What would you invest in if you had $75,000 USD to spare?

[Barry Walls]

Gold, copper and silver...and its not even close in my mind. Farmland isn't far behind. This isnt the time for paper assets.

Stay out of banks and financial institutions investment products. They are basically bankrupt and With profits type investments have sneaky clauses in them. Keep an eye in the inflation deflation issue and hold real assets. Guaranteed equity bonds are a greater fool trap. Fixed interest bonds are in a bubble that will go down with treasuries. Gilt auctions are looking shaky and teh Fed is buying UST bills.

20% a year is crap if inflation is 25%.

Also, b careful who you listen to.

[honestbizpro]

Go to the most TOP VALUE Marketing Seminar you can find and meet as many possible joint venture partners as you can. You will know when you find the potential to multiply that money 100 fold.

[mr.schutz]

Realstate

Cars

Trucks/ Heavy Duty

[Daniel Molano]

Ok, it has come down to 2 different ideas I believe to be the best.

Pre-foreclosures and the gold mine investment.

[ToniLocklear]

OK, first hard and fast money rule I have is to take 10% off the top for whatever charity you support (Love146 is one of my soft spots). Then
10% goes to you. No, I don't mean to a saving account. I mean being a person who has money available. It's very empowering. Then, I agree that real estate and gold are top of the list. Have a little fun if you can!

[Blase]

I didn't read the other responses, so maybe this was said.

Invest in tax leans, you can't lose.
They are backed by the municipality that you
buy them from.

This has always been a good investment, but
because of the housing market problems
there are a lot more of them to buy.

Basically all a tax lean is, is you paying someones
elses property taxes because they didn't. Then
you get your money back with interest.

In some cases you may get the property after a number
of years.

You are looking for a tax lien state not a tax deed state
do invest your money. Also each state pays a different %
of interest so do your homework.

[Blase]

If you don't want to do the work of tax liens look
into dividend paying stocks.

There are some really good deals right now.

Look at the price of GE and then look at it's dividend.

By the way, I am not a financial adviser, you are investing
at your own risk and you may lose money

[Jon MacPherson]

I think real estate will continue to plummet until at least 2011, when it will return to historically appropriate levels. That based on an extensive Yale economics dept. study.

So, unless you have an exit strategy or can obtain the property far below market value...

Here in the US we have established chains of stores closing. Closures of established franchises and other large businesses. Meanwhile, as Target Stores were bemoaning their Christmas business levels, Amazon announced their best Holiday season ever.

I'd go to sitepoint and obtain a portfolio of diversified, established web-businesses.

[Daniel Molano]

Originally Posted by Jon MacPherson

I think real estate will continue to plummet until at least 2011, when it will return to historically appropriate levels. That based on an extensive Yale economics dept. study.

So, unless you have an exit strategy or can obtain the property far below market value...

Here in the US we have established chains of stores closing. Closures of established franchises and other large businesses. Meanwhile, as Target Stores were bemoaning their Christmas business levels, Amazon announced their best Holiday season ever.

I'd go to sitepoint and obtain a portfolio of diversified, established web-businesses.

Jon, that is precisly why it is such a profitable long term investment.

You buy cheap now (hint: foreclosures) and sell high around 2011 or so.

[Jon MacPherson]

Originally Posted by Daniel Molano

Jon, that is precisly why it is such a profitable long term investment.

You buy cheap now (hint: foreclosures) and sell high around 2011 or so.

Yes, Daniel, but if you buy a home that was 400K for 300K and it goes down to 200K...

Also, rental prices are falling.

There could be a whole new wave of "long term" investors who are upside-down on their investments.

[jstover77]

I would buy a good safe to put the money in

No, but seriously, right now is a perfect time to buy real estate! So many good deals out there!

[debra]

Well...I don't have 75k to spare but, it seems that you do!

I could be your bestest friend.

[cashmon]

Agree. Real estate. Some of the foreclosures in certain areas of California are getting so cheap that you can actually start making a few hundred a month just by buying and renting it out. Then you just hold onto it until it appreciates in value (which it will, since it's dropped 100%+ in many places).

One thing to consider would be buying in almost new developments in popular neighborhoods. A townhome complex across the street from me that finished building in 2007 and originally sold new units for $250k+ now have the same units for $104k-$140k... and they are hardly lived in. Literally completely new. Plus the rent here goes for $1200-$1300 for a 2-bedroom/2bath/2car garage. HOA fees for those townhomes $230/month which includes water.
You do the math

[JohnB23]

Besides real estate...

-Oil or commodity related etf's. Something leveraged like dxo, double long oil. Could easily go up 3-400% if oil and the world economy recovers. Oil is nearly certain to go back to $80-100 or higher in the future.

One of the guys I follow in finance/stocks is Jim Rogers. He's been a big commodity bull for 10 years, thinks it still has a ways to go. Simple supply and demand. Much better than buying GE or similar stocks as a recovery play (where you dont know whats on their balance sheet, or what their next investment time bomb).

