There are a number of ways you can start investing your hard earned cash in the hope of making a return. None of them offer cast-iron guarantees of profit, and indeed some of them are loaded with risk – but you wouldn’t be seeking out an investment if you didn’t enjoy at least a little bit of risk.
That element of risk, of course, means it is important to research your chosen method prior to investing, to make sure you fully understand the positives and negatives associated with it.
Some of us will like a bet on stocks, shares or cryptocurrency, tying our investments up in a price that could fall, rise, fall and then rise again to unexpected heights.
Others will prefer the much safer options offered by the likes of investing in metals or real estate.
Whatever type of person you are, there will be an investment opportunity out there for you. Here are five of the best.
Stocks and shares
Investing in a company by purchasing stocks and shares is one of the most popular ways of investing. Each share represents a small piece of the company you own, and if you shrewdly invest it in a company before that businesses value soars, then you can sell your shares on at a profit at a later date.
Real estate
Investing in real estate can be a highly lucrative way of making money. Depending on what you are looking to do, you can purchase homes for the purpose of renovating them and selling them on at a profit or purchase them to turn them around and then rent them out to tenants.
Cryptocurrencies
When you are investing in cryptocurrencies, you are investing in the belief that one day they will become mainstream enough to replace the Dollar, the Euro, and other hard currencies as the world’s number one method of paying for transactions.
Holding cryptocurrencies means you have a share in their venture. Should the day come when bitcoin and the like are held as monetary reserves by central banks or become the dominant currency of international trade, then the value of cryptocurrency will soar. By buying and keeping cryptocurrency in your hardware wallet, you are betting on its success. If you think we are on an irreversible march towards a world in which virtually every function of our lives is carried out online, then it looks a safe bet.
Metals
One of the oldest ways of investing money comes from buying precious metals. The value of precious metals rises when other investments drop, and it remains one of the safest investments out there. Purchasing gold bullion, for example, is extremely secure, but that does mean the returns are minimal as the element of risk is reduced.
Debt
It may not seem like an investment, and it is certainly the most boring type of investment, but paying off your debts is the most common way of investing money. By repaying debts, you are lessening your financial risk, increasing your freedom and removing the black cloud that debt can often cast over us.
