4 Unusual Investment Opportunities

When it comes to making investments, banks have always been the go-to destination, but now there are many other ways people can make the most of the money sitting in their accounts. While the standard approach to investing is still very popular with investors across the world, there are many other adventurous ways you can invest that you may never have considered before.

It’s important to note that all investments come with an element of risk, but it’s all about taking the leap and making the right decision for you. In this blog, we’re going to discuss a couple of unusual investment opportunities to consider:

1. Art

Art enthusiasts could decide to pool their money into artwork. If you have a strong understanding of the market and are willing to carry out regular research on the art industry, you may be able to make a decent income from this type of investment. Although you may find a piece of art that is to your taste or speaks to you, it doesn’t necessarily mean it holds any real financial value. The good news is that high-end art has more or less maintained its price despite the fluctuations in the economy, which makes it a stable investment in comparison to other sectors. Do keep an eye out for any defects in the artwork, which are often indicators that it could be fake.

2. Buy-to-let property.

If you have an interest in the property market, there’s no reason why you couldn’t invest in a buy-to-let property. However, to be eligible to do this, you need to have enough cash to cover a quarter of the property value as a deposit. You’ll also need to have enough cash for legal fees and restorations, as well as an extra fund for emergencies. Unlike other investments that you don’t have much control over, a buy-to-let property investment relies heavily on your input.

3. Farming

Farming investments with Crawford Agriculture are another great way to generate extra income. The benefits are that almond orchards provide continuing capital gains, tax benefits, and also an increase in equity. Due to the shortages in agricultural land for growing almonds, your investment is destined to increase over time, which means you’re making the most out of your money. The almond market has remained steady over the years due to the demand for protein-rich foods, making this type of investment low-risk.

4. Coins

Rare coins are perfect for those who are interested in vintage and retro collectibles; however, it can be difficult to spot counterfeit pieces unless you have a trained eye. With this in mind, purchasing coins from house sales or auctions would almost guarantee you are investing your money in the real deal. The value of a coin is determined by how in-demand it is with coin collectors, so you may need to carry out some research into the types of coins you should be investing in.

We hope this guide has given you some interesting investment ideas to think about if you’re aiming to find ways to make the most of your savings.

4 Things Professional Athletes Worry About

Professional athletes seem to have it made. Fame, fortune, fans, and fun are just some of the reasons why it’s the top choice for future profession among American boys. While there’s a lot to like about the lifestyle, athletes, too, have plenty of problems. Here are some of the most common challenges facing sports stars.

Injury

Every day, athletes are at risk for suffering gruesome and painful injuries. Whether during games or practices, opportunities occur where an individual can sustain a concussion, blow out a knee, pull a groin or experience another medical problem. While modern medicine has greatly improved recovery times and treatment procedures, there’s always the chance an athlete is unable to perform at the level he or she was at prior to an injury.

Family

Life on the road can be difficult for athletes trying to juggle a sports career with family responsibilities. It’s especially stressful for those in the minor leagues playing for the love of the game rather than a multi-million-dollar paycheck. Even those who strike it rich still miss priceless moments like hearing a child’s first words or seeing his or her first steps, however. The constant travel also puts a lot of stress on marriages, as evidenced by the 60-to-80 percent divorce rate for professional athletes.

Performance

While it may seem like just a game to spectators, professional sports is a business and a highly competitive one at that. With big-money contracts on the line, athletes need to maintain peak performance to keep the paychecks coming. Injuries and age both affect one's ability to perform, but players sometimes lose a starting position or even roster spot simply because the team drafted an exciting young player or signed a talented free agent. The average sports career only lasts a few years, so it’s necessary that an athlete be responsible for his or her earnings. Many agents emphasize the importance of financial planning for professional athletes so the client can still live comfortably once a playing career has ended.

Security

Famous personalities attract attention. Sometimes it’s just a star-struck fan looking for autographs, but other individuals may approach with shady investment advice or even more nefarious reasons. Stalkers may threaten physical and psychological harm, while blackmailers may attempt to bring athletes into ill-advised situations for extortion purposes. In some cases, friends or even family may be bad influences, looking to exploit an athlete’s fortune in order to experience a luxurious lifestyle.

Getting paid to play a game sounds like a great way to make a living, but it also comes with its own unique challenges. These are just some of the pressures and problems professional athletes face on a daily basis.

3 Of The Most Lucrative Investments Out There

If you have found yourself in a position where you have a little money to put away, and you want to be able to make the most of it, then that is a great position to be in indeed. But you are going to want to make sure that you approach it right, otherwise, you could end up struggling to make it all work out as well as you would hope. In particular, it’s important to know where to put it. That means having some idea of the kind of lucrative investments that you might want to look into, which can itself be something of a struggle. In this article, we will look at four that are likely to be particularly important and potentially very lucrative, and therefore worth considering.

Property

Property is always a strong investment type because the housing market generally improves over time. There are dips, as there are with any other market, but mostly it is likely to be relatively safe. What’s more, there are plenty of different ways in which you can hope to approach this, and you will find that some are better than others in different circumstances.

For many investors, rental properties are the way to go, as that way you can continue to make money while paying off the property. Or, even better, you can simply get rental funding through the likes of visiolending.com and in that way ensure that your finances are much more secure along the way. However, you do it, investing in property is always a good idea.

Stock Markets

The thing with stock markets is that they are actually generally a huge gamble. However, if you manage to get them right, you will find that you are going to make a considerable amount of money in the long run, and that is something that you can be very happy with indeed.

Be sure to start off slow, and to seek out whatever help you can find in order to ensure that you are approaching it in the right manner. With that kind of careful approach, you should ultimately find that you are in a better situation on the whole, so that is absolutely something to think about. If you are lucky, the stock markets could make your way through life in a manner which means you don’t need anything else.

Cryptocurrency
Although many cryptocurrencies took something of a downturn last year, they seem to be mostly on the up again this year. The beauty, however, is that you don’t need them all to be up in order to make money from them. In fact, you will find it is better if some of them are fluctuating. That’s because you can then make money by trading between them, in the exact same way that people traditionally would do with the Forex. Start off slow, and be careful, but bear in mind that you could make a lot of money if you do this the right way.