Thoughts on Investing

Stocks and real estate prices have dropped, and people are afraid to invest because they fear that they will lose their money. If you play your cards right, now may just be the right time to make investments, especially if you have a little extra money just sitting in the bank, since prices are lower than usual. It is what is usually called the buyer's market, and that includes stocks and real estate.

Some people prefer to invest in stocks. The problem with stocks is that you have to be savvy enough for it. It also requires quite a large amount of investment, especially if you want to diversify your portfolio. Frankly, I do not have that much money to engage in that sort of investment.

Other people would prefer to invest in real estate during these times of economic downturn. This serves a lot of purposes. You could be buying your home for a cheaper price and live in it, thus ending your renting days. You could also buy a piece of real estate while it is still low, hold on to it and let it go when the prices rice. Or, you could buy a house and put it up for rent, thus having passive income that way. Looking for properties nowadays is so much easier because we now have online tools. So even if you live in Manila but would want to check out Chicago Suburbs Real Estate for a home to either to live in, to rent, or to eventually sell, you can check out some choice Real Estate in Downers Grove. I have found a website with a good listing of Downers Grove IL Real Estate with corresponding descriptions and prices. Just do your research from there.

Since I don't have a large amount of money yet to invest in large ventures like real estate or stocks and I'm not really a financial expert, I put my money in equity mutual funds instead. It is the instrument of choice for small investors like me. The idea here is the pooling of resources to be able to buy several stocks of different companies, hence having a built in diversification. Honestly, I have suffered a "paper loss" during the past few months but instead of panicking and converting it to cash, hence turning my paper loss into a real loss, I put in even more money while the price is low so I get more shares. Of course I only put in what I can afford to miss at the moment. I am confident that the market will eventually do better, so parking my money there may be a better option in the long run rather than letting it sit in the bank. I do wish my decision is sound and my investment would pay off in the long term.