Stocks, Crypto, or Real Estate:
Where to Put Your Hard-Earned Money
Stocks, real estate, and cryptocurrency are three investment classes that have seen a lot of activity in the last couple of years. For someone who wants to purchase a long-term asset that may yield for them some significant rewards, these three are rather exciting options.
All involve relatively higher levels of risk than other types of investment, such as high-yield savings accounts or savings bonds for example. That means that there’s a chance that the investor can lose more than they earn. But if an investor plays their cards right and is careful and deliberate about their financial decisions, they could hit it big with either one of the three.
Should you invest part of your savings into one of the rising stars of the stock market and aim to build a formidable stock portfolio? Should you put your money into a piece of property and either hold on to it or build a home that can be bought or rented? Or should you explore a rising crypto coin like Monero (XMR) and prepare to store your assets in a Monero wallet? To help you choose, here’s a quick survey on all three investment classes.
The Deal on Stocks
Stocks, also called equities, are securities that give investors a certain share of ownership in a particular company. Investors can earn money either through their dividend payments or through selling shares when stock prices are high.
Those who can afford to trade over a long investment horizon, like a period of fifteen to twenty years, are usually generously rewarded if the company they invested in does well. But a lot can happen over that investment horizon, like the company failing and being liquidated.
If you’re new to the world of investing, you may be wondering whether to put your money into a company through stocks or bonds. While bonds may be the better option for investors who are close to retirement and want to collect fixed interest, stocks may be the exciting choice for someone young and inquisitive about the stock market. As long as you are aware of the risks, you may enjoy investing in stocks and putting together a diversified and balanced portfolio.
A Reality Check on Real Estate
Between stocks and cryptocurrency, real estate is the middle-of-the-road investment—it’s considered riskier than stock investments, but safer than cryptocurrency investments. All the same, this investment class is currently experiencing double-digit appreciation especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Investors may initially be suspicious about the boom in the real estate market. After all, some of them might remember the housing bubble that partially set off the 2008 global financial crisis. But these are very different times to be putting one’s money into real estate. It should be noted that more people aspire to be homeowners, especially in the era of widespread work-from-home arrangements.
If you’re interested in pursuing real estate, remember that there are many things that factor into the price of each asset. There’s the location of the land, the type of property involved, the initial purchase price, and the like. Some of these factors may not initially be transparent to you, which means that you could end up with property-related problems that you didn’t foresee. If this doesn’t faze you, then real estate is a pretty good investment option to consider.
Unlocking the Mystery behind Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency is definitely the newest among these investment options, only garnering public interest upon the rise of crypto behemoth Bitcoin (BTC) in 2009. But it is now a trillion-dollar industry populated by tech-savvy investors, many of whom have their eyes on a cash-free and decentralized future. There’s no telling how soon that will be realized but given how quickly both the financial and technological sectors are evolving, that may be sooner than most people expect.
It must be noted that the crypto market is highly volatile. It’s had its share of bull runs or extended “high” periods, and it’s also had its share of crashes. There’s no doubt that cryptocurrency is a high-risk and high-reward type of game to play.
However, people shouldn’t judge the crypto market solely on the performances of big guns like Bitcoin. There are other coins in the market that are gathering steam for features like their privacy. Investors who want to pursue cryptocurrency but are worried about sensitive financial details of theirs being leaked and traced by bad actors, can check out a privacy coin option like Monero. In a world where investors are demanding more out of their virtual coins, XMR may prove to be a lucrative long-term investment.
All in all, cryptocurrency may be best suited for a more experienced investor who is willing to study the fast-paced trends of the crypto market—and, above all, risk their money on cryptocurrency’s speculative nature. If this fits your profile as an investor—and if you want to be on the receiving end of financial innovation—then cryptocurrency might be right up your alley.
Final Words
In the end, the best choice among these three depends on you. You should decide based on how much money you want to make, how much of your current wealth you are willing to risk, and what your ideal investment horizon is. It’s all about your own personal journey towards building wealth and becoming savvier about your personal finances. Hopefully, upon learning more about stocks, real estate, and cryptocurrency, you will be closer to making the right choice for yourself.