Investing is probably the last thing most millennials think of nowadays. Others would prefer spending their money on leisure and travel, and some may want their savings sleeping comfortably in the bank with measly interest. Whether high or low, investments are always risky. However, if you want financial freedom, you won’t be snagging your first million any time soon with your salary alone, unless you were born a son or daughter of a millionaire or you make a huge leap into making your money work for you.
If you have $10,000, you might think this is too small to amount to any significant investments — but you are wrong. Just search across the internet and you’ll see tons of success stories from people who started their businesses with even smaller capital.
Investing is not just limited to equities, mutual funds, and treasury bonds. Businesses can be investments too. Any venture where you put your money in and yield profit is an investment. If you are looking for investment or business ideas, and you can’t afford to shell out a huge capital, read on to find four of the best investments you can try with $10,000 capital or less — but be reminded that all investments carry risks.
Delivery service
With the threat of COVID-19 still lurking, delivery service is a lucrative business idea for newbies. Of course, you will have to start small and service an area within your locale. If you already have a car, starting this business won’t even cost you ten grand. But if you don’t own any vehicle yet, you can always hunt for a bargain in the used market.
You can start by offering your services to small and local restaurants especially if they do not have an in-house delivery. If you don’t like handling food, you can also accept jobs for running errands like delivering parcels or picking up items for customers.
Home rentals
Real estate is a common investment, particularly if you want a long-term investment. This type of investment can also be a passive income for you. In fact, Airbnb hosts make around 900 bucks monthly on average. But this of course depends on the area of your home rental and the service quality you provide to customers. Many vacation and home rentals are small and tiny so this means you don’t have to purchase a two- or three-story house to venture into this investment.
Studio types and one-bedroom would work just as fine as long as it is well-kept and maintained. If you don’t own any home yet, there are many banks and loan companies that can offer you the best type of mortgage within your budget. Take note though that you may experience a slowdown in the number of customers because of the pandemic, but house prices always appreciate as time goes by and customers will soon flow back in once states and counties fully reopen.
Forex trading
Forex trading is probably the riskiest investment on this list. When you trade currencies, you are basically exchanging one currency for another. Just like in stock trading, the key in forex trading is “buy low, sell high”. This type of investment may need a lot of research before you actually deposit your money because this is a double-edged sword.
You either make profits, or you burn your account down. But the good thing about forex trading is you don’t need $10,000 to start. You can invest as little as $100 to test the waters and if you think it is a good fit, you can always put more money in.
Dropshipping
Dropshipping is a type of business you can get into for just a thousand dollars or fewer. It is a form of retailing where you don’t keep an inventory of your products. With drop shipping, you can take orders from customers then pass the fulfillment of his/her order to the manufacturer or wholesaler.
The main advantage of this business is you don’t have to physically store the products you sell, and you can make handsome profits by marking up costs of products typically manufactured cheaply in other countries. However, since you don’t keep an inventory and the purchases are fulfilled by a third party, customization of your products can be difficult, or even impossible.
Since there’s no vaccine for COVID-19 yet, you probably can’t use your savings to travel and party in the foreseeable future. So why not use it for investments? There are literally hundreds of ways you can invest and make your money work for you. However, not all investments or businesses can weather and survive a pandemic, that’s why the list we made are some ventures that remain lucrative even in the face of COVID-19.
