What to invest in?

What's something that you didn't learn in school but wished you had? I'm sure that at least some of you would have answered that question with "Finance and Investing". For most of us, the world of investing is something that's seen as only for the elites, and something that we commonfolk couldn't possibly have any interest in. But today, I'm going to run through a few things that you might want to start investing in.

Stocks

The first thing that you might want to invest in is stocks. Of course, learning how to invest well is something that will take time and skill, and it won't be something we'll be covering in this article.

But the basic idea of investing in stocks is that you will own shares in the company that you have invested in. By owning shares, you will be given voting rights within the company, and will also receive a portion of the profits, depending on how many stocks you have.

Bonds

Bonds are something which is often confused with stocks. And whilst it's true that most people who own stocks will also own bonds, they are actually two different things. A bond is basically just a debt agreement but unlike other types of debt. When you pay into a bond, you'll get that money back, potentially with interest.

You will also be given preferential treatment when the bond matures. To put it into laymen's terms, a bond is essentially a kind of IOU. You give companies your money, and in return they'll give you your money back plus interest.

Start Ups

Out there are millions of people who have great ideas but not enough money to get their ideas off the ground. So, before they officially launch and start selling, they'll be what's known as a 'start-up'. If you see a start up, and think to yourself "that sounds like a great idea", and you invest your money into it, you will end up taking a share of those profits when the company is finally making a profit themselves.

When investing it start-ups, it works in a similar way to investing in stocks.

Housing

Investing in housing can be a great option for people who have enough money to do so. You don't need to be super rich though. We all know that house prices are rising, and if you can afford to do so, you could take advantage of this trend. By buying houses and waiting for a few years, the value of the house will have increased, and you can sell it at a profit.Or you could become a land lord. Renting out the house to other people, and over time, getting more money from the rent than you paid.

Oil

Oil is something rather controversial. Because of the impact that it can have on the environment. But investing in oil can be a great way to make a profit. The price of oil is often fluctuating. So you can buy it when it's cheap, and sell it when it becomes expensive.Of course if you're worried about increasing carbons emissions, what you can do is sell your oil, not to private companies but to environment groups, who will give you money for the oil, but instead of burning it, just keep it in the barrel.

Investing can be a difficult and complicated thing. Before you invest in anything, it's vital that you fully understand the risks, as you could end up loosing a lot of money.

But so long as you know what you're doing and you're sensible, investing can be a wonderful way to make a profit.