With the Upâs and Downâs the economy has experience over the last several years, many people have been left asking the question, âAre there any truly safe investments that can be made these days?â In todayâs post weâll cover the top 4 investments that are still worth making.
1: A House
A home is one of the most worthwhile investments you will ever make, and what an investment that will be. It may take you decades to pay off your house, but the nice thing about houses is that they increase with value over time.
The value of real-estate rises over time like the value of a car falls, itâs predictable. Your investment will pay itself off and more should the need ever arise to move or sell.
With that in mind, any land you may own will have the same effect. As the amount of available land decreases, prices for land that you own increase.
Itâs the law of supply and demand. The less supply available, the more someone is willing to spend when the demand rises. With that being said, be wise when it comes to making your home purchase as well as the improvements that you make during your time living there.
As we learned in 2007 there can sometimes be artificial inflation that happens in the housing market, buying during those times can lead to severe financial turmoil. In addition to being careful when you buy, be careful what improvements you make, understand that some improvements such as landscaping donât give you as much bang for your buck when it comes time to sell as a remodeled kitchen or bathroom.
2: A Steady Stock
Certain stocks have shown steady, predictable growth over the years and are therefore, safer to invest in. Oftentimes the growth is slow, but it always moves in the positive direction.
When you plan on putting aside money for a number of years, consider investing it in a steady stock instead of a bank. Your money will appreciate better in an investment rather than a holding cell.
3: An Education
If you donât have a post-secondary degree yet, get one. On average, salaries take drastic turns for the better with every degree you get. You are worth more when you have learned more. You come to the table with more to offer, and are therefore a competitive employee. If a company wants you, theyâre going to have to pay to keep you.
Thatâs the beauty of an education. It represents quite the financial investment, but the jobs and salaries that follow are well worth the time. They more than pay themselves off with time. If you have one already, see if thereâs anything more that you can be doing to increase yours, ie. attending conferences and keeping up with recent literature.
4: Invest in a Friend
There is untold power in investing in the people around you.
Studies have shown that there is a correlation between the people that give more and the people that earn more. Some say it comes from a social responsibility. When you’ve been given so much, you are responsible to give to others. The more you give, the more youâre blessed with. Others will say itâs a weird coincidence. Science canât figure it out, but the phenomenon remains.
The more you invest in the people around you, the more money you are likely to make. You will never know though until you give it a shot. On top of that, youâll be doing something to make a difference in peopleâs lives. Whether you give them a fish and feed them for a day, or teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime, the results will be the same.
For one, youâll help someone, someone that needs help like youâve needed in your life. For another, youâll share an excellent example to those that might continue the legacy themselves (like your children).
Finally, and least importantly, youâll feel great about what you didâchanging someoneâs life. Invest in the people and community around you. This doesnât always mean you invest monetarily. Many times it will simply be getting to know someone new, offering a listening ear, or showing someone thatâs ignored that you care. No other investment will give you the return of investing others. This is the best investment you will ever make.
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Take a look at “Planning Investments while Budgeting” to learn more about how you can include your worthwhile investments in your budget.
