JANUARY 5, 2013
in INVESTMENT
Post at http://learnfinancialeducation.com/
This post is my first article for 2013 and I hope you had a good 2012. I’m expecting this year would be a great year and I’m really excited what God will do this year in my family’s life.
Our baby girl will be born this coming April. My wife and I would be very busy this year, there are many challenges on the way but I know it will be for our good.
In terms of financial aspect, I’m planning to be more active and aggressive in my saving and investing strategy. I’m planning to invest more money in mutual funds and start another website not related to finance.
I have several websites and all of them are related to finance, banking and investing. This year I want to start a blog not on the finance niche. I’ll post another article in the future about it.
The New Year brings a new hope for all of us. Many of us want to do things that we weren’t able to do last year. Some of us make New Year resolutions so that we can carry out a definite plan for the next year.
Perhaps some of these plans are related to your personal development, finding a new career, strengthening your family relationship, starting a new business, or finding good or best investments.
What are the Characteristics of the Best Investments?
Most of us are intimidated when the word “investment” is talked about. Maybe you will say it is only for the rich people and you cannot make investments since you are just an employee.
I must admit that before I have the same understanding and mentality about the topic of investment. Before I became interested about personal finance and financial education, I am not convinced that a simple individual like me can invest my money so that it will give some profit to me and my family.
So what are the characteristics of the best investments out there? I assume you have heard or seen in the news the several investment scams that were happened this year and several years ago. How do you know if the investment is the best and whether it is a legitimate one?
1. The Best Investment is Legitimate
Many so-called “investments out there are advertising to the public that they are the best investment that you can enter to. However, are you sure that it is legal or legitimate? Or perhaps you are throwing your money into a scam?
The first characteristic of the best investment is legitimacy. It should be a legal investment. It means it must be registered in the Securities and Exchange Commission and properly documented business registration from Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
For example, mutual fund companies should be registered in SEC. If the company does not have document for SEC registration, then it must be a scam. SEC is the government agency that administers all investment companies in the Philippines.
You must also investigate first before putting your hard-earned money into that investment. Make your own due diligence. Look for its business registration and the people behind the company.
Always be doubtful when dealing with a new company because it can be a potential investment scam. One easy way to find information about the company is by using the Internet.
If you cannot find any information in the Internet about the company, then you should be doubtful and skeptic about it. A legitimate company must have its own website so that people who want to look for information can freely and easily it via the Internet.
2. The Best Investment is Not Hard to Invest In
Another characteristic of the best investment is the ease of investing. It should not be hard to invest in. The ease of investing may involve the access to the information of the company, the procedures and process on how to invest, the initial capital or money to be used when investing and the level of difficulty when withdrawing the money you invested.
3. The Best Investment Gives Passive Income
Passive income is the best way to earn an income. It is possible for every people to earn a passive income provided they will work hard for it at first.
However, not all people will not work hard to earn passive income. Many people would want quick money or investment ending up in frustrations and investment scams.
List of Best Investments for 2013
If you are planning to invest your money, I’m sure you want the best return or profit for your money. Of course, you must invest it in the best investments available today.
I would list here the doable and proven investments that you can start with. These investments are legitimate and great ways to invest for 2013.
1. Mutual Funds
Mutual fund is my first on the list because you don’t need any financial knowledge and expertise to begin investing in this kind of investment. I started investing in mutual fund in January 2010 after carefully studying its advantages and disadvantages.
I have written several topics about mutual funds in the past. If you want to learn more about it, you can see those articles in this link.
Mutual fund is a pool of money from individual investors like you and me. However, before you could start investing, you must open a mutual fund account through investment companies like FAMI, PAMI, Philam, BPI and many other companies.
2. Website or Blog
One of the best investments I have made in the past years is the blogs I have created that gives me residual and semi-passive income. Making your own personal website or blog is not hard to do, although not all people can earn money from it because it requires skills and hard work.
A blog can be a source of another income for you and your family. A word of advice: it may take several months or even years before you can actually earn a decent income from blogging.
Your primary focus during the first months of your site should be creating good information and content for your readers and visitors. During that time, you should also experimenting on the design and features of your blog to make it more appealing and nice to your visitor’s eyes.
3. Online Store or E-Commerce Business
Before I venture out to blogging, I have tried to sell some stuffs online using eBay. During that time, Sulit.com.ph is not yet in existence so my market is limited in reaching out to people.
Today, if you want to sell some products and services online, you have many options and tools to do so. You can sell through eBay, Sulit, Facebook, Multiply, or your own website.
However, if you don’t want to spend money on making your own site, you can start with Blogspot or WordPress. I see many people selling on Sulit and eBay because it has many visitors and users.
Therefore, I suggests you start with Sulit or eBay if you are planning to start your own online store or e-commerce business. It is not hard to open an account with these sites, it may take only 5 to 10 minutes to do so.
After creating your own account, you can start posting your ads with the details of the products you are selling. Trust and feedback from your past customers are very important when selling online so you should set a high standard when dealing with your customers.
4. Rental Apartment or Commercial Space
Renting apartment or commercial space will require a high capital but would definitely pay a handsome profit in the future. If you have a substantial amount of money that you can spend on buying properties or constructing a commercial building, it would be a good investment.
A friend of mine has commercial properties that he rented to tenants giving him passive income each month through the rental fees. That kind of investment is one best example of a best investment for 2013.
5. Education
Most of us who have graduated in college don’t consider to go back in school to study another course because perhaps of lack of time and money. However, in my point of view, a new education or knowledge would be a best investment in the future.
Though this may not be applicable for some people because of the limitations on their time. If you have enough money and time, why not consider learning new things like cooking, computer programming, playing piano and a lot more.
Finals Thoughts
Investing requires studying and knowledge about what you are investing. Without the knowledge, it would be risky and hard on your part.
The risk of losing money would be minimized if you know where do you put your money. Knowledge and studying will remove fear of losing money.
If you want to invest in the best investments for 2013, you should do your own part and not rely on other people or friends. Begin studying now which one will be the most appropriate for you!
About the Author:
Gil Tenorio is a blogger, a husband, a father, and an active Christian. He likes playing guitar, C.S. Lewis, Plants and Zombies and NBA. Follow him at Facebook, Google+, YouTube and Twitter. Thanks!
Post at http://learnfinancialeducation.com/
Turn the hopelessness within you into a fruitful opportunity.
