We are just one month away from heading into 2020, so perhaps it is high time to devise a new financial strategy for the coming year. How about learning about new ways to invest? Read on!

 

Stocks

This is a natural option for nearly everyone. The stock market does tend to change over time, and corrections (attempts to fight overly inflated stock prices and bubbles) happen. However, with the dividend-paying stocks you needn’t worry too much. As long as you are entitled to some percentage or fixed amount of return per share, you will be earning money continuously once you’ve purchased the shares. Bad news? You need to do your due diligence and understand the market before even attempting to trade stocks. You can also invest into the so-called index funds, which are low-cost and are sufficiently diversified to be nearly immune to stock market fluctuations.

 

 

Other options to consider are:

• Government bond funds – which, since they are underwritten by the state, offer a solid, 100% guaranteed (though very modest) ROI. Some experts recommend high-yield corporate bonds instead, for a plethora of reasons.
• Treasury securities – similar to bond funds, these are backed by the state’s coffers, and offer a definite payout – some time into the future, though.
• Money market account – in a nutshell, it is like a regular deposit account. It has a much higher interest rate though, but that comes with provisos: you must keep a high balance in your account (meaning you can’t clean it out) and you can only make a limited number of withdrawals (meaning you can’t pay out money from it regularly). The choice is yours as it effectively freezes your original investment.
• Certificate of deposit – this is the most versatile and trusted instrument out there. Simply put, you give money to a bank and are then not allowed to take it back out until some time in the future, with small guaranteed periodical payments made to you by the bank while it holds the principal (the main original sum invested) until a certain point in the future (maybe many years from now).

 

 

Real Estate

The stock market is most definitely up for a severe drop, and experts say the same about the US (and even global) real estate market. It is a bubble that will inevitably burst some time. If you do not wish your new property to be worth less than the paper its deed was printed on, you can invest indirectly. The so-called Real Estate Investment Trusts (or REITs for short) allow you to invest into real estate notes – also a type of share, only for real estate. All the advantages of owning property, without all the minutiae and responsibility of being a landlord! How convenient. Sites like RealtyMogul, Rich Uncles and Fundrise continue to give its investors good paybacks, with Fundrise offering returns to the tune of 8-12%. There are risks involved, like with any investment though. Keep your eyes on the state of the market in general and don’t expect to recoup all your losses should the market crash.

 

 

P2P Lending

Did you know you can become a bank? Well, technically just an individual who lends money, but still. There are platforms like Prosper and Lending Club that give you the opportunity to invest into… debt! People repay those and you get the interest they pay alongside the original sum. Expect returns amounting to 6%, but the higher the number, the greater the risk of a debtor disappearing forever with what they owe you. It’s a risk worth taking though, considering this market has been going from strength to strength over the last few years.

 

 

Career

It sounds trite, but folks at are here to tell you: it is never too late to invest into yourself, and especially into your professional career. While they focus on retirement mostly, there are some nuggets of wisdom to be taken without a single grain of salt. Many people swear by the career option. What does it entail, actually? Investing into a certification, course or additional university degree gives you a leg-up in your current position or opens you up for a new job opportunity. Udemy is your go-to platform, but there are many more, such as Coursera. The world is truly your oyster – just learn how to prepare it!

 

 

An additional job

Sounds odd? Nowadays Millennials and members of Gen Z can tell you that staying in any one job for longer than a few years is nonsense, and they may be on to something. Considering we now increasingly go job-hopping, without actually committing to one employer for life, and we are living longer and longer, it is a no-brainer that frequent changes in your employment do wonders for your mind (by keeping it youthful and always fresh with new ways of thinking) not to mention to your CV (by giving you a broader skill set and experience than anyone who has spent 10 or more years doing the exact same thing). Remember that today’s market is continuously changing, gig working has become the norm and people tend to go into two, three or more fields over the course of their working lives – which can now may extend well into their 70s.

Health

And that brings us to another investment that is perhaps an obvious one, but that yields only indirect ROI. Consider the fact above: we can and will be living longer and longer thanks to the advancements in modern medicine. But mostly we will be old for a very long time. Not an attractive prospect to many, but only if they think the way our parents and grandparents used to. If you job-hop all the time, and continue to take care of your body and health, you will be healthy and also well equipped skill-wise to take up a new job opportunity even when you are 70. And 70 will soon become the new 30, so they say…

 

 

Pay back what you owe

But number one among currently touted and hyped investments is the least obvious one, perhaps. Paying back your highest-interest debt – which is usually used nearly permanently and nearly always stays at its highest in absolute terms – is thought to be the best way to increase your wealth without actually boosting the number of zeros in your account. Surprised? Don’t be. Credit cards have interest going into double digits, and with the way it is usually marketed, you are most certainly paying it continuously. Overdraft card stays that way, offering you money that you can replenish as soon as the next paycheck comes in, but at a price – and usually this price is in the fine print in your agreement, but in big bold lettering in your credit card statement. The simplest truth is, the world is in debt, and we need to help reducing this imbalance. Start with yourself – you won’t lose a dime!

