(The Penny Hoarder) The Penny Hoarder explains alternate methods to investing besides the stock market.
Saving money is great, but it won’t make you rich.
No matter how many dollars you put into a savings account, the national average .05% interest you’d earn won’t expedite your millionaire status.
And cutting your costs can only go so far, explains Certified Financial Planner Robin Hartill (who is also an editor and financial advice columnist here at The Penny Hoarder).
Instead, you’ve got invest. And here are the best places to invest in 2022:
Take a look at some of the world’s wealthiest people. What do they have in common? Many invest in large private real estate deals. And here’s the thing: There’s no reason you can’t, too — for as little as $10.
A company called Fundrise lets you get started in the world of real estate by giving you access to a low-cost, diversified portfolio of private real estate. The best part? You don’t have to be the landlord. Fundrise does all the heavy lifting.
Fundrise’s Starter Portfolio has a minimum of only $10 and is geared toward first-time real estate investors. Your money will be invested in the company’s Flagship Fund, which already owns more than $250 million worth of real estate around the country, from apartment complexes to the red-hot housing rental market to larger last-mile e-commerce logistics centers.
As tenants pay their rent, you could earn money through quarterly dividend payments, and over time, you could earn money off the potential appreciation of the property. Since 2014, Fundrise investors have earned roughly $100 million in dividends alone.
So if you want to get started in the world of real-estate investing, it takes just a few minutes to sign up and create an account with Fundrise .
What are your real financial goals? A better car? A post-pandemic dream vacation? An emergency fund or a college fund? A comfortable retirement?
To reach your goals, you’re going to need to invest and grow your money. If you’re new at investing — or even if you’re not — you should look into an investing app called Betterment.
It’s easy to use; it has low fees; and it does all kinds of important and tricky work for you. Because of all those factors, over the long term, you could earn an estimated 38% more than a typical investor, Betterment says.
Just answer some questions about your age and income, when you hope to retire, and your tolerance for risk. Based on your answers, Betterment’s sophisticated software funnels your investment money into a portfolio of low-cost index funds that track the stock market as a whole.
You can set up auto-deposits to steadily feed your investments. No minimum balance is required. Betterment only charges an annual 0.25% fee, so if you invest $1,000, you pay just $2.50 a year.
Just enter your email address here to get started. It takes just a few minutes, and you could be on your way to hitting your goals — and earning 38% more on your investments.
You might be thinking you need at least a few more zeros in your checking account before you can even start thinking about investing in art. Warhol? Monet? Banksy? Yeah right. You just managed to finally put away $1,000. Those guys are way out of your league, right?
Wrong. You could still get started with what you’ve got. Seriously.
A company called Masterworks is helping us average folk invest in multimillion-dollar works of art — traditionally one of the most lucrative investments that’s only available to the super rich. But you don’t need hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy a masterpiece outright; with Masterworks, you can buy shares instead.
Here’s why it’s a good option: Fine art can potentially earn you more money than the stock market. Over the long term, the stock market will earn you an average annual return of 7%, but Masterworks lets you invest in art that has historically seen a 10% to 25% price appreciation.
This is a long-term strategy, so patience pays off here — literally. But once your piece of art sells, you get your cut of the profits.
It takes less than a minute to request an invitation, and you could become a Masterworks member by the end of the day.
Here’s the deal: If you’re not using Aspiration’s debit card, you’re missing out on extra cash.
Yep. By signing up for a free debit card called Aspiration you could get up to a 10% back every time you swipe, plus they give you up to 100x the normal interest rate on your balance.
Need to buy groceries? Get extra cash.
Need to fill up the tank? Bam. Even more extra cash.
This card used to have a huge waiting list, but you’re now eligible to sign up for free.
Enter your email address here, and link your bank account to see how much extra cash you can get with your free Aspiration account. And don’t worry. Your money is FDIC insured and under a military-grade encryption.
If you feel like you don’t have enough money to start investing, you’re not alone. But guess what? You really don’t need that much — and you can even get free stocks (worth $2.50 to $200!) if you know where to look.
Whether you’ve got $5, $100 or $800 to spare, you can start investing with Robinhood.
Yeah, you’ve probably heard of Robinhood. Both investing beginners and pros love it because it doesn’t charge commission fees, and you can buy and sell stocks for free — no limits. Plus, it’s super easy to use.
What’s best? When you download the app and fund your account (it takes no more than a few minutes), Robinhood drops a share of free stock into your account. It’s random, though, so that stock could be worth anywhere from $2.50 to $200 — a nice boost to help you build your investments.
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