Unusual Ways You Can Invest Your Money That Don't Involve The Stock Market

We all know how most people invest their money: they either buy stocks, plow it into real estate, or dabble in a little of both. 

But there are a bunch of other assets you can pour your wealth into to make you successful. And they probably aren’t what you think. 

Just a word of warning - these weird investments probably shouldn’t comprise 100 percent of your portfolio. If in doubt, speak to a registered financial advisor.

If you’ve ever watched an antiques show where experts value various items from history, you’ll know that toys tend to do quite well. That’s because finding mint examples of old toys is virtually impossible. There are so few of them, particularly those in their original boxes. 

Finding toys to invest in can be a little hit and miss. But if you really know your stuff, you could make a lot of money. Some limited edition examples can sell for thousands of dollars if there are keen collectors for them. 

Vintage cars are another option for people looking to invest large sums of money. This asset class is nice because it tends to be highly uncorrelated with stocks and property. 

Buying a car now and holding it for 30 years is a bit of a gamble. But often you can purchase 15-year-old cars for very little money and then hold them for a decade while they go up in value. The trick is to know which cars are going to do well, and which aren’t. If you feel like you know the car collector market well, it could be a good option for you. 

Watches are another big investment category. Swiss watchmakers, such as Audemars, Patek and Vacheron, tend to do well over time. What’s nice about watches is that you find value in any era. There’s a secondary market for today’s watches as well as antiques. Mid-twentieth century luxury watches are particularly popular and valuable at the moment. However, valuations tend to rise and fall with prevailing trends. 

Buying gold coins as an alternative to cash or an investment. Bullion is generic so it’ll track the spot price of gold. However, gold coins are not generic. In fact, some of them are rare which pushes their value above the pure material value of the gold that they contain. Some one-ounce gold coins can sell for more than twenty times the value of their weight. 

Land isn’t a particularly common investment because people worry about returns. But it turns out that people have had remarkable success buying it on eBay. You just look for a parcel of land and then wait for a developer to buy it off you in the future. Only pick chunks of land that you think are going to do well in the future. 

Those who are knowledgeable about wine can often make good returns buying bottles today and then holding them in temperature-controlled cellars for a couple of decades. It’s a long-term investment (just like everything else), but the payoffs can be extraordinary. That’s because a $10 bottle of wine can grow in value by more than 100 times in the course of twenty or thirty years. So you could invest $1,000 today and get over $100,000 in the future. 

If you’re looking for a really innovative investment, you could “buy” a sports team. When you buy a team, you get access to their revenues and can direct the future of the business. Many billionaires buy teams and then spend more money attracting the best players in the world, increasing their value further, but you’ll need a lot of money for this option. 

Most businesses don’t save up their own capital to buy the equipment that they need. Instead they go to lenders - people like you with money to invest. What’s more, they’re willing to pay you fees and interest to lease equipment from you. Returns can be quite high.

Stamp collecting is no joke. Today, it’s serious business with collectors all over the country trying to find stamps to complete their collections. It’s almost an obsession. 

Stamps are only something you should get into if you understand this world. But if you are opportunistic, you can often make a lot of money. Following trends in the market allows you to time your purchases and sales. 

So there you have it: some unusual ways that you can invest your money that don’t involve the stock market.