It makes good financial sense to save your money. Do the safe thing and put it in a bank. But what if you want more? What if you want your money to make money for you? That’s when you should start thinking about investing. And when you begin going down that mental pathway, you reach an exciting set of questions. Which investments should you choose?

Three quick categories of thought will come to mind. You could put money into investment properties. You could put money into the stock market. Or you could even do something like investing in precious metals so that you have a physical representation of the financial value that you own.

Those three ideas will get you brainstorming about other potential ways that you can make money by using the money you have on hand.

Investment Properties

Where do you look for information about buying an investment property? There are a ton of online resources. But, if you can get a hold of a contractor or consultant, that your best bet for obtaining accurate, up-to-date information. People always need places to live. The housing market will always be a big conglomerate of opportunity for putting money in to get money out somehow. Especially with rental properties or the concept of flipping houses, you can see the direct correlation between the intelligence of your investment in the outcome of your return.

The Stock Market

The default option for a lot of people who want to invest is to put money into the stock market. You can either follow the leaders in the industry when it comes to what they suggest, or you can go out on a limb and decide for yourself which stocks you are most interested in. If you are an ideological sort, you can potentially feel better about yourself if you invest in companies that have a small carbon footprint or are working toward a sustainable future. Industrywide, they tend to have a better return because people are paying more attention to social positives these days.

Precious Metals

A final idea for you to think about would be to buy precious metals. Not only is this a good investment, but it’s also sort of a psychological piece of intrigue. If you see a literal bag of silver bullion that is in your ownership, it feels good. The same goes if you invest in gold in the form of a bar. People dream of being rich and having these things all over their homes. Using it as an intelligent investment as well as a physical object of focus helps people to remember why they’re aiming for financial security in the first place.