Best Places to Put Your Money after Selling a House
So, you’ve managed to sell off your first house. The biggest asset you’ve ever had, and fortunately you managed to take care of it at a good enough time in the market that you can now count some earnings. What to do with your newfound wealth?
Before you start getting carried away with thoughts of quitting your job and traveling around the world, remember: It pays to invest wisely. There are several places you can put your money from which you can potentially later reap generous rewards. But which are the best places, and how do you get started?
Open an investment portfolio
Even if you don’t know much about the stock market, if you’ve got a chunk of money on hand, it would be worth your while to sit down with a financial advisor and see what he or she suggests to you. You don’t want to dive into in investing head-first because you saw some juicy-looking IPO on the news this morning.
An experienced financial advisor will help you develop a portfolio of sound investments that are likely to grow over time. You don’t want to take the risk of grabbing something that might spike in the immediate future only to suddenly plummet within a few months.
Your portfolio could include anything from mutual funds to crypto, which buidlbee says can be a wise choice if it’s done right and also handled correctly once you own it. As with any investment, you should be well aware of the conditions before you get started.
Pay off your debt
This sounds like the least exciting thing to do with a new pot of money, yes, but you’d be amazed at what a psychological boost you can get from debt relief, as well as what a difference it can make in your daily life. You might have been sitting on top of monthly interest payments for so long that you’ve forgotten what it’s like to live without them.
If you get rid of your debt, you’ll have the freedom to start thinking about gain in terms of absolute numbers, rather than having to balance a lot of pluses and minuses every month. And this can change your whole mentality towards life and money management. You’ll find your priorities shifting for the better and your confidence building as a result.
Open a new savings account
Savings accounts exist for the purpose of saving. If you put your money in a new account, you’ll be able to increase your earnings by some percentage on an annual basis, and you’ll still have the flexibility to take some out if you need it.
Check out the rates at some of your local banks so that you can make a comparison and choose a good option. This is a risk-free way to keep your money and know that you’ll make some additional profit off of it.
Put the money away towards a specific long-term goal
Do you have a college savings fund for your kids? Do you have one, but it could be growing faster? Maybe your retirement fund isn’t looking particularly great?
If you start putting money away towards something you’ll need in the future, that will be one less thing you’ll have to worry about later on. Then maybe you will be able to take that trip around the world, once your kids go off to college.
Think about your insurance, and whether or not it really meets your needs
If you’re getting older, you should think about getting a life insurance plan. You should also take a closer look at the other types of insurance you have and re-assess whether they are really covering you adequately. If not, it might be time to take out a new plan.
Re-invest in more real estate
Another thing you can do, now that you’re an experienced home buyer and seller, is invest in more real estate. Having gone through the whole cycle from beginning to end, you now have a greater understanding of how the market works, what factors are involved, and how people price their homes.
If you’re looking at the right time, perhaps an additional real estate investment could be a wise choice for you.
Balance your interests and proceed carefully
It could be that some combination of the above ideas might work for you. Diversifying your financial portfolio can be a wise decision as outside factors can affect most types of investment in unpredictable ways.
If you put away a sizable enough portion of your money, you’ll still be able to do something fun with the rest. Just keep it within reason.
