Last time in Where to Invest Your Money - Part 1, we discussed investing in the Kingdom of God, your dreams, other people, and a home business. This time, we're going to talk about literal investments and where to place our money so it can grow.
Invest in Stocks
My grandparents invested in stocks and lived off stock dividends when they retired. My father invested in some unknown companies in his younger years: Intel, Microsoft, and Home Depot. Those investments carried large returns for my parents.
Purchasing stock in a company is like buying a tiny part of the company. If the company is successful, you will get a portion of the profits in the form of dividends. Ideally, you want to buy low and sell high for short term. But even better, invest in stable companies for the long haul.
When you invest in stocks, you can go online to buy stocks directly or you can purchase them through a stockbroker. Either way, you will pay a small commission fee. Your stock portfolio (collection of stocks) should contain a variety of stocks from different business sectors. My portfolio contains oil, pharmaceuticals, technology, electric companies, retail, and transportation. I prefer good, solid companies, or new companies that hold promise for the future.
Many factors affect the price of stocks: health of the company, political events, economic events, catastrophic events, and the market itself. When the company is making a profit, it might put all its profits back into the company or give generous dividends to its investors. Most companies do a little of both. But, don't invest money in stocks that you cannot afford to lose because investing in stocks is risky, especially in today's economy.
Invest in Bonds
When you purchase a bond, you are loaning money to a business, city government, or federal government. The city you live in may want to build a sports stadium so they sell municipal bonds to its citizens. When you purchase one, your city will pay you back by the due date on the bond, or earlier.
U.S. Savings Bonds finance the federal debt. When you purchase a U.S. Savings Bond, you lend money to the United States federal government. The interest that you see in the federal budget goes to pay bondholders the interest promised them when they bought the bond.
If a company declares bankruptcy, bondholders lose when the company defaults on the loan. Bonds that have a high probability of default are called junk bonds and are very speculative investments.
Invest in Gold
Invest in Stocks
My grandparents invested in stocks and lived off stock dividends when they retired. My father invested in some unknown companies in his younger years: Intel, Microsoft, and Home Depot. Those investments carried large returns for my parents.
Purchasing stock in a company is like buying a tiny part of the company. If the company is successful, you will get a portion of the profits in the form of dividends. Ideally, you want to buy low and sell high for short term. But even better, invest in stable companies for the long haul.
When you invest in stocks, you can go online to buy stocks directly or you can purchase them through a stockbroker. Either way, you will pay a small commission fee. Your stock portfolio (collection of stocks) should contain a variety of stocks from different business sectors. My portfolio contains oil, pharmaceuticals, technology, electric companies, retail, and transportation. I prefer good, solid companies, or new companies that hold promise for the future.
Many factors affect the price of stocks: health of the company, political events, economic events, catastrophic events, and the market itself. When the company is making a profit, it might put all its profits back into the company or give generous dividends to its investors. Most companies do a little of both. But, don't invest money in stocks that you cannot afford to lose because investing in stocks is risky, especially in today's economy.
Invest in Bonds
When you purchase a bond, you are loaning money to a business, city government, or federal government. The city you live in may want to build a sports stadium so they sell municipal bonds to its citizens. When you purchase one, your city will pay you back by the due date on the bond, or earlier.
U.S. Savings Bonds finance the federal debt. When you purchase a U.S. Savings Bond, you lend money to the United States federal government. The interest that you see in the federal budget goes to pay bondholders the interest promised them when they bought the bond.
If a company declares bankruptcy, bondholders lose when the company defaults on the loan. Bonds that have a high probability of default are called junk bonds and are very speculative investments.
Invest in Gold
Since Ancient Times, gold has been valued by people. It is a safe investment because gold tends to retain its value over the long haul. It is my guess that if we are ever in a situation of hyper-inflation, making paper money worthless, we would be able to buy food with gold. Gold can be purchased in bars, coins, jewelry, and other forms.
Invest in Land & Property
In biblical times, a man's wealth was determined by the number of cattle and amount of land a person owned. Homes and land are good investments today. Location, location, location is the first rule when purchasing real estate.
When you buy land, consider restrictions, zoning, easements, taxes, usability, utilities, and environment restrictions. Do you want to buy the land to eventually build on it? Do you want to hold it until you can make a profit? Do you want to rent your land to a farmer? Think through your plan carefully.
Vacation properties are an option too. They can be enjoyed by the family for annual vacations or weekends away while at the same time going up in value for potential resale down the road. A house or vacation home can also be rented for years while it goes up in value. Rental income can supplement monthly income, especially if you own the land or home free and clear.
When you invest your money, the goal is to make your money grow over time. Whether you invest in the Kingdom or in physical assets, remember to invest God's way with integrity and wisdom. Pray and seek counsel before investing and enjoy the blessing of God!
Happy Investing!
Merey (Meredith Ludwig Curtis)
Invest in Land & Property
In biblical times, a man's wealth was determined by the number of cattle and amount of land a person owned. Homes and land are good investments today. Location, location, location is the first rule when purchasing real estate.
When you buy land, consider restrictions, zoning, easements, taxes, usability, utilities, and environment restrictions. Do you want to buy the land to eventually build on it? Do you want to hold it until you can make a profit? Do you want to rent your land to a farmer? Think through your plan carefully.
Vacation properties are an option too. They can be enjoyed by the family for annual vacations or weekends away while at the same time going up in value for potential resale down the road. A house or vacation home can also be rented for years while it goes up in value. Rental income can supplement monthly income, especially if you own the land or home free and clear.
When you invest your money, the goal is to make your money grow over time. Whether you invest in the Kingdom or in physical assets, remember to invest God's way with integrity and wisdom. Pray and seek counsel before investing and enjoy the blessing of God!
Happy Investing!
Merey (Meredith Ludwig Curtis)
RSS Feed
