Extra Insurance: Alternative Ways to Save Money

Since the stock market crash in 2008, people have been searching for new, alternative ways to save money; to do so solely in cash is an extremely risky business nowadays. This is why alternative investments have been so popular over these past few years. Having a diverse portfolio, or in other words not keeping all of your eggs in one basket, will ensure that you have a solid backup plan you can fall back to if all hell breaks loose with another stock market crash. Moreover, seeing as how the stock market is having a record high run at the moment, the downturn is almost inevitable. Therefore, let's take a closer look at these three alternative investment strategies you should know about for acquiring that extra insurance, just in case.

Investing in real estate

The most common way of investing money has to be real estate. In fact, almost every other adult deals with this kind of investment at least once in their lifetime. This is because purchasing and maintaining a property is a lot simpler than, for example, investing in stocks. In essence, it feels more real, no pun intended, than the complexities of the exchange market, as everyone can relate to it and understand the fundamentals with ease. There are two major routes you can opt for, namely, commercial and residential real estate. Both of them have their own pros and cons, but the basics are the same. You either find a property that can be rented for consistent income, especially true for commercial real estates which can generate you a hefty profit if you attract the right kind of client, or you go the home-flipping route. The latter is connected with residential real estate more often than not, but can be implemented for commercial real estate as well, and what it means is that you buy estates which are very low in price, possibly due to some specific circumstances, and then repair and redecorate them in order to sell them for a higher market value.

Collecting rare coins

Rare coins should not be confused with minted coinage, also known as bullion coins, which are used specifically as a form of investment and aren't used for day-to-day commerce. Although both share these characteristics of not being in circulation, they are generally not the same. Bullion coins derive their value from their weight in various precious metals, mostly gold, whereas rare coins are valued by their collectability. Furthermore, the difference between a good rare coin and a great one is in its impeccable condition. Rare coins which are somewhat damaged have significantly lower price than those which are extremely well preserved. This is why finding only the quality rare coins is essential if you wish to make a safe investment. In addition, 'fixing' damaged rare coins in order to raise their market value will only do the opposite. Firstly, restoration is costly, you have to pay someone to get the job done properly, and secondly you'll devalue the coins authenticity and collectability if you do so. Speaking of authenticity, it's a general rule of thumb to get a known expert to give you a certificate of authenticity first for each rare coin you want to buy, as there are a lot of forgeries circulating around the market.

Investing in fine wine

Believe it or not, but investing in some fine wines is actually a legit way of saving money long-term. Despite what you may think, fine wine investments have an outstanding track record behind them. It has proven its worth time and again by having a stable annual growth rate between ten to twenty percent, which cannot be said for some other more traditional markets such as the stock exchange. Yet, there are a few things you should be aware of before you get started. First of all, although you're almost guaranteed to earn some money by this investment, it does take around five years before you can start seeing results. Next, in auction houses, fine wines are usually sold in groups of three, six and twelve, meaning you want to buy more than one bottle of the same wine. Moreover, the type of wine will also determine your end results, for example, Bordeaux châteaux wines are second to none, being the most consistent ones in the past, with Burgundies and Champagne wines sharing second place nowadays. In addition, you'll also need to invest into a professional storage area to keep these wines well preserved for future use.   In conclusion, having multiple smaller investments in various different assets is a lot better than going all in on only one kind of asset. This will ensure that your investments are well-rounded, and if in the near future another financial crisis does occur, you can sleep soundly knowing that your money is safe and secure.