Creative Ways to Invest Your Money
Investing in stocks is not the only way to invest your money. There are
lots of alternative investments that you can add to your portfolio, many of
which you may not have thought of. Here we've listed some of the alternative
investment ideas in our list of ways to invest money.
Start Your Own Business.
Instead of investing in stocks and bonds, invest in yourself and start your own
business. Whether buying a franchise, investing in equipment to provide
services, or setting up your own restaurant or other establishment, there are
lots of ways to start a business. If you go this route, plan carefully and
try to find a partner to help share costs and ideas.
Buy a Small
Business. Another way to invest is to buy an existing business.
Many small businesses are sold when the owner wants to retire or they fall on
hard times. Contact a few local business brokers and search the real
estate sites to help you locate an appropriate business. Often, you may
find a business that is barely profitable and then turn it into a profitable
business with some fresh ideas and better execution.
Fund a
Friends' Business. Have a friend that has great business ideas
but no money. Help him or her out by loaning them money in return for a
share in the business. Make sure you get legal help to set up the loan and
equity agreement.
Lend Money to Someone Online. There
are dozens of sites where you can loan your money to average people that need
cash for something. People list their proposed loans and rates and you can
decide who to loan the money to. The websites provide the legal documents
and funding help and you can help someone pay for college, invest in their
business, or get the money they need for something else.
Buy Gold and Precious Metals.
Another way to invest is to buy gold or other precious metals and actually take
possession of them. Although you would typically do this through an
investment account, you can actually buy metals and store them yourself.
Buy Art. If you have a love of art and can spot a good
art investment, there is money to be made by investing in art. It usually
takes years for art to appreciate in value and you'll need a safe place to store
or display it. You can hire an art broker to help you find potential
investments.
Invest in Real Estate. With a little research and some
legal help, you can buy an apartment building, duplex, house or even commercial
real estate and then make money on the rental / lease income. It takes a
while to learn the real estate market and find good investment. Make sure
you run lots of spreadsheets to find out what kind of cash flow you can expect.
Also, you'll need to commit to at least 10 years or longer to really start
making money this way.
Buy a Vacation Rental. Live in an area with lots of
tourism or near water? You can buy a house, cabin, condo or other vacation
home and then rent it out weekly or monthly for money. Doing this means
that you have to provide a high level of quality service with quick responses to
your customers. You can hire someone to manage your rental but it will
cost you 30-40% of your profit.
Flip a House. Buy a house that is in good shape but that
can easily be improved. Then improve it, doing as much of the work
yourself as you can, and sell it for a profit. Look for homes that you can
easily add bedrooms and bathrooms to, that you can easily change the floor plan
to dramatically open up the living space, or that just need simple remodels and
paint to unlock the value.
Buy a Foreclosure. Along the real estate line, you can
look for houses, vacation rentals or even apartment or commercial buildings in
foreclosure. Depending on your state, you may or may not be able to get a
great deal by finding a foreclosure. Do your research.
Buy Antiques. Antiques go up in value and therefore can
be considered investments. If you really know what you're doing you may be
able to make money doing this. You can also decorate your house with your
investments until you are ready to sell. Another way to make money on
antiques is to find them at estate sales and by "picking", whereby you may be
able to get them at a fraction of their worth.
Buy Items to Resell. Buying items and reselling them is
basically what retail stores do. You can take this concept to a new level
and find items to resell for a higher price. After all, tens of thousands
of people make their living from ebay. Dropshipping is another option
along these lines that you may want to look into. Whether you buy
wholesale inventory and resell it online, or buy used items at estate or garage
sales and resell them in a consignment shop, there are lots of ways to make this
another way to invest.
Join an Investment Club. Investment clubs often pool
their members money and then invest it in assets that are approved by the club.
While many investment clubs buy stocks, there are more advanced clubs that
invest in real estate and start up companies, similar to venture capital.
Buy a Website. There are hundreds of thousands of
websites for sale. Some are just domains with no traffic and some are
developed sites or premium domain names. If you have a good understanding
of how to make money with these sites, they can make a good investment.