-Shorting the 10 or 30 year US Treasury. Eventually the bond bubble will burst, and rates have to go much higher with all this money creation.

-Would spend a couple thousand dollars on some remaining marketing, IM courses I dont have to complete my library. Rare courses by the big gurus.

-Putting $75,000 in the option market would be interesting, lol. It could turn to $0 or a few hundred thousand very quickly. But I'm terrible at market timing....I remember debating buying puts on Google back when it was $400. This was 2006, and *everyone* thought it was overvalued. It was overvalued at $200, $300, $400. "It can't go any higher!". And low and behold, it went to $700 before dropping last year to $300.

The beauty about im and marketing is that it is more knowable. So many unknowables in investing/trading. Classic books like Hopkins "Scientific Advertising" don't translate 100% to the markets. Reminiscences of a Stock Operator (classic book written in the early 1900's is similar), but still a lot of unknowns.

-A private jet card would be interesting....but I think they start in the low 100's, and thats for a citation v or lear jet. Or charter a bigger jet like a gulfstream. Would be fun.

[DavidTheMavin]

I just followed everyone in this thread, so follow me back!

[BlackWaterBlog]

A $10,000 custom computer system.

[gjabiz]

Originally Posted by Daniel Molano

Hey guys,

I was just wondering, what would you do if you had $75,000 USD to spare and invest?

Nothing on traffic generation please, assume that you don't need any more traffic whatsoever.

Real estate? Stocks? Holidays?

- Dan

Just for fun and typing exercise.

75k. I'd think in terms of how can I grow this and have 75K every year (every month?) to invest. How and what would that look like? It would have to be a TOLL booth on a very busy highway. I'd collect tolls coming and going. In business it looks something like this:

You find an unlimited demand. You find an unlimited supply. YOU acquire or control the supply and sell to the demand. You get between supply and demand.

In the USA it would look something like this:

Step ONE. Set up a business entity. LLC, or Subchapter S corp for about 5 grand (doing everything the right way).

I'd choose a business that had a RESEARCH component. Let's say I'd start Alexander Power and Energy Company. Power and energy? What the hell does that mean?

It would "cover" the fields...be a TARP that covers all aspects...but my mission statement would be GREEN. I'd want to write grants (hire someone another 5k) for Windmill and alternative technologies to produce electric.

I'd begin SELLING other people's "green" or renewable or sustainable products...probably on a drop ship basis, even open a small store front for "efficiency" products, like heaters, air conditioners, etc.

I'd solict INVENTORS as part of my R and D dept. to submit ideas and/or products they've developed to be considered to be in my distribution chain.

I'd set up this Power and Energy company and have several divisions, allowing for rapid growth if ONE of the divisions took off, and then I'd OUTSOURCE everything.

But with nothing to outsource, I'd run a full page ad in Investors Daily seeking a handful of angel investors, offer a "founder's stock" or piece of the pie.

I'd still have 45k left after all of this. I'd use Direct Marketing and Joint Ventures to sell whatever innovative products I could "control".

My TOLL BOOTH would be set up on the ENERGY Superhighway. Why? Because billions are about to be poured into it by the US Gov't. We need to replace dependence on foreign oil, all things that people KNOW and want to see happen and if you have the right technology to pursue, the investors would come on board.

One of my first products would be selling natural gas generators to the affluent, and then I'd be perfecting a "home waterfall" generator. A ONE generator one house concept that costs less for the energy to be produced that gets used on the spot. The surplus gets put into the grid and the community benefits.

There will be tremendous TAX breaks at all gov't levels for this technology.

I'd use the 75 k for the start-up of this Energy business. I'd use the investor monies for research and development along with any grant money. I'd use direct response advertising to put the company "on the map". I'd discuss with Wall St. specialists about taking a newbie co. public. Wouldn't do it, but I'd have it talked about.

I'd plow all the profits back into the company, jointly own any patents with inventors, take the company public, set up a trust from the IPO that insures my 75k a month for other investment opportunities.

Or...I'd buy a boat and hit the beaches. Not sure which one I'd do.

gjabiz

[J smith]

Real estate is a nice option, however there are a few semi problems with it.

1) The prices aren't going to recover any time soon if ever, for some locations. You have to remember that prices are driven by supply and demand, and the fact that banks were giving 100% financing to anyone who wanted to sign up for one regardless of their income (or lack of one) drove demand, and thus prices far above what it would normally be.

After all people aren't making that much more than in 2000, so there is little reason to think prices would go back to what they were in 2004-2006 (except some in demand locations like Manhattan and such)

2) Buy a house, rent, buy another one, rent, buy a third is very nice in theory, but there are still lots of places to get burned with it. What if the people you rent to decide not to pay? Evition? takes time, oh look at that, it's winter and they have little kids, no eviction for you... You get the point.

So, while real estate is and always will be a great place to invest, it isn't "fool proof" and just like with any invesment, there are plenty of things that can prevent it from working out the way you've hoped to.