What would you invest your money on?

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Hi again.

Today I've decided to ask fellow TalkBassers what would you do in this situation. From several years ago, I've had a certain amount of money (from selling a family business) in the bank. It is in a fixed-term certificate of deposit, so it gains some interest. The thing is, bank interests are a joke and devaluation is very noticeable year by year where I live. So I need to do something for that money to grow. Problem is, I'm very bad at business and I'm afraid of losing my money trying to invest it on something that eventually won't work. Besides, I hardly trust anybody to create a partnership.

It is not a huge amount of money, but something that still may serve as a small capital to start something productive. The question is... what? I mean, what's a safe investment? Of course, I know that the productivity of a business varies from country to country, but anyway I'm looking for some sort of brainstorm that may give me ideas. Seriously, I'm worried because I see that my money is worth less each year and I don't feel able to do something really productive with it.

Thank you in advance for your input!

P.S.: BTW, I haven't spent one single cent from that money to buy my basses. I've got all of them through my hard work exclusively.

[Sizlack]

Buy Gold

[guitar ed]

Potential return = potential risk of losing 100% of your money.

What are the consequences of losing the cash? What is your time frame for the investment? These are things that need to be considered. Where is the cash, in Columbia or outside?

BTW: I used to be stock broker, here in the US.

edg

[senorblues]

Invest in a safe.

[Phalex]

Chinese Yuan.

I am an idiot when it comes to financial stuff, but I really don't see Chinese money going anywhere but up.

[drteeth]

Couple years ago we all would have said real estate .

[sloasdaylight]

If you've got a lot of money, buy gold. It's probably the safest stock you can invest in.

[MatticusMania]

Originally Posted by drteeth

Couple years ago we all would have said real estate .

Real estate, especially if you can purchase outright, still isnt a bad investment.

Purchase property > Rent it out. People still need places to live and not everyone is in a position to buy.


Myself, Id just invest in my band. Not much of a return, but it would be worth it for me.

[UncleFluffy]

Interesting leader in the Economist recently arguing that stocks are still overvalued and when the flow of taxpayer money that's propping up the economy gets cut off there might be aftershocks. Not an answer to your question but information you might want to consider.

My instinct right now is to be conservative - better to let inflation nibble at the corners than to lose everything.

If I were going to gamble, I'd be looking for stocks in emerging markets that have healthy domestic demand and economies in good enough shape to be somewhat decoupled from the rest of the mess. Let me know if you find any...

If you're talking about investing it in a business venture rather than stocks/bonds/commodities the only advice I can give is to choose something you love and understand.

[drteeth]

Originally Posted by MatticusMania

Real estate, especially if you can purchase outright, still isnt a bad investment.

To be honest, I would invest in real estate myself. I'm to risk-averse for stocks and obligations and the like just do not provide enough return.

[flipper_gv]

Originally Posted by sloasdaylight

If you've got a lot of money, buy gold. It's probably the safest stock you can invest in.

Gold is a great idea

Your country obligations could be good too.

[Jim Campbell]

Originally Posted by Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

Hi again.

Today I've decided to ask fellow TalkBassers what would you do in this situation. From several years ago, I've had a certain amount of money (from selling a family business) in the bank. It is in a fixed-term certificate of deposit, so it gains some interest. The thing is, bank interests are a joke and devaluation is very noticeable year by year where I live. So I need to do something for that money to grow. Problem is, I'm very bad at business and I'm afraid of losing my money trying to invest it on something that eventually won't work. Besides, I hardly trust anybody to create a partnership.

It is not a huge amount of money, but something that still may serve as a small capital to start something productive. The question is... what? I mean, what's a safe investment? Of course, I know that the productivity of a business varies from country to country, but anyway I'm looking for some sort of brainstorm that may give me ideas. Seriously, I'm worried because I see that my money is worth less each year and I don't feel able to do something really productive with it.

Thank you in advance for your input!

P.S.: BTW, I haven't spent one single cent from that money to buy my basses. I've got all of them through my hard work exclusively.

rental property is fairly safe,but the return is commensurate with the risk.....however,one house will always buy you another.....i don't know the market there but it's worth thinking about

[XtreO]

Buy apartments and rent them out. Then sell them again in 10 years time, meaning you've gained "interest" on the rent paid to you and the increased amount you sold it for in 10 years.

