The first question posed by anyone who decides to invest part of their capital is definitely: “Where is it worth investing?”
In this guide we will try to clarify to help you understand how to move to invest your money responsibly.
Where to invest today
Nowadays you can get an appointment, a ride or a burger at home through a smartphone. If you can automate your bills, why not your investments?
Thanks to the many solutions you can try, learning how to invest responsibly is possible.
1. Investing in shares
Investing in stocks is to invest one’s money in the real economy, i.e., in productive activities. It can be a short-term or long-term investment, depending on what you choose.
In any case, it is one of the investments that, if it is successful, gives a lot of satisfaction, but at the same time it is highly risky.
There are always exceptions, of course. However, relying on a professional or constantly following the market is one of the ways to focus on the right companies and sectors.
2. Invest in bonds
C you are a finance expert or a beginner who is approaching this industry, at least once in your life you will have heard about bonds.
Before addressing the issue of how to invest in bonds or the convenience of using this financial instrument, however, it is necessary to start from the foundations. Bonds are a financial instrument issued by banks, companies, states or supranational entities representing a credit instrument.
It is therefore a loan granted to the issuer for a certain period of time. In exchange for this loan, therefore, you receive interest and the promise of repayment of the principal at maturity.
Stocks or Bonds? The market is very similar even if bonds are a financial product that has a more stable trend than stocks.
However, it is always important to be cautious and rely on a professional in the field or to inquire well to make your capital better benefit.
3. Invest in yourself
The years have changed, and many people continue to have the same mentality as the last century. On the other hand, more and more people are realizing that they are out of step with the times and are looking for a way out.
We are in a society characterized by changes especially in the world of work. Now there is more and more competition, it is not enough to do things well at a good price, you need something else to stand out.
And it is precisely for this reason that the “soft skills” of the last century have become necessary and fundamental skills to make our lives a turning point.
Investing in yourself means just that: training continuously, having a broader view and developing useful skills to be better off with yourself and with others.
Developing these skills today is very simple because there are countless possibilities and tools to learn: classroom courses, training courses, online courses on any topic. Once you have the right skills, understanding where you should invest is a breeze.
4. Invest in silver and gold
This investment is part of investing in commodities (i.e. investing in commodities), and it is a method of capital protection.
Gold goods have an intrinsic value, destined to resist (or even increase) in the moments of decline in the share, recession of the economy or when there is an increase in inflation, and therefore of prices.
This is due to the fact that gold is difficult to draw and minimum quantities are obtained each year. Moreover, it is a metal that has value throughout the world and in all ages, and for this reason it has always been used, since ancient times, as an international means of payment and for the creation of reserves of wealth.
Possessing gold therefore allows you to have a capital always available that, regardless of the market, will always have a higher value than the purchase price.
5. Buy and resell real estate
Investing in real estate is now useless! Have you ever heard that statement? All right, it’s wrong.
Even today this is one of the most profitable investments, if done in the right way.
Not always buying and selling is the right step, sometimes it is more profitable to buy and rent, but we see this later.
To invest in real estate you have several alternatives:
- Invest in REIT;
- Crowdfunding real estate;
- House flipping.
In the first case, these are real estate investment trusts that allow you to invest in real estate without buying physical real estate. These are companies that own real estate of any kind that give private a part of their shares, in exchange for dividends.
The REIT market is very large so it is good to control all investment conditions, preferring those listed on the stock exchange and regulated.
Real estate crowdfunding, on the other hand, is a form of financing from below that has as its object new real estate buildings or renovations of existing buildings.
Through real estate crowdfunding platforms it is possible to view projects and decide on which to invest. Investors receive a share of the company or a return on investment through interest on the lent shares.
The big advantage of this method is that you can invest in real estate starting from small amounts, while still being careful not to invest out-of-budget amounts.
House flipping, on the other hand, consists in buying a decadent house at a low price, renovating it in the cheapest way possible and then selling it to make a profit.
A way to invest that seems easy but that actually requires a great job, aimed at
translate all expenses into earnings, as fast as possible.
6. Rent real estate
Instead of buying and selling, you might consider other options:
- House hacking;
- Airbnb.
In the first case it is a matter of renting a property in which you live or work yourself, that has rooms or units greater than you need.
In this way you can get extra income with which to cover the costs of purchase, your personal expenses or that allow you to share some expenses of management and maintenance of the property itself.
If you own a second home, or want to buy one using mortgage rates, which have recently reached historic lows, you could rent it through Airbnb.
This platform allows you to give visibility to your property and rent it for up to 3 months to registered users. In this way you will avoid dealing with non-paying tenants, since the money is taken from the guest’s card before his arrival.
Airbnb, in exchange for the payment of some commissions, allows you to become a host, which guarantees you to generate extra earnings with the properties you already have.
7. Services offered by credit institutions
Here we go on a timeless classic where it is worth investing: safe investments.
In addition to the fact that there is certainly not much left, this kind of investment is called “safe” because, objectively, there are more elements that allow it to stand.
On the other hand, the risk is there too.
Moreover, it is very low yields although very constant over time. We are mostly talking about bank booklets or deposit accounts, which have as their primary purpose to keep your savings safe.
So, it is mostly a long-term saving method than a real investment. Moreover, even if according to the credit institution to which you turn, you have different annual returns that must be calibrated according to the capital invested.
It is not an investment to be excluded a priori, you just have to evaluate your own conditions and what you bet on.
8. Invest in luxury watches
Investing in a Rolex, for example, is one of the items where investing is convenient most, it is also more profitable than a financial investment.
In fact, it is a very stable market that over the years has increased its value. On the other hand, the world of counterfeiting has billion-dollar rounds, but with the right precautions it is possible to invest and make big profits.
The older a watch is and the more it has value; just think that there are vintage Rolex that has reached 100,000 euros and more. It is clear that to buy and resell a Rolex you have to rely on experts who know how to evaluate the value of the object in question.
So once you have made sure that the watch is an original and its value will grow over time, it is good to secure it and secure it.
9. Equity crowdfunding
Equity crowdfunding is a business model that allows more people to invest in a project or on certain initiatives, using specific digital platforms.
The great advantage of this kind of investment lies in the fact that those who want to invest can contribute even with small sums, compared to their own possibilities.
You usually buy equity in companies, receiving in return a corporate share of the same. In this way it is possible to support newborn companies or small and medium-sized enterprises.
It should be noted that the online portals that deal with crowdfunding are digital platforms controlled by Consob, therefore safe. These are systems that facilitate the collection of capital and allow to evaluate entrepreneurial risk in advance.
A direct and transparent way of investing, which gives the possibility to choose which projects to focus on, almost all concerning socio-environmental sustainability.
