Investing is the most effective way for you to secure your financial future. If you are serious about building wealth, then it all starts with strategic investments. However, there are several ways that you can invest with differing levels of risk and reward. It all comes down to what you’re comfortable with and what your end goal is.
You can start small and work your way up as you build wealth and gain experience. Investing in yourself (through education or entrepreneurship) can be incredibly rewarding, but it does take a certain level of self-discipline. This is why some people choose to invest in businesses or property instead.
Eight great options to consider when planning your financial future.
Invest in real estate
Properties have been one of the best investments for many years. It’s no wonder why so many people are interested in buying or flipping houses to profit. You can buy, sell and rent out properties around the world – both commercial and residential. The more abilities you have with construction, renovation, design, management, negotiation, and marketing, you can make more money.
Bonds
You can buy bonds from your local bank or brokerage. They’re an excellent way for businesses to borrow capital without putting up their entire company as collateral. A bond is a loan you give to a business or government entity for their promise to pay you back. Bonds carry an interest rate, which is the amount of money they pay you in return for borrowing your money for whatever period they were issued.
When you buy a bond from someone else, it’s called bond trading. When you sell a bond that belongs to you, it’s called bond discounting or brokering. If you’re the seller and someone else is buying your bond, then you’re in the business of brokering bonds. We can buy bonds at any local brokerage, but there are also markets where bonds trade intraday. You can buy back your bond, just like you would any other security that you own.
Stocks
Earning money through stocks is also a great option to secure your long-term financial future. You can invest in small or large companies as it allows you to choose which you think might become significant and worth buying their stocks. Companies already considered ‘big’ now, like Google, Apple, Microsoft, etc., were once small. Through buying stocks, you can also earn money for retirement or through dividends. Dividends are the earnings companies make which they share with their stockholders.
The price of stocks goes up and down, but if you keep holding onto them for many years, then your investment is guaranteed to grow. It’s important to choose powerful companies that offer great products or services and leaders in their industry.
Gold
Gold is also considered as an option for investing money. Gold is a commodity that has been used as currency for centuries. Many of the companies have been producing gold coins since ancient times. Gold is a globally recognized currency and is always in demand. When you’re choosing investment options, this is one to consider. Many people do not prefer to carry cash on them or even keep it in a bank, so they buy gold jewelry and wear it around their neck or waist.
Gold as an investment option has its advantages and disadvantages. Gold prices keep fluctuating, so people often prefer buying it during the low price times and then selling it when gold prices reach a high point.
Mutual Funds
If you like to keep your money in the market but don’t feel up to choosing individual stocks, mutual funds may be perfect. Mutual funds are made of a pool of investors who all put their money together and invest in many different companies. It will involve the fund manager picking which stocks are in the fund and deciding when to buy or sell.
The fee for choosing a mutual fund is meager compared to what most financial advisors charge. If you decide you don’t like the mutual fund after a few months, you can move your money into another without paying any fees at all.
T-bills (Treasury bills)
If you like the safety and low volatility of a low-risk investment, then T-bills might be perfect for you. Treasury bills are investments issued by the US government with a term of less than one year. Since the government backs them, their credit risk is very minimal, and they don’t fluctuate in price much (for example, a T-bill currently worth $100 won’t go up to $101 in a day).
This service works if you buy $100 face value of US Treasury bills for $97.20, then in six months, when they mature, your investment will be worth $100 again. You can cash them back before maturity and get your $97.20 back, so it’s very reliable and secure.
Money Market Accounts
Another excellent option for preserving wealth over the long term is putting money into a money market account. Banks or credit unions offer these accounts and offer an extremely low-risk investment that accrues interest slowly but steadily each month.
Money market accounts are FDIC insured, so they carry the same safety as bank CDs. Usually, you won’t withdraw money without penalty until after a certain number of days, but this prevents you from taking advantage of the interest rate.
Money market accounts are a great place to store savings for short-term goals, such as Christmas or a new car. However, if you have more time on your hands and want to invest over the long term, CDs might be a better option.
Cryptocurrencies
Of all the options for investing, choosing to invest in cryptocurrencies might seem unusual at first. Any government or central bank does not back cryptocurrencies, making their worth based on supply and demand.
However, cryptos are among the best long-term options because they have been growing steadily since 2009 when Bitcoin was introduced. Bitcoin is the most well-known crypto, but it’s not the only one. Many altcoins have been introduced since Bitcoin came out, and all of them provide a different use case.
For example, Ethereum has a platform that allows decentralized applications to run on top of it. This creates an incentive for people to invest in Ether because the value of Ethereum will continuously grow as they develop more applications. This means that the price of Ether will continue to rise even if people lose interest in Bitcoin.
Because cryptos are so new, choosing to invest in them might be a tough decision. However, choosing to ignore them because you don’t understand them might be even more dangerous.
The future is uncertain, but choosing suitable investments can secure your financial future. There are many investment options available to everyone, and some of them have been listed above. However, some might not be suited for every type of investor. If you are looking for investment options to secure your financial future, consider some of them.