Eleven great ways to invest money

I have a guest post from Dan of the Canadian Website www.stocktrades.ca. I thought it would be an interesting concept to get a guest post from across the pond on Dans ideas on how to invest money. And that investment is to come with little to no risk with returns! Lets see what he suggests. Over to Dan.

Like little to no risk and almost certain returns?

Most of us lead busy lives no matter what the time consuming task is. With inflation these days we can’t afford to have extra cash sitting around doing nothing! Here are eleven great ways to invest money!

There are simple ways to either make a few extra dollars or pounds, or save a few extra dollars investing our hard earned money in order to see some growth, or savings. Whatever we can do to set ourselves up for success in the future, and every little bit counts. Check out our full article on 55 ways to invest $1000 here.

Pay Off Debt

This tends to be a dark closet for the majority of North American’s. The average debt load of a Canadian is currently about $20,000 and that isn’t including a mortgage. That is just straight up consumer debt. 

The problem with consumer debt is that it normally is held against a high interest rate and ends up costing the user more money than they would like to think about! 

If you are in this boat, do yourself a favor and do everything in your power to get out of it. This will be a weight off your shoulders and a weight off your paycheck as well. 

Start An Emergency Fund

An emergency fund can also play into interest rates, by helping you avoid paying them. If an unexpected cost comes out of the blue, at least you will not have to dump it on your credit card or line on credit and work to pay it off. The problem is dealt with, and that’s the end of the story. 

There is a great deal of peace-of-mind that comes from having an emergency fund and it can help you stay clear of those nasty interest rates we take on when we go into debt, or prevent you from having to dig into long term investments and cost yourself dearly in the long run.

Start A Cleaning Business

Here is a great way to bank some extra cash to be invested further. Pretty much any able-bodied person can build a network of clients in their immediate surroundings and work on their spare time. 

The potential is quite large with this idea as well. Either keep it small and easy to manage, just for a few extra bucks. Or go for the gold and build a cleaning empire piece by piece. All it takes is a few clients, employees, and you can potentially nab some bigger contracts.

Buy Original Artwork

This is one that many people can action. But the variables can be quite wide reaching, such as starting capital, and the time period of the investment. The best way to make money buying art that doesn’t cost millions of dollars is to be able to recognize talent. Once you have found said talent, buy everything! If you strongly believe there is a market anyway. Then nurture that talent into value. Once their work is worth more, sell the pieces you have for a healthy profit!

These tactics can work for people who have great networking and deal-closing skills that can help an artist get their work recognized and increase the value of their work. For someone looking more at a hands-off approach, simply becoming versed in a certain field of art and learning to judge value can work as well. Hit up the odd auction, find a few great buys and sit on them until an opportunity comes up to sell for a profit.

There are several funds that exist where in the managers do just that. The persons who run the fund buy and sell artwork for a profit, generating a return for their investors over time.

Renovate Your Home

Home renovations can be one of the best ways to turn a buck, if you are planning on selling the place anyway. Some great ones are kitchens and bathrooms. A fresh look can make the difference between a buyer paying more because they love it or not. 

BUT! There is an important aspect to remember here. Don’t go overboard unless the market in your neighborhood calls for it. If you put a ton of money into renovating your place, and advancements aren’t being made in the rest of your neck of the woods, it is unlikely the returns will be as great as you expect them to be. 

There is always some room for improvement somewhere that can be affordable though. Maybe some cheap landscaping could be done, or putting in laminate instead of carpet etc. 

Doing this work yourself is going to make the difference between cashing in, and going broke. When you develop a home, its best if you put in the sweat equity. This will greatly increase the chances that you realize a return from the project.

Purchase Chickens

Egg lovers rejoice. Depending on your local bylaws, you can have farm… er… yard fresh eggs everyday. Owning chickens can be both challenging, and rewarding. If you or your family consumes lots of eggs, the cost can be reduced by gathering eggs from your own chickens.

In addition, if you have enough chickens that there is some left over eggs, you can sell them to your neighbors to pay for chicken care. Your upfront costs for shelter and acquiring the chickens may be high, but in the long run they will pay for themselves and then some.

Wash Cars

This is an excellent way to make a few extra dollars. In some cases it can be reasonable to charge $20 per hour plus a supplies charge. Line up a few clients for a day on the weekend or a couple hours after work and soon you will have paid for some bills that month.

The great thing about doing this on your own is there is little overhead so your price is competitive. A good detailing at a shop could cost as much as $300, when the same service could be provided by an individual for as little as $150. This can make it easy to generate a client base and as long as your work is exceptional the word will spread.

Start A Pet Grooming Business

Who doesn’t have pets these days. Many people groom their own pets but just the same there is lots of people who don’t have the time. 

The cost of pet grooming varies quite widely. But an individual pet grooming on their own could probably justify charging at least $20 per hour for their services. 

The pay off will be directly proportional to the footwork done in building clientele. Give people  business cards, maybe start an Instagram account where you can document your work. 

This would be a great idea for someone who loves animals, as the potential for new friends is never-ending. 

Build And Sell Furniture

Building and selling furniture is something to tread particularly carefully into. Look at any buy/sell outlet and it is littered with people who have created furniture or resurfaced old furniture and it will never sell. 

Forgo the pallet furniture, as most of the time it simply ends up looking like, pallets. Unless of course someone requests that you use pallets for an item.

The goal here would be to create something that solves a problem, and at the very least looks neat, and neutral. Once you have created something great, explore options online for exposing your product and getting it sold.

Learn And Freelance SEO

Here is a knockout strategy for generating extra income. SEO, or search engine optimization, is the work of organizing and improving a website to help it climb higher in the search results of websites like Yahoo, Bing, or Google. 

One of the most attractive advantages of this work is that it can be self-taught, and done from a computer pretty much anywhere in the world as long as you have a solid internet connection. 

Another tempting point to mention is the charge. Initially it may take a few pro-bono jobs or a deep discount. But get it right the first time to get some good reviews and the pay off will be well worth it. The average hourly rate for SEO work can range from $50 to $150 per hour and a retainer of $1500-$3000 per month. 

Build a client base by talking to other people and small businesses about websites. You will discover people trying to build websites that need help. You can also list your services on websites such as UpWork.

The potential for this path is quite large, but a person could limit the work to whatever level of engagement they please. Either to just generate a few extra bucks with spare time, or create a full-time self-sustaining job.

Invest In Yourself

Investing in yourself will always pay you dividends. By investing in yourself we mean gaining knowledge. You could gain knowledge in subject matter that you are already familiar with, or try something completely new altogether.

You never know where a new or deeper understanding of something could take you. This could be as simple as taking a class on the weekends in something you are interested in, or as challenging as choosing to go back to school full-time.

Financially it is a toss up if your path will pay you in the future. But there are numerous papers that have praised increasing knowledge for building brain power and even avoiding neurological disease over time.

If you are stumped on what to do to generate extra income, hit the internet. Start by exploring something new, and trying to identify some unknown interests. This will help you decide what the best course of action is for your lifestyle.