You keep hearing how important it is to invest your money now so you can have a brighter future.
Your brother, Steve is always talking about his 401(K). Your cousin, Sharon is constantly bragging about her diversified portfolio.
You’d love to have passive income too, right? But, do you even know where to start?
We can help. In this guide, we discuss some of the easiest income-producing assets out there for you to invest in.
1. Real Estate
It probably doesn’t come to a shock to you that real estate is No. 1 on our list. Not only can it add passive income but it’s a long-term investment that can pay off in the long run.
Some of the most common and popular way to invest in real estate:
- Rental property
- Real estate investment group
- Real estate trading
Buying rental property involves investing in a physical property — like a residential home — for a long period of time. You make your money from the monthly rent you collect from your tenants.
If you like the idea of the passive income but not the hassle of maintaining the property, a real estate investment group may be the way to go. The group will buy a large property — like an apartment complex — then sell individual units to investors. In most cases, a property manager handles the maintenance, while you just collect your cut.
In essence, real estate trading is flipping houses. You buy a property, hold on to it for a short time, then sell it at a profit.
The downside is, most of these homes need a lot of work so you can to shell out for remodels or renovations. The upside is, you can make a ton of money doing it.
2. Commodities
Commodities have struggled to bounce back from the 2008 recession. But one that’s done well recently is copper stocks.
In fact, the best copper stocks to invest in right now have projections showing significant increases in cost per pound in the near future. What makes it a smart investment now is you can still buy in relatively low.
3. Peer-to-Peer Lending
Peer-to-peer lending is only a decade or so old but it’s become a popular investment for folks looking to turn a quick profit. In simple terms, you loan money — usually at lower rates — to people who have been denied traditional loans.
You may think you’d have to shell out a significant initial investment in P2P lending. But in truth, one of the biggest P2P platforms allows you to get started with as little as $1,000.
4. Dividend Stocks
Investing in the stock market can get tricky. That’s why people hire stockbrokers. But, investing in dividend stocks is easy and pain-free.
You invest in a company. If the company is profitable, a portion of that money gets paid back to you and the other investors.
Income-Producing Assets With Little Investment
Not everyone has a couple thousand dollars sitting around but they still would like to have passive income.
Two low-cost ways of investing are bonds and Certificate of Deposits, or CDs.
Buying bonds aren’t as popular in the U.S. as they once were but they’re still a good investment. Government bonds are the most well known, but there are many available. If you hold the bond until maturity, you’ll get all your coupon payments and principal back.
But you can also sell bonds on the secondary market. The price will depend on the current economic and market conditions.
With a CD, the bank will pay you a low-interest rate if you keep your money deposited for a set amount of time. While you won’t end up with a huge windfall, you will have a steady investment for the future.
Where Will You Invest Your Money?
Investing always sounds scary at first. But once you know how easy it is to invest in some of the income-producing assets out there, it’s really not that bad.
You need to think about how much you’re willing to invest and what kind of passive income you’d like to make. Then, choose the avenue that you’re most comfortable with.
If you’d like more tips about saving and investing money, check out our money blog!
