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What is investing? How to invest in property
Investing in any asset is one of the most powerful (and simple) tools to grow your wealth.
Last updated: 2 May 2024
Investing in any asset is one of the most powerful (and simple) tools to grow your wealth. It is, in the broadest sense, all about the sacrifice of a present asset (such as time, money, energy or effort) for future gain. It’s using money to buy something that will gain in value overtime. ‘Investments’ can be anything from stocks, art, vintage cars… as long as you expect it to gain in value overtime. So sorry, not clothes or cocktails!
Anything you buy with the intention of selling at a higher price can be viewed as an investment.
The objective when it comes to investing is about maximising your return while minimising your risk. So when thinking about property it means trying to earn as much as you can on that investment, while simultaneously trying to avoid any mistakes or pitfalls that could result in a bad investment that you lose money on.
What you can invest in is endless really but there are four main groups of investments, or what we call ‘asset classes’. Each has a different level of risk and return.
- Stocks
- Bonds
- Property
- Cash
When we talk about risk, we are talking about the idea of how much it can go up or down. For example a risky investment like investing in stocks goes up and down quite a lot. The market fluctuates, some companies do really well and others don’t. It’s considered a risky asset class. Whereas the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of risk would be leaving the money in the bank - the chances of you losing money while in the bank isn’t so scary - except for when inflation is as high as it has been!
Many people view investing in property as risky. They’re not completely wrong but like anything in life, you have to take a bit of risk like taking the leap to finally start that side hustle, jumping on a plane to meet someone you’ve fallen in love with online or saying yes to a new job - to get a great reward.
Graph supplied by The Curve
You can see from the chart above that shares/stocks are the most risky, but highest returning (in terms of the possibility of making money), and cash has the lowest risk but also the lowest returns. Then Property and Bonds in the middle.
If you’d like to learn more about investing in shares we have The Foundations of Investing Course - or you can also binge our podcast!
When is the right time to invest in property?
Technically, there is never a 'right' time to invest in property. Just like investing in the stock market, “time in the market is better than timing the market”. A lot of people put off investing, whether that be in the stock or the property market because they are trying to find the perfect time. That age old saying is trying to communicate the idea that you’re much better to buy as soon as you can, rather than wait for the opportune moment. Time in the market always beats timing the market.
Most people don’t invest in property because they’ve heard ‘you need a 20% deposit’ or ‘banks don’t lend to freelancers’. It’s usually incorrect information holding back people from buying.
There will always be ‘p-experts’ (think finance bros but the property kind), that will have an opinion on when it’s the best time to buy property. In our opinion, if you have some savings and want financial independence, there is no better time to get started than now.
Financial Disclaimer
The Curve and The Curve Classroom course has been prepared solely for informational and educational purposes. Any information provided and serviced described in this website are intended to be of general nature and provide general information only. The opinions expressed by The Curve do not constitute investment advice and are not to be viewed as investment or financial advice. It does not take into account your investment needs or personal circumstances. Independent advice should be sought where appropriate. Should you require financial advice you should always speak to a Financial Adviser.
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