly, both of you know where the pieces lie. It'll be easier for both of you to interact in the future, if and when you need to. However, if this isn't doable, the next section discusses abandoning the friendship in an indirect, passive way.
A: Be certain in your own mind why the friendship is no longer working for you. Get your friend in private and speak your mind. Stay objective and blame-free. Try to focus on facts, not opinions, and your own feelings. Be prepared to listen to what your friend has to say. If things get heated, suggest that you meet up later to finish the conversation. Be realistic when assessing the fate of the friendship.

Q: Your real estate investment can be active or passive. Active investment, such as trading properties or flipping houses, is more risky because property isn't particularly liquid. If you need to get rid of it, you may not be able to find a buyer. Passive investment is less risky, and may be a good place to start real estate investment. A popular option is to buy shares in a real estate investment trust (REIT). Each share represents a diverse bundle of properties, kind of like a mutual fund for real property. You can purchase shares through a broker. Forex, the international currency exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world. Currencies rise and fall in relation to each other, primarily based on the strength of each country's economy. To successfully trade currency, you need a strong understanding of geopolitical trends and events. Be prepared to read a lot of international news every day so you can spot opportunities. It's usually smart to focus on one or two currencies so you can thoroughly research those countries' economies and keep up with the latest news. An option is a contract that gives you the right to buy or sell an asset at a certain price at a set point in the future. Since you don't have the obligation to buy or sell at that point, your potential losses are limited to the price you paid for the contract. To trade options, open a brokerage account, either online or with a traditional broker. The brokerage firm will set limits on your trading ability, based on your experience investing and the amount of money you have in your account. If you get into riskier investments, a solid hedging strategy will help protect your portfolio. The basic concept of hedging is to offset a possible loss in one security by simultaneously investing in another security that is likely to move in the opposite direction. Most passive investors, who are simply investing for retirement or a long-term goal (such as money for their kids' college), have no use for hedging. However, if you're making aggressive or risky investment choices, hedging can provide a sort of insurance that lessens the impact of losses, particularly from short-term market fluctuations. A financial planner or advisor is essential if you start to move into more aggressive, shorter-term investment strategies. They will help design your hedging strategy and make sure the bulk of your portfolio is protected. Commodities can be used to hedge against risk, because they tend to behave differently than stock markets and currencies. However, they are risky because they respond to a variety of different factors, many of which are completely outside of human control. There are hard commodities, including precious metals, and soft commodities, such as wheat, sugar, or coffee. You can invest in commodities in 3 different ways: physically buying the commodity itself, buying shares in a commodity company, or buying futures contracts. You can also invest in commodities more passively through investment funds. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) may have shares in commodity companies, or may track a commodity index.
A:
Dive into real estate for longer-term investing. Move into the currency market if you like a challenge. Trade options to limit your exposure. Practice hedging to lower your risk. Diversify your portfolio with commodities.