How Do You Find The Perfect Investment?

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We’d all like a little more money in the bank, wouldn’t we? After all, unless you’re incredibly lucky, then you’re probably never going to be in a position where you never have to worry about money again.

The problem is that, in an age where the cost of living is always rising, but wages have stayed static, it can often feel as though you’re doomed to live on the same income forever. However, that’s not really true.

There are plenty of things that you can do in order to bring in a little extra money, such as peer to peer lending.

But of the best things that you can try is investing. You might be thinking that investing is usually only for the incredibly wealthy, but that’s simply not true anymore.

This guide will help you understand how to get started as an investor as well as providing you with some excellent options as to where to start.

How to get started:

Use technology

One of the things that has kept a lot of people away from investing as a viable option is the image of it in the collective culture. The idea of trading and investing is something that ends up conjuring images of busy stockmarket floors and haggard investors buying and selling as desperately as possible.

And sure, that is still something that definitely happens, but the crucial thing is that it’s no longer the only option available to someone looking to invest their money. In fact, one thing that has impacted the modern world of investing more than just about anything else is the rise of smartphones.

Thanks to smartphones, there are now dedicated apps that make the process of investing just about any amount of money more simple and accessible than it has ever been before. 

Do your research

One of the most common mistakes that a lot of people make when they start investing is that they try to jump into it way too soon.

As tempting as the idea of earning as much money as possible right away might be, the best thing that you can do is to hold back just a little bit and do your research. By doing as much research as possible and being well informed, you can be sure that you’re making the right decisions from the start and that you’re not falling into any bad habits.

Luckily, in the internet age, there are hundreds of websites, blogs, and other resources to give you all of the grounding and information that you need to start making the best possible decisions when it comes to your future investments.

The truth is that there’s no such thing as doing too much research when it comes to what you’re doing with your money.

Start small

Another common mistake that a lot of first-time investors make is that they assume that they’re going to be trading huge value stocks right out of the gate.

And sure, if you’re incredibly lucky or you have a huge amount of capital to invest (or both!) then that’s entirely possible. But for the vast majority of people, the far better option is to start as small and simple as possible.

After all, regardless of how much research you do, there’s a good chance that your first attempts at investing are going to be a little inelegant and potentially not all that lucrative.

There’s nothing wrong with this, it’s a fantastic learning opportunity. You just don’t want your learning opportunities to come at the cost of huge amounts of money. Investing is a skill that you develop over time and as you improve, you’ll be able to start making investments that have the potential for more significant returns.

Starting small and building up your portfolio over time is always the best option so that, when you come to start investing more significant sums, you can be sure you know exactly what you’re doing.

Ideal investments:

Real estate

There are few investment opportunities more lucrative for a lot of people than real estate.

Investing in real estate is often a lot lower risk and less complicated than trading stock, and it even offers you a lot of different ways to earn money. From flipping houses to rental investing, property actually provides a shockingly diverse set of potential investment options for you.

Of course, the key is to find the right property in the first place. If you’re trying to find somewhere to start there are actually companies who are set up specifically to sell houses to investors that will offer them a solid return.

Not only can you find a great deal but by using that kind of service then you’ll be able to find the right kinds of investment properties much more easily.   

Saving for retirement

This one might not be quite as glamorous as the others, but it’s also the simplest investment on this list.

No matter how young you are, if you’re an adult, you should be thinking about your retirement. As far away as it may seem, if you don’t plan for it today, then you could end up in serious trouble when you’re older.

The best thing to do is to talk to your employer about a potential retirement plan. A lot of companies actually pay into the retirement fund alongside their employees.

That way not only can you start investing in your own future but you can do so with more support than you would get for pretty much any other potential investment.

Trading apps

The world of trading stocks can seem incredibly complicated and inaccessible to a lot of people, and that’s certainly true. However, it’s far less true now than it was even just a few years ago.

This is, in part, thanks to the rise of smartphones. Not only is it now much easier to look up the information you need but there are plenty of apps on your phone dedicated to allowing you to invest and trade stocks on the go. Rather than running around the floor of the stock exchange, you can buy and sell on the bus, out in town, or simply from the comfort of your own home.

This is one of the best options for people who want to try investing their money in a more casual way with smaller sums to try it on for size or experiment with the process.

Peer-to-peer lending

Peer-to-peer lending is one of those things that a lot of people don’t even realize is an option that’s available to them, let alone one that has the potential to the extremely profitable.

The basic idea behind peer-to-peer lending is that instead of buying shares in a company, you’re essentially investing in someone else in. Basically, you’re lending your money to another person rather and putting it into a business. Now, this might seem incredibly risky at first glance.

After all, people can be notoriously unreliable. However, that’s really something that’s only the case if you’re not carefully screening your loans. Luckily, that’s something that most peer-to-peer companies allow you to do incredibly easily.

If you’re careful about it, the truth is that peer-to-peer is one of the best possible low-risk, high-reward investments available to you.

Of course, it’s important to remember that all investments come with some degree of risk or another.

Some are very low risk but some, particularly those with very high potential rewards, can carry a much more significant risk. It’s up to you to figure out if that’s something that you’re comfortable dealing with.

Jeff Campbell
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