5 Unconventional Ways To Make Your Money Work For You

Posted on: 28 June 2019

The conventional wisdom is that it takes money to make money. While that may be true, putting money in a safe investment, like a money market or a CD, won't grow your money very fast. Sometimes is takes money and guts to make money. Here are a few unconventional ways to put your money to work. 

1. VC Investor: A venture capitalist is someone who invests in a business very early on. They take large risks as many businesses can fail, but they also have much to gain if the business succeeds. There are even online investment groups that you can join as a VC investor to make group investments. You would share the risk and the reward. The infamous panel in the television show "Shark Tank" are all acting as venture capitalists. 

2. Precious Metals: Investing in gold and other precious metals is another unconventional way to make your money work for you. While you may not want to have a stash of gold bullion in your basement, you can still invest in gold or platinum through a precious metal IRA. This type of IRA functions the same as any other IRA except the assets that are held are precious metals. You reap the benefits of investing in precious metals without having the risk of physically storing it in your home.

3. Peer-to-Peer Lending: The concept of lending money to those around you has been around for centuries. The latest twist on lending is online, peer-to-peer lending. Putting your money to work for you by lending it out to others for interest has risks, but the risks are mitigated because these sites use crowdfunding methods. Allowing investors to loan as little as $25 to each person helps to spread the risk across several investment. The interest is healthy but not predatory, so investors can rest easy knowing that they are helping someone while making money at the same time.  

4. Invoice Factoring: Many small businesses find it difficult to wait 60 days or more for a larger business to pay their invoices. They need help with their cash flow and often turn to invoice factoring as a way to level out their finances and get fast cash. Invoice factoring takes outstanding invoices and purchases them from the small business at a discount. They then wait until the invoices become due and collect the full amount. The difference between what the invoices were purchased for and the full amount paid is their profit.  

5. House Flipping: The housing crisis is winding down and house flippers are on the rise again. A house flipper, for the uninitiated, is a person who buys a house, fixes it up, and then sells it again in a short period of time for a profit. The house could need minor cosmetic work or major repairs. Every deal is different. As an investor, you could choose to be a silent partner in house flipping, putting up the money and letting someone else manage the dirty work. There can be extreme profits, but there can also be unforeseen disasters. Getting a realtor to join your team can help mitigate loss from poor decisions. 

While unconventional, all of the above options can see returns much higher than what savings accounts, government bonds, or even the stock market are currently paying. If you can handle the risk, you can reap the rewards of unconventional investing.  

For more information on your options, like investing in precious metals, contact a company like McAlvany ICA.

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