Investments
There’s no point in saving money and living frugally if you do nothing more than sock away your savings into a bank. Sure, having some savings is important, but with what banks are paying out nowadays for dividends, you’re better off sticking your cash under a pillow! Seriously, how much can you expect to get for dutifully carrying your cash to a bank? At my current credit union, my savings account earns me a whopping 0.75%. At that kind of a rate, simple inflation will beat out my dividends every time.
Banks CDs (certificates of deposit) are no better. Yeah, maybe there you can at least earn a solid numerical percentage, let’s say 4% (and arguably, the highest percentage I’ve seen in a long time). But you need to part with at least $10,000 of your cash for at least a year. Now, I may be wrong, but something tells me that I can certainly make more than a $400 return on my $10,000 investment.
Some of you may disagree, saying that with the housing market in the toilet right now, along with stocks, it’s too risky to be putting money elsewhere. Well, I got news for you: when you place your hard-earned money in the hands of your local FDIC "insured" S&L, what do you think that institution does with your money in order to pay your measly dividend? Yep, it too goes to the stock market, or to options trading, or to mortgages.
Banks are well-known for making bad business decisions and investments. Just look where we are now with the current bank bailout! Do you really think you can do any worse? My thought is, you can probably do a lot better. Of course, making any investment decision takes some research and know-how. I would not advise anyone to just start plunking down money on stocks or real estate without first doing some serious analysis. However, due in large part to the really crappy state of our economy right now, there are some fine investments to be made. In the words of Rhett Butler in "Gone With The Wind", there is "as much money to be made in the destruction of a civilization as in its rise."
Among the many potential business investment opportunities out there, here are a few that I have looked into and consider promising:
Corporate bonds
Foreclosures
Buying Silver
Reverse Dns
