5 Clever Ways To Invest Your Money in 2025
This is not financial advice. Your capital is at risk with any type of investment; profits may be subject to tax; and the value of any investment could fall.
The internet has created a variety of new ways to invest your money. These investment opportunities can often be a fast, convenient and effortless way to make money. All you need is money to invest and internet access, to get involved in investing. Here are just five investment options you could consider.
When looking at ways to invest your money it’s worth considering the risk involved.
Before you invest
You capital is always at risk with any type of investment. There is no such thing as a risk-free investment, if you want to avoid risk then a savings account might be your best option. Savings accounts offer low interest rates compared to the returns you could see from other forms of investment. Chip is offering a market leading 3% interest rate as an online savings account.
Make sure to do your research before investing in ‘the next best thing’ or something a random person on the internet recommended. Consider why someone might be recommending an investment to you, is it in your best interest or theirs? If you’re unsure about ways to invest your money, trust your gut, do your research and stick with well known names in the first instance. Once you do find an investment app, make sure you do your research to ensure it is safe. Make sure to stick with reputable platforms such as Iqcent.
Property
Property is generally a decent investment option. It can generate ongoing passive income (rent) and can be a good long-term investment if the value of the property increases over time. However, buying a property requires more initial capital than investing in stocks, mutual funds, or even REITs.
That’s not to mention the ongoing maintenance costs you’ll be responsible for, as well as the potential for income gaps if you are between tenants for a time. If you’re thinking of investing in property it’s a good idea to plan out your expenses in advance – consider the cost of taxes, utilities, upkeep, and repairs against the potential income it could generate.
Gold mutual funds
Gold is a popular asset among investors wishing to hedge against risks such as inflation, market turbulence, and political unrest. The price of gold significantly underperformed the broader market over the past year.
Adding gold funds to your portfolio can be a way to diversify, but as always it’s smart to do your research before investing in gold mutual funds.
Gold is often considered a good investment for diversification, as it may be less correlated with other assets such as stocks or bonds. To see if this might be the right investment for you, take a look at price charts from Oxford Gold Group.
Peer-to-peer lending
Peer-to-peer lending is a means of giving out loans to other people online. The debtor then pays back the loan with interest, allowing you to make a return in the long run. Peer-to-peer lending is best done through a regulated peer-to-peer lending site – using such a platform can help to ensure that your get your money back. Many peer-to-peer lending sites allow you to choose who you lend to based on their cause and the amount of money they’re looking for. There are even crowdfunding options in which multiple lenders can contribute a loan to one person – a good option if you haven’t got much money to invest with.
With peer to peer lending you are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Borrowers defaulting on their loans is an obvious risk that investors need to assess. My advice when assessing whether or not to invest in peer to peer is to consider what amount of money you can realistically afford to lose.
Spread betting
Spread betting is an alternative to investing in the stock market. Instead of buying and selling stocks and shares yourself, spread betting allows you to place bets on whether these share and stocks will go up in value or go down in value. Sites such as CMC Markets offer more information on how this works. Spread betting is tax-efficient and you can invest lower amounts of money than you would buying stocks and shares.
Financial spread betting is popular as it offers a genuine opportunity to make a lot of money. However, with any kind of financial trading there are advantages and risks involved in financial spread betting. If you’re considering giving spread betting a go you need to exercise appropriate caution.
Domain names
Buying and selling domain names is one of the newer ways to invest your money. This involves buying a domain name cheap and selling it for a higher value. Some domain names have sold for thousands and even millions. In 2010, insurance.com sold for over $35 million making it the most expensive domain name. Buying domain names requires a certain level of speculation, although you can simply take your chances on a random domain name.
The most common domain names that can be sold for a profit are usually one (or a combination) of the following:
- Generic names
- Geographical locations
- Business names
- Major events titles
Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrencies are currently one of the trendiest ways to invest your money. These are digital currencies that can be traded much like foreign currencies (they were originally created to get around foreign currency transfer fees). Bitcoin is the most famous example, but there are plenty of other cryptocurrencies to choose from. This type of investment can be fairly volatile – the changing value of cryptocurrencies is very difficult to predict. However you can pretty much invest as little or as much as you want giving you control over how much you’re willing to win or lose.
Like most investments, there are risks attached to investing in cryptocurrency. One major risk is hacking, as your investment is not protected, there is no way to retrieve your lost or stolen bitcoins. Another issue with cryptocurrency is that because it’s so new, the government is yet to put regulation in place. There’s no predicting where the cryptocurrency market could be in a few years’ time so this is one to avoid for the more cautious among you.
When looking at ways to invest your money and what suits your financial goals and priorities.
Bonus Investment Offers
If you’re a seasoned investor looking to expand your portfolio or you’re a newbie that would like to dip your toe in the investment water, try these free/low risk ways to invest your money.
- Robinhood – When you open a Robinhood Invest account, you’ll get a free share worth £5-£100 when you deposit £1. Earn up to $1500 from referrals every year.
- AJ Bell Dodl – Get a £30 voucher (various retailers) when adding £500 to an Investment ISA, Lifetime ISA, Pension, or General Investment Account.
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Please do your research before investing your life savings into something you’re not 100% sure about! Your capital is at risk when any type of investment. If you’re looking for zero risk ways to invest your money I’d recommend investing in yourself and your skills. Increase your income with a side hustle for example.