 

VOCABULARY

to head somewhere – zmierzać gdzieś/dokądś
it is high time to do sth – najwyższy czas coś zrobić
to devise sth – wymyśleć coś, obmyślić
stocks – akcje, udziały
correction – korekta (np. giełdowa)
overly inflated – nadmiernie rozdmuchane/wywindowane
bubble – bąbel, niestabilny boom ekonomiczny
dividend-paying – wypłacający dywidendy
entitled to sth – uprawniony do czegoś
fixed – ustalony
return – zwrot (w tym z inwestycji)
to purchase sth – zakupić coś
due diligence – należyta staranność, dobre rozeznanie/przygotowanie
to trade stocks – obracać akcjami
so-called – tak zwany
index funds – fundusze indeksowe
low-cost – niskokosztowy, tani
sufficiently – wystarczająco
diversified – zdywersyfikowany
fluctuations – wahania, fluktuacje
bond – obligacja
to underwrite sth – zagwarantować coś
modest – skromny
ROI (return on investment) – zwrot z inwestycji
high-yield – przynoszący wysoki zysk
plethora – mnóstwo, pełno
treasury securities – skarbowe papiery wartościowe
to back sth – wspierać coś
the state – państwo
coffers – szkatuła państwowa, budżet państwa
payout – wypłata
money market account – konto typu „Money Market”
in a nutshell – w dużym skrócie
deposit account – rachunek oszczędnościowy
interest rate – stopa procentowa
proviso – warunek, zastrzeżenie
balance – stan konta, saldo
to clean sth out – wyczyścić coś
withdrawal – podjęcie pieniędzy (z konta)
certificate of deposit – świadectwo depozytowe
simply put… – mówiąc wprost/po prostu
principal – kwota główna
real estate – nieruchomości
severe – ostry, nagły
inevitably – nieuchronnie
property – nieruchomość
deed – tytuł własności
indirectly – pośrednio
for short – krótko, w skrócie
advantage – korzyść
minutiae – drobne szczególiki
responsibility – odpowiedzialność
landlord – właściciel (nieruchomości)
convenient – wygodny
to the tune of X – w wysokości X (pot.)
to keep one’s eyes on sth – pilnować czegoś, mieć coś na oku
to recoup sth – odzyskać coś
to crash – upaść, zawalić się; przeżyć krach
P2P (peer-to-peer) – bezpośredni, między prywatnymi osobami
lending – pożyczanie
debt – zadłużenie
alongside sth – oprócz czegoś, poza czymś
to amount to X – wynieść X
debtor – dłużnik
to owe sb – być winnym komuś (pieniądze)
to take a risk – podjąć ryzyko
to go from strength to strength – odnosić coraz większe sukcesy
trite – wyświechtany, banalny
folks – ludzie (pot.)
retirement – emerytura
nugget of wisdom – perła mądrości, złota myśl
to take sth with a grain of salt – podejść do czegoś ze szczyptą nieufności
to swear by sth – uważać coś za świetne/doskonałe
to entail sth – pociągać coś za sobą
leg-up – wsparcie, pomoc (w jakimś działaniu)
go-to X – wskazany X, X godny polecenia/najlepszy
the world is your oyster! – świat stoi przed tobą otworem!
odd – dziwny
to be on to something – myśleć w dobrym kierunku, mieć ciekawy pomysł
job-hopping – częste zmiany pracy
to commit to sth – zaangażować się w coś, oddać czemuś
no-brainer – coś oczywistego, coś, co nie wymaga namysłu
to do wonders for sth – zdziałać cuda w czymś / dla czegoś
youthful – młody
not to mention… – nie wspominając już o…
skill set – zestaw umiejętności
gig – fucha, zlecenie
over the course of sth – w ciągu czegoś, podczas
to consider sth – rozważyć coś
advancements – postępy
prospect – perspektywa
well equipped – dobrze przygotowany/wyposażony
to tout sth – zachwalać coś
to hype sth – robić hałas (medialny)/szum o czymś
permanently – stale
in absolute terms – od strony wartości bezwzględnych, w wartości bezwzględnej
to boost sth – wzmocnić coś, podbić
double digits – dwucyfrowy
overdraft – debet
to replenish – odtworzyć, uzupełnić
paycheck – wypłata (US)
fine print – drobny maczek/druczek
bold – tu: pogrubiony
credit card statement – wyciąg z karty kredytowej
imbalance – nierównowaga
not to lose a dime – nie stracić ani grosza (pot., US)

by Prochor Aniszczuk

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