In recent years, it has become more accessible for the average person to invest in the stock market. There are even apps available for your smartphone and tablet that can essentially change you into a day trader. But what if you don’t want to invest your money in the stock market? The stock market is a fairly volatile thing at the moment. You can go with a relatively safe investment, but it will take quite some time to see the rewards from it. Alternatively, you could go with a more risky portfolio and risk losing it all for the chance of some bigger gains. In this article, we aim to give you some smart ways to invest and get a good return without too much risk.
Property – One of the best investments you can ever make is to buy property. While its value may go up as well as down, it is a fixed point and will allow you to make investments on the back of it. There are many ways of making money from property, the first one we will look at is Renovation. At its core, this will involve you purchasing a more run-down property. It doesn’t have to be falling to bits, but if you are good at what you do this may give you more earnings in the future. Choose a desirable area, for example, Utah and check out the best housing markets around Utah. The easiest way is to buy a property that has not been lived in for some time. As long as the building is structurally sound and has utilities and waste supplies to and from it, the process will be fairly simple. Primarily this will just be a case of getting builders in to refresh some of the elements inside the home. A fresh lick of paint, a new kitchen and possibly if you are feeling adventurous, knock out a few walls and add an ensuite. The value added to the building will provide a decent return. However, you should make sure you have enough money to keep yourself afloat if the house fails to sell quickly. Another way to make money from property is to become a landlord, now this can be as hands-on, or off as you desire. If you want to make the most amount of return on your purchase, deal with the tenants directly and address minor problems and maintenance yourself. If that is not really your thing, you can turn over the responsibility to a management company who will sort out these issues for you for a cut of the rent each month. Renting property is not without risks. Maintenance costs can soon rack up if you have a decent portfolio of properties you are renting out.
Lending – So this doesn’t mean that you will be chasing people around with some hired muscle to get your money back, in fact, it couldn’t be further from the truth. Lending money to other people is booming as interest rates from banks and other financial institutions are so high. This kind of lending is called peer-to-peer or crowdfunding, and it is best done through a third-party site. Essentially you give your money to a peer-to-peer lending service, then then they break your investment down so as to spread the risk of losing your cash. For example, if you invested $500 and the company gave that all to one borrower and then folded, you would lose your $500. What peer-to-peer companies do is spread your investment around. $10 goes to person A and $10 to person B, so if they fold you only lose a minimal amount of your investment. The best part is that the interest on the rest of your sums repayments would probably cover that anyway. It is a fantastic way to invest and you are making money by genuinely helping someone else, it’s a win-win.
Antiques and Collectables – Now before we start, you need to know that this type of investment is more of a long game. Although the prices of your investments should only ever go up, beauty is most certainly in the eye of the beholder. You should only consider investing in something that you know you will love yourself as it may take a long time to sell them.
Antiques and collectables are a great way to invest as they offer a great alternative to stocks and shares. Many times when the normal markets are down and struggling, the prices of antiquities can still be at their usual high. Sometimes you can even heavily boost the value of your collectables, etc. if the artist who made them, unfortunately, dies or their work is bought heavily into the public eye.
Business Investments – Investing in a small business is quite a high risk. Around fifty per cent of small businesses fail, so you could end up losing most if not all of your investment should the company fail. However sometimes to make the most profit you have to make the biggest gambles, and I am sure that anyone who invested in a company that has boomed won’t be crying now!
You can invest in the company by buying shares. This gives you a percentage of ownership of the company and a share of the potential profits. The other less risky option is to invest in the company’s debts, so essentially you are loaning them money to pay their debts. The best part, of investing in the company’s debt, is that if the unthinkable does happen and they close, you as a debtor will get your money back long before any shareholders.
Overall
The best advice I can give is to spread your investments and minimize your exposure to risk. Try one or more of the above investments. Remember if one fails at least you still have your fingers in another pie that will continue to reap rewards and build your bank balance for the future.