You can break down the best investments into short-term and long-term investments. You expect to hold onto short-term investments for less than three years and are typically cash, stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, etc. Long-term investments are those you expect to hold onto longer than three years and are generally real estate, investment properties, or savings bonds.
1. Margin Investing
When you use margin investing to pay for investments, you borrow money from your broker and then fully pay it back when you sell your stocks. This can be a great way to invest more than you otherwise could because it allows you to purchase stock with only a fraction of its value.
2. Investment Credit Cards
The investment credit cards come with rewards and are designed to give you a tax break. Make sure to read all the fine print carefully before signing up. One of these cards may not be suitable for your investment strategy. But opening an account might be worth it if you’re looking for an easy way to get into investing without much risk.
3. Invest in Stocks
Investing in stocks can be risky, but it can be highly profitable if you know what you’re doing. If you aren’t experienced in stock market investing, consider building your portfolio with exchange-traded funds.
4. Set up an IRA
Whether you’re just starting or looking to retire, investing in an IRA is excellent for building your savings. Setting up an IRA allows you to save for retirement without paying taxes on any growth until you start withdrawing funds at retirement age.
5. Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)
REITs are a great way to invest in real estate without purchasing an entire property, like a single-family home or a retail building. Instead, you can get income from REITs through dividends and capital gains. Dividends represent a share of profits paid out by a company to its shareholders, while capital gains refer to profits made when you sell your shares for more than you paid for them.
6. Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)
ETFs are funds that track an index. Investors can purchase an ETF for about a tenth of what it would cost to buy all of an index’s components individually. Additionally, investors can sell their stake in ETFs during market hours. This makes them ideal for people who have trouble committing to long-term investments or want to take advantage of short-term fluctuations in stock prices.
7. Brokerage Account
It’s one of the most common ways to invest money but it also requires a lot of money. You’ll need at least $3,000 to open a brokerage account. Once you have that much cash on hand, you can choose from thousands of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offered by hundreds of investment companies.
8. Forex Trading
One of my favorite ways to invest is by trading forex. Forex stands for foreign exchange, and it’s essentially a global marketplace for currency pairs that lists everything from U.S. dollars to Japanese yen and Indian rupees.
With so many options for paying your investments, it can be hard to know where to start. Fortunately, some great resources can help you choose an investment strategy that is right for you. According to SoFi, “If you elect to redeem points as a statement credit into your SoFi Credit Card account, then your points will redeem at a rate of 0.5 cents per point.” So if you’re looking to invest in a broad range of stocks and bonds, index funds are likely to be your best bet.
