It’s often said that you need to have money to make money. That’s a paradox, and it’s not particularly helpful if you don’t have any money to begin with. You’ll also probably have heard the phrase “speculate to accumulate,” which is a suggestion that you should take risks with your cash in the hope of gaining greater rewards. Many people can and do make money that way by playing the stock markets, but the stock markets aren’t for everybody. They come with an element of risk, and that risk still exists even if you’re using a reputable, experienced adviser to tell you where and when to invest your savings.
The problem with investing and playing the stock market is that it can be unpredictable. It’s often – and not without good reason – compared to spending money at an online slots website like Rose Slots casino. It’s entirely possible that you can log on to an online slots website and have more money than you started with by the time you log out. It’s also entirely possible that you’ll spend everything you can afford to lose on online slots and come out with nothing at all. If money is precious to you and you can’t afford to lose any, you’d be best advised not to play online slots at all – and you probably wouldn’t be interested in trying to play the stock market for the same reason.
There are other ways to make your savings work for you without risking anything at all. Your money might not grow as quickly as it would if you were investing it in a profitable share scheme, but a little growth is better than none at all. If you’d like to see your savings grow in a risk-free environment this year, here are some options to consider.
Change Banks And Pick Up Bonuses
Banks want your business, and they’re prepared to pay for it. You could earn a substantial cash bonus just by withdrawing all of your money from one bank and placing it with another – and in some cases, that bonus is paid immediately! Because all banks are in competition with each other when it comes to trying to attract new customers, you’ll often see generous bank bonus promotions on offer – especially at the start of a new year. You could earn several hundred dollars by transferring your balance and keeping it there for a while. As soon as the agreed period is over, there’s nothing to stop you from moving your money again and taking advantage of another offer elsewhere. Keep one bank account to pay bills out of and transfer enough money into it to cover your bills every month, and move the rest of your cash around to attract bonus payments.
Speak To A Credit Union
In the majority of cases, banks are owned by shareholders and directors who take a cut of the profits made by the bank every year. Credit unions don’t work that way. Credit unions belong to the people who hold accounts with them. Instead of transferring profits away to individuals and entities who hold shares, they’re re-invested into the running of the bank. This generally allows credit unions to offer better interest rates on savings accounts and perhaps even a few cash perks to go with those rates. The terms offered by credit unions vary from one place to another, so find out what’s available near you.
Seek Out A High-Interest Savings Account
It’s no secret that the global economy has suffered a lot in the past ten years and has struggled especially badly during the past twelve months. Because of that, the interest rates offered on high-interest savings accounts aren’t what they used to be. The rates haven’t dropped to zero, though, and any rate above zero means your savings will grow. You could also take the attitude that things can’t get much worse, and so rates will inevitably increase again at some point in the (hopefully not too distant) future. As a pro tip, you’re far more likely to find good interest rates with online banks than you are with banks that still have physical outlets. They have fewer overheads to pay, and so they can afford to offer more to their customers.
Try Certificates of Deposits
A great way to grow your savings is to put them into certificates of deposits (known as CDs for short), but it comes with a catch. When you put money into a CD, you usually lose the right to withdraw it again for a specified length of time. That means you need to be absolutely sure you won’t need to call upon your savings for the duration of time they’re locked away for. CDs tend to offer one-year terms as a minimum, with higher rates of interest available if you’re willing to part with your funds for longer. You should still be able to pull your money back out again in the event of an emergency, but there will be a penalty charge to pay – which defeats the object of trying to make more money. On the other hand, CDs are bound by the terms that are agreed upon when you put money into them. That means you still get the interest rate you agreed to on day one, even if the markets nosedive in the meantime.
Buy Government Bonds
When you buy government bonds, you’re effectively lending money to the government. The government then agrees to pay you that money back – with interest – at a specified date in the future. As the bonds are backed by the government, there’s little chance that they’ll shrink or that the money will be lost. It’s theoretically still possible for that to happen, but in practice, it’s extremely unlikely. There’s still an element of risk involved, but it’s a tiny element of risk compared to what you’d encounter if you decided to become a stock market investor. It’s even possible to buy bonds that guarantee no risk at all, which might be preferable if you’re especially cautious.
None of the methods we’ve suggested above will make you a millionaire within a year, but that isn’t the point. These are all ways to make money without having to work for it, and that’s something we should all want! Speak to your adviser before making any big decisions, but if you want to make more money than your salary this year, these are all good ways to go about it.
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