The number of excellent investments for twentysomethings is almost limitless, but some critical items and actions standout. Importantly, many of these investments require only time and effort rather than money.
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1. Invest In Property
Despite the numerous housing bubbles and busts over the decades, housing is still a great investment. Statistics from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) suggest that the average US house price increase is 6% per year. But of course, this is not all properties; it is the average. Don’t invest in property in the middle of the countryside or in a town where the local economy is collapsing. Urbanization continues, and the cities with the biggest GDP’s are a safer bet.
Whether your housing investment makes money or just breaks even, it is still a good investment. Renting a property is dead money. Your rent goes towards helping the landlord pay for the property so they can retire rich. Also, when you eventually pay off the mortgage, the property will be yours to live in for free or rent out for a regular income.
Acquiring assets are critical to long-term investments.
2. Invest In Stocks & Compound Your Money
In detail, compound interest means that you earn interest on your interest. Thus you can increase your investment without adding money. For instance, if you earned a 10% interest on $500 and compounded it twice, you will earn $605 instead of $600.
Your twenties are a great time to learn to understand compound interest because the longer you use it, the more you will earn. For example, funds invested in a retirement account in your twenties will earn vastly more than money invested in your forties.
Your twenties are the best time to invest stocks because compound interest is on your side. The S&P 500 Stock Market Index is returning, on average, 8% per year. Research from Liberated Stock Trader, suggests that if you invest $2,000 in an S&P 500 index tracking fund and add $300 per month into that fund, you would have $1,000,000 in 39 years.
That means if you start that investment at age twenty, you will have $1 million at age 59 before you even retire.
However, you could earn more or less; because stock market returns averaged 8% to 10% between 1926 and 2014. Therefore, stocks are one of the best investments you can make in your twenties. Take a stock market investing training course to help ensure you have good background knowledge.
The earlier you invest in the stock market, the better. Developing a stock buying habit is one of the best ways to accumulate wealth. For example, the richest 10% of Americans own 84% of the stock in the United States, New York University economist Edward N. Wolff calculates.
3. A College Degree.
American college graduates earned 56% more than high school graduates in 2015, the Economic Policy Institute calculates. Additionally, the earnings gap between college graduates and everyone else is at its highest level ever.
4. Start A Side Hustle
A side hustle is a job or a business you start alongside your current work to earn extra cash or income. We now live in a generation of side hustles, and the web is making it easier than ever to start your own side hustle. From flipping goods and selling on Amazon, starting a leaflet delivery service or a knife sharpening business, the side hustle nation blog and podcast is a great source of inspiration.
5. A Second College Degree.
In America, the average person with an associate’s (two-year) degree earns $41,496 a year. Meanwhile, the average person with a bachelor’s (four-year degree) earns $59,124 a year. Furthermore, the average individual with a master’s (six-year) degree in America earns $69,732 a year, Smart Asset calculates.
6. A Third College Degree.
The average American with a doctorate earns $84,396 a year, Smart Asset estimates. There is a scale of earning with the level of education you have. Beware of specializing too much, because it can limit the jobs market for you. For example, a doctorate in an extremely specific branch of science, like the analysis of crustation reproduction, could have a limited demand. Analyze market demand before committing.
7. Student Loan Debt Repayment.
The average member of the class of 2017 in America owes $39,400 in student loan debt, Student Loan Hero estimates. Thus, a twentysomething can add $39,400 to future earnings by paying off student loan debt.
8. Learn Computer Engineering.
Ok, being a computer engineer is not for everyone, but despite the huge amount of offshoring of US IT jobs to India, the average salary for a computer engineer in America is $95,000 a year, Glassdoor estimates. This is way above the average salary.
9. Learn Software Engineering.
The average salary for a software engineer in the United States is $115,000 a year, Glassdoor calculates. This is a 20% premium to a computer engineer. Investing the time, effort, and money to become a good software developer will mean you will be in a bulletproof career. Investing in developing technologies such as HTML 5, Python, and MySQL means you will always be in demand and can often work from anywhere in the world.
10. Travel.
Broaden your horizons, life experience and improve the look of your resume with travel.
We are not talking about visiting another state, visit another continent with a different culture. Asia is a great option for a life-changing experience and central Europe for the heart of western culture.
International airfares have never been cheaper. For example, a round-trip flight from New York to Malaysia costs as little as $750. Thus now is the time for twentysomethings to travel and see the world.
Your twenties are a great time to travel because family or job commitments are less likely to bog you down. Even if you are working, take a break and see the world.
11. A Life-Long Learning Habit.
People who are constantly learning are likely to earn more and enjoy better health than TV binging couch potatoes.
For example, researchers Christopher Tamborini, ChangHwan Kim, and Arthur Sakamoto estimate that a man with a life learning habit will earn an additional $655,000 in his lifetime. In addition, a woman who is a lifelong learner will earn an additional $445,000 over her lifetime.
Moreover, people with lifelong learning habits are healthier and can live longer than the lazy. For instance, a 2006 study found lifelong learners have healthy lifestyles. Finally, lifelong learners could delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease by keeping their brains active.
Your twenties are the best time to develop a lifelong learning habit. For instance, you can get in the habit of reading a nonfiction book each week. In addition, you can develop a habit of regularly taking college or online courses.
