In next 2-3 years of my career, I learnt about putting surplus money in NSC, PF, which used to give good 10-12% returns.
Then In subsequent 4-5 years as my wisdom grew, I understood that investing in IPOs, equity and mutual fund gave good returns. So, I started SIP in some mutual funds and also invested in IPOs with whatever little knowledge I could collect from newspaper and investor friends. It definitely gave me better returns than FDs and the money started growing up. I am still invested in the same as well as continue investing in mutual funds and equity.
After around one decade of experience, I further learnt that investing in property gave good returns. So, I tried that. Yes, although the money doubled in 5-6 years, I still felt that the growth rate had either slowed down or was too slow.
In last 2 years, I learnt something new. That was about another class of investment – whereby if you invest in startups by lending some money, you get good return for risks you have taken. So, I tried my hand at that and invested in Rent-o-mojo startup, which gave me hope of doubling money in 3 years. However, Rent-o-mojo didn’t live up to the hopes it showed when it was asking for investing.
Last year I learnt about bitcoin and invested small amounts in that, which obviously grew multi-fold in few months. Although there is no guarantee that it will sustain inflated valuation but people will be happy if it crashes considering that most of them have missed the bus.
Then in last 6 months, I learned about investing in my friend’s business offerings (options hedging), which started giving me monthly 3-3.5% returns (annually around 40-45% returns). I felt that I have found my mojo and wisdom tooth. :-).
Only at this juncture I realized that had I invested in this form of investment even a decade back, I could have retired by now. In short, I feel that money should work for you and you should not be working for money. Unfortunately, My retirement has got extended by ten more years now due to late realization.
Now, I have learnt – it’s not that how much you earn that makes you richer but how you manage your money that will make you laughing all the way to the bank.
Although I am not a certified financial planner, do contact me for free advise if you want to know more about any of the investment class.
An unwanted piece of advise – Do not keep more than 10% of your savings in fixed deposits which will be just contingency fund. Fixed deposits gives you negative returns.
Please note that MF will give. on an average 15% cumulative returns over the longer duration (3 to 5 years or more). So, for risk averse people, this is the best option available in the market.
What is your investment class which has given you best return on year-on-year basis? Please share your views personally or by leaving comments below!