There are only so many hours in the day, and you cannot be expected to be in ten places at once. If you want to ensure a brighter future, you need to make your money work for you. If you have the funds investing is a no-brainer. It means that while you are at work, or sleeping, or hanging with the kids, or having a social life, your money could be taking care of itself. You need to get smart and become braver, as fortune favours the bold. These days there are no end to the types of investments you can turn to, and the amount you get back in return depends on the sort of risk you are prepared to take. For those of you with families, perhaps lower risk is a better option, but remember there is still a risk. Let’s face it, most of us have a pension, and that is also a risk. Life is a risk, but an investment is not like making a wild bet in the dark, it is an educated assessment of current trends. If you are prepared to do a little research in the beginning and figure out what sort of investment you would be interested in, then you are making way for you to be able to sit back and watch your bank account grow.
Investment can come in many forms, so let’s have a look at a few:
Be aware of your spending
The first tip to a brighter financial future is to be mindful of how much you spend on a daily basis. A lot of people seem to have the problem of money just falling through their fingers as if they were a sieve. As soon as they get paid, they stop at every corner store for food and drink, or go through the drive-through every day, or impulse buy online or whenever they walk past a shop with something attractive in the window. They end up having absolutely no idea how much they have spent their money on that day, week, month. This is one surefire way of never having any money. If this is you, it needs to stop right now. Become aware of your spending. Take control of your bank account. Budget and live within your means. The idea is to spend less each month than what you earn. Do not fall into your overdraft or debt. The old saying, take care of the pennies, and the pounds will look after themselves, is the idea here. To live better, you have to begin preparing for your life. If you can organise packed lunches and evening meals, this will stop you needing to purchase expensive food items every day, for example.
Look after the things you own
The truth of the matter is that we live in a throw-away society. There is not much pride anymore in taking care of things. As soon as something feels redundant or isn’t in tiptop condition, it’s out the door. This means you need to spend more money on things that perhaps you didn’t actually need in the first place. Think about why you are throwing something out. Could it be fixed instead? If you have a computer or a MAC that is no longer doing what it is supposed to, why not have it looked at by an expert, read on here for more information about that. Or, if you are fed up with that wardrobe, why not sand it down and paint it, breathing new life into it. Not only will fixing the things you have, save you money, it will also help protect the environment too.
Types of Investments you can think about:
Government bond funds
It may be worth your while thinking about investing with the government. A government bond is where you invest, or rather lend money to the government for a certain period of time. During the period of your investment, you will receive a payout in the form of interest, known as the coupon. You will not lose money. Once the term of the investment is over, you will get back the full amount that you put in on the maturity date. You can choose the length of time of the investment. This is one of the safest investments you can make as the U.S government backs it.
Stocks and shares
The advice here is to do a bit of research before you invest. You may want to discuss this with an expert financial advisor too. There are a lot of different companies that float on the stock exchange, and they all have different prices, values, and they pay out different dividend rates. In addition, you may be driven not only by the need to invest in your own financial future but for the future of the planet too. If this is you, perhaps you could invest in renewable technologies or alternative fuel companies such as First Solar. This is entirely up to you, but as a rule of thumb, you need to pick companies, whether they are eco or not, not the stocks. In your research, you can read company press releases and discover a little about what the future is for your investment. Doing research will assist your thinking about the length of time you will be investing for, short-term, or long-term. If you are in it for the long haul, do not worry about market fluctuations, even recession, as your investment should be safe, if you have researched correctly. Also, look at companies who pay out significant dividends as you will be getting a return annually on your investment even if you have it in there for 30 years. Obviously, no share is entirely risk-free, so invest what you can, in theory, lose. Have a plan B, and do not put all your eggs in one basket.
Spread-betting
Alongside dealing with shares, there is also the option of financial spread-betting, as opposed to buying shares. Spread-betting is like a bet, but a more informed sort of chance. You take a look at a particular share and place a bet on the likelihood of the share price rising or falling. Again, this will involve a lot of research, but it is possible to make a lot of money this way.
Real-Estate
Everyone needs somewhere to live, and if you have the capital, why not invest in real-estate. You could purchase homes for the rental market and get a return every single month. Obviously, you will need to pay the agents, etc. and do any upkeep on the house. But, this is simply guaranteed money, and you get to keep the house too. Perhaps you want to buy cheap and sell on. One of the best ways to do this, if you have enough capital, is to purchase houses directly from the banks after foreclosure. In this scenario, the bank can do a discount on the price of the house if you are prepared to buy a few of them in a deal. This could be a great money maker, and a quick turnaround as many foreclosed houses have nothing wrong with them. If you do not have this kind of money, but are handy, or know a good contractor, you could buy a fixer-upper.
Start a side hustle
This is a great way to make money in your spare time if you are a bit entrepreneurial. What do you love doing? Perhaps you could turn it into a little business. A side hustle is a great way to make extra cash alongside your main job and can protect you if you are made redundant, for example.