[GregC]

Originally Posted by Sizlack

Buy Gold

Originally Posted by sloasdaylight

If you've got a lot of money, buy gold. It's probably the safest stock you can invest in.

Originally Posted by flipper_gv

Gold is a great idea

Your country obligations could be good too.

Gold is trading at a 30-year high and has quadrupled in price over the last decade. It's also extremely volatile and has lost close to half its value in the space of one year in the past. Maybe it goes higher from here, but that is the very antithesis of "safe".

[XtreO]

Originally Posted by GregC

Gold is trading at a 30-year high and has quadrupled in price over the last decade. It's also extremely volatile and has lost close to half its value in the space of one year in the past. Maybe it goes higher from here, but that is the very antithesis of "safe".

Unless I wanted to be the man in one of the Top Gear VW "commercials", I'd stay away from gold yes :3

[Ericman197]

Originally Posted by GregC

Gold is trading at a 30-year high and has quadrupled in price over the last decade. It's also extremely volatile and has lost close to half its value in the space of one year in the past. Maybe it goes higher from here, but that is the very antithesis of "safe".

Yeah, gold is more of a failsafe than it is an investment. It will never 'pay' you. It will only go up or down in value, and it is difficult to predict unless you are very familiar not only with the gold market, but with all the factors which affect the price of gold (stocks, prime rate, inflation, etc.)

I don't know if there is a Columbian equivalent, but look into bonds/treasury notes. Aim for 5% if it's possible. Right now for example the short term treasury bills are terrible (like a tiny fraction of 1%) but the long term notes are OK (in the 4% range). Treasury notes are not necessarily the BEST investment but they are fairly safe.

Just don't put the money in a 30 year note if you think you might need it in the near future.

[Armueller2001]

Originally Posted by GregC

Gold is trading at a 30-year high and has quadrupled in price over the last decade. It's also extremely volatile and has lost close to half its value in the space of one year in the past. Maybe it goes higher from here, but that is the very antithesis of "safe".

Exactly what I was thinking... why the hell would you buy gold right now?

There's a reason why the radio waves are bombarded with people telling you to buy gold for an investment.. because they're SELLING IT at a high point! Buy low, sell high!

Wait til gold is $400/oz again or something.

[Johnny Crab]

Silver, food, self-preservation devices, a water supply, stuff you can barter with.
Any fiat money WILL lose REAL purchasing power as you are experiencing first-hand. Folks in the USA can be blind to that because the "numbers in their accounts" go up but in reality value of what the sold investment can buy is going down(as you observed in your country).

Read a LOT(below)and then decide.
The tickerforum is free but you get a LOT more for a small donation(worth it IMO). Watch Chris Martenson's "Crash Course"(1st link).
http://www.chrismartenson.com/
http://www.tickerforum.org/cgi-ticker/akcs-www
http://market-ticker.org/
http://www.zerohedge.com/
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=204
http://whiskeyandgunpowder.com/
http://www.berninger.de/home.html
http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/
http://www.gold-eagle.com/research.html
http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Balti..._-_BDI_(BALDRY)

Some of the links focus on the USA but a few are international. You should also find information about your country's economy specifically. Reading news from outside of one's country is useful for this as all countries now have "filtered" news inside.

Final suggestions:
NEVER trust anyone to manage your money for you UNLESS you trust that person with you life.
Try very hard to discern investment decisions for yourself. It is YOUR money and YOUR future. Someone profiting off of you(fees, charges) is someone to be careful with.

All the best to you in your future.
JC

[hbarcat]

Invest in yourself.

Examples:

-Get an education in a field that you are passionate about
-Start a business in a career that you can be proud of
-Buy property that you can enjoy living on



Just imagine what kind of life you want to be living years from now and ask yourself if there is anything you could spend money on right now that would help you attain that lifestyle.

[flipper_gv]

Originally Posted by GregC

Gold is trading at a 30-year high and has quadrupled in price over the last decade. It's also extremely volatile and has lost close to half its value in the space of one year in the past. Maybe it goes higher from here, but that is the very antithesis of "safe".

it was in the sense that when in a recession, when devises worth go down gold usually keep a good value compared to their devises.