Ways to Invest Without Playing the Stock Market

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1 November 2017. Investing any surplus cash that you have is imminently sensible if you want to be financially stable and have little cause to worry about money in the future. However, taking your chances on the stock market right now is not only a scary prospect but may not be the best idea right now, with many top economists predicting a crash. The good news is that there are lots of very effective ways you can invest your money today, which don’t require you to play the stock market and take bigger risks than might be sensible at this moment….

Peer-to-Peer Lending

Peer-to-peer lending is probably one of the best forms of alternative investment out there. Why? Because not only can it bring you many benefits, but it will also benefit the borrower, who may be a budding entrepreneur in need of a little help to get his amazing idea off the ground.

What is peer-to-peer lending? Basically, it is a way of lending money that removes the banker or investment company from the equation and allows normal people like you and I, who have some spare cash we’re looking to use wisely, to lend to the people who need it. By lending money this way, you stand a much better chance of making bigger, safer returns than you do playing the stock market because you can create a very diverse portfolio, spreading your money across numerous loans and helping countless people along the way. It really is a fantastic way to put your money to work!

Gold

Investing in gold and other precious metals is king of controversial because there is a prevailing idea that putting your money into gold is a foolproof way to increase your investment – this isn’t true; precious metals can appreciate and depreciate in value over time. However, if you’re willing to play the long game, chances are that if you put some of your money into gold, platinum or silver, you will be able to make a profit eventually – it’s all about knowing when to cash out.

Angel Investments

Angel investments are similar to peer-to-peer lending in that an individual uses their money to help a budding business person get off the ground. For example, you might know someone who has a great idea for a new form of scientific testing, but they can’t get a traditional bank loan to help them develop it. You could then step in and invest some of your cash to help them, in return for a percentage of the profits.

Where angel investors differ from peer-to-peer lenders is that they typically offer their business expertise and skills to the borrower, taking on a mentoring role in their life too. So, if you’re looking for a way to help people, get a fair return on your investment and get your teeth stuck into a new project, it could be the perfect option for you.

Paying Your Debt

Okay, so this might seem like it doesn’t really belong here because it’s not an investment in the traditional sense, but if you have outstanding debts and you have a surplus of cash that you want to make work for you, using it to pay off your debts is just about the best investment you can make because you’ll be free from debt and interest payments, and paying off your debts is not something that can be taxed, unlike most investments, making it the most sensible thing to do in such situations.

Real Estate

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Of course, one of the most popular (with good reason)_ ways to invest cash is surely in real estate. If you don’t want to play the stock market, but you do want to invest in your long-term future, then you could do a lot worse than pursuing the pages of http://rumahdijual.com/cibubur/rumah-murah for an affordable property that you can do up.You don’t want to buy something really expensive!

When it comes to investing in real estate, you can either go down the flipping route, whereby you purchase a cheap property, that is perhaps in need of some TLC and renovate it, selling it on for a quick profit, or you can buy it as a long-term ‘real asset’ which you can rent out for an income now and keep in the hopes that it will appreciate in value in the long-term. Both of these options are sound and undoubtedly less risky than taking your chances on the stock market, but you must remember that there is no guarantees eve, in property, which goes through booms and busts just like everything else. Of course, the difference is that you will still have a piece of real estate, in the bust times, whereas you could easily lose everything on the stock market.

United States Treasury Securities

US Treasury Securities, which you can find out more about at http://www.investinginbonds.com/learnmore.asp?catid=9&subcatid=50&id=97, are a bit like certificates of deposits, and although they tend to bring slightly lower returns than CDs, they are perhaps a better option if you’re the cautious type because the government will increase the value of the treasuries in line with the consumer price interest as well as paying the regular rate of interest too and the US Treasury is probably one of the safest places you can have your money in what are turbulent times for the market.

Antiques and Collectibles

Investing in antiques and collectables, whether they be works of art, coins or even pop culture memorabilia can be as risky, if not even riskier than gambling on the stock market, but they are an alternative to stocks, so they are worth mentioning here. However, the only real benefit I can see to choosing them over some of the other alternatives this post is the fact that, even if you don’t gain monetary value from them, you will get to enjoy them, and if you really do know what you’re doing, you could make a big profit one day! Still, I would hesitate to suggest anyone invest more than a small portion of their cash into antiques and collectables if they want to see it grow.

Bitcoin

Investing in Bitcoin might not seem too different from investing in stocks and shares, but there are already lots of people who’ve made massive returns from doing so, and although the market has calmed down a little for now, as we do more and more of our business online, Bitcoin And other cryptocurrencies are only going to get more popular, which means, if you have your hand in the first right now, you could make huge profits in the future.

Business

Using some of your cash to start your own business is something that you should definitely consider, especially if you know you have the skills and experience to make it work. Starting a business is always a risk, but if it pays off, you could make more money on a more regular basis than you would elsewhere, and you could even become a silent partner eventually, meaning that you could make money without doing much of the work!

Before you invest your money in anything, including the suggestions here, please speak to a reputable financial advisor, who will be able to look at your situation and help you weigh up the options until you hit upon the solution that will work for you and maximize your returns while minimizing your risks. You could go it alone, but unless you really know what you’re doing, you’ll probably regret it someday!

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