For example, there are hundreds of massive open online courses (MOOCS) available as free videos through sites like YouTube. Watching MOOCs is a great way to gain knowledge and learn job skills.
12. Invest In Marketable Job Skills
Nearly half of today’s jobs could disappear within the next decade. Specifically, an Oxford University study found automation could replace 47% of today’s employees by 2023. Hence, vast numbers of jobs will disappear in the next decade.
Therefore, every person needs several sets of marketable job skills to fall back upon. Even if you do not use them, additional job skills can help you spot investment and business opportunities.
13. A Second Or Third Language.
Knowing a foreign language could add 10% to 15% to the wages of the average resident of the United Kingdom, The Guardian calculates.
The benefits are smaller in the United States, but they can add up. For instance, German speakers in the United States earn 3.8% more than English speakers, Lifehack estimates.
Finally, learning Mandarin could open doors in the world’s largest economy China. Mandarin is China’s national language.
14. A Happy Marriage / Partnership.
There is research that shows married couples are wealthier and healthier and live longer than singles.
For instance, the average married couple in the United States has four times the wealth of the typical single person, Ohio State University Researcher Jay Zagorsky estimates. In addition, people in a long-term marriage have twice as much as wealth as singles.
For instance, instance married people were 10% to 15% less likely to die prematurely, The Guardian reports. In addition, research shows that being married increases a person’s chances of surviving cancer.
On the other hand, research shows people in conflict-prone relationships have higher rates of inflammation. Doctors believe inflammation causes many health problems, including heart disease and diabetes.
15. A Regular Exercise Habit.
American Heart Association (AHA) research shows that even overweight people who exercise regularly are healthier and live longer.
Moreover, people who exercise will be smarter and enjoy better mental health. Researcher Charles Hillman of Northwestern University found “a single bout of exercise has a beneficial effect on brain function.”
In addition, exercising will give you a competitive edge over most people. The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) estimates just 26% of men and 19% of women get the recommended amount of physical activity.
Your twenties are the best time to exercise because it will help you live longer. Physical inactivity causes 10% of the premature deaths in the United States, the HHS estimates.
According to the British Journal for Sports Medicine, taking up golf will add an average of 5 years to your life.
16. A Positive Attitude.
Researchers found that people that think positively live longer have lower rates of stress and depression and have healthier hearts.
Positive thinkers are even less susceptible to the common cold, the Mayo Clinic reports. In addition, positive thinkers were less likely to die from cardiovascular disease.
Finally, positive thinkers are better at coping with stress and hardships. Thus, positive thinkers recover from failure faster.
Your twenties are the time to develop a positive mental attitude because you have decades of stress ahead of you. For instance, being able to cope with financial stress can help you make more money.
To explain, if a financial crisis does not stress you out, you will be more likely to spot opportunities. Thus you can make money while everybody else is panicking.
17. Study Philosophy.
Studying complex subjects such as philosophy pays off in better reasoning and critical skills.
For example, philosophy trains you to think critically and logically, analyze problems, and understand solutions. Furthermore, philosophy can help you prioritize complex problems and simplifying solutions.
Beyond that, an understanding of complex subjects such as philosophy encourages independent thought. Thus, studying such disciplines will help you make creative and independent solutions. For example, you will make your decisions about investments and not pay extra for expensive advice.
Your twenties is the best time to study subjects like philosophy because the critical skills learned will help you for the rest of your life.
18. Learn About Economics.
Having a good understanding of economics will give you a better understanding of business and investments. Understanding how the economy works is critical for long-term success and survival. Thus you should study economics in your twenties if you want to make money.
19. Cryptocurrency.
Many observers think cryptocurrency and the technology behind it (blockchain) will totally disrupt the financial system in the next decade.
Hence an understanding of cryptocurrency and blockchain could help you identify investment opportunities in the years ahead.
If you are in your twenties, you need to understand cryptocurrency because everybody could be using it by 2030.
20. Artificial Intelligence.
McKinsey forecasts that artificial intelligence (AI) will generate $13 trillion in economic activity in 2030. In addition, AI could account for 12% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States by 2030.
Under these circumstances, AI will generate vast amounts of wealth. Fortunately, if you are in your twenties, you are in a great position to take advantage of AI. Now is the time to learn about AI and put it to work for you. Those who do not understand AI could end up working for it by 2030.
21. Invest In Knowledge.
Most of the investments listed here require one thing: knowledge. Thus accumulating knowledge in your twenties can lead to more wealth later long.
Notably, the world’s two richest men, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates are knowledge workers. If you are in your twenties and you want to be rich, you need knowledge. The best time to accumulate knowledge is as soon as possible.
You can continually learn even using your smartphone. You can listen to audiobooks on investing or listen to a podcast on investing. You can also watch documentary movies, and let’s not forget reading books.
PODCAST: 21 Best Ways To Invest Money In Your 20s And 30s
Your 20s And 30s Are Great Times To Invest As You Have Decades Ahead To Reap Your Profits. From Education And Travel To Stock Market Funds, We Have You Covered.
- Mon, 21 Jan 2019 23:00:00 GMT
- Duration:00:17:03
Now it is over to you, do you have other ideas of what to invest in? Let us know in the comments below.
Learning about economics and its concepts at a young age is perhaps the best (and only) thing you need to do in your early 20s. I have found that when you learn and study about money matters, you automatically get a feeling to save and invest. Which is a good thing. Great list!