6 Ways to Invest $100,000 Worth Considering

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where to invest $100,000

Looking to invest $100k? Look no further. Investing that kind of money properly has the potential to make it grow exponentially, thanks to the wonder of compound interest.

Today, I’ll share some ideas on how to invest $100,000 for those who are looking for ways to get the best return on their money.

How to Invest $100,000

Here are some investment options you might consider as you ponder how to invest that $100,000 you’ve worked so hard to acquire.

1. Real Estate

Depending on where you live, $100,000 could be a nice down payment on a single-family home, a duplex, or a condo, or in some areas, could be the full purchase price for those items. It could also be a nice down payment for a smaller apartment building in some areas.

Although owning rental properties can take some work, the mostly passive monthly income is a nice bonus, as is your growing wealth portfolio that comes with the appreciation of the property or properties you’ve purchased.

If you’re not sure if rental property management is for you, you can always hire a property management company to help with that part of your investment.

If you live in an area where housing is super expensive, such as New York City or southern California, you might want to consider purchasing an out-of-state rental property in a lower-cost area.

Many investors in expensive housing areas go this route, and it works well for them.

Invest in Raw Land

Another option if you’re interested in getting into the real estate rental market would be to consider investing your money in a raw land purchase. This could mean raw land that has the potential for later development or raw land containing a valuable resource such as trees.

No matter what your real estate purchase, real estate in the long-term has a solid history of growing steadily in value and increasing wealth for those investing in it.

AcreTrader makes investing in farmland simple.

Invest in Real Estate Via Crowdfunding

If owning and managing rental properties isn’t your deal, you might consider investing in a crowdfunded real estate venture with a platform like Fundrise.

Crowdfunding allows you to invest in real estate with others so that you don’t have to put up all the capital on your own. You and other investors each put up a portion of the capital, and professional real estate investors buy, manage, and maintain the properties.

Crowdfunded real estate investing allows you to help seasoned investors realize their growing real estate ownership dreams while you reap the investment returns with minimal work.

2. Business

If you or someone you know has a banner business idea, this might be just the avenue for you to take your $100,000 and turn it into a much bigger pile of cash.

Investing in businesses requires due diligence on what the potential is for said business, however, so before laying down any cash, be sure to educate yourself thoroughly on potential wins and losses the business could suffer, as well as researching if there is truly a need for the business idea.

There are a lot of components to starting and running a successful business.

Take a cue from business investment experts and analyze any business investment opportunities with a critical eye, looking out for your own monetary best interests first as you consider investing in a business.

The business with the most potential for success and profit is a business that has proven a need for its good or service and has created a solid business plan with hard-core facts to back it up.

3. Index Funds

I love index funds. They allow for the growth history that the stock market has shown to be true, while still providing the safety net of diversity and generally low fees.

Investor Place tells us in its review of Vanguard index funds, for instance, that many Vanguard funds have a 10-year performance rate of 9-11% and higher.

Because index funds generally contain stocks from a wide variety of proven performance industries and companies, they have a terrific success rate and can be a solid choice for investors worldwide.

Index funds are often the closest thing you’ll get to a sure bet in the investment world.

Index fund investing has a solid history of returns to back it up, but not all index funds are the same. It’s important to research the specific index funds you’re considering before investing your money.

Investment accounts like Ally Invest offer low-priced securities a $4.95 base commission plus one cent per share on the entire order. The maximum commission charge doesn’t exceed 5% of the value of the trade.

4. Blue Chip Stocks

Blue chip stocks are individual stocks that have a long-held history of solid performance. Think of long-standing companies that have been around forever and that everyone knows.

Blue chips stocks are the only area where I’d suggest investing in individual stocks because you’re investing in companies with a fifty, seventy-five, or even 100+ year history behind them.

They’re the products you and billions of other people use every day and will likely continue to use for a long time.

As an example of the potential success of blue chip stock investing, consider this guy’s story. Janitor and part-time gas station attendant Ronald Read didn’t appear wealthy on the outside.

However, by the time he reached age 90, he’d accumulated over $8 million in cash, mostly by living frugally and investing in blue chip stocks.

When it comes to investing in blue chips stocks in the stock market, you need to have a brokerage account. If you’re concerned about the fees involved in stock market investing, don’t be.

Investment companies today are realizing the benefits of lowering fees in order to attract more clients.

If you don’t already have an investment account, check out Ally Invest as they are only $4.95 per trade.

Investing in blue chip stocks can be a great way to help your $100k multiply steadily with a calculated amount of risk.

5. Peer-to-Peer Lending

Like other crowdfunding avenues, peer-to-peer lending companies help people realize dreams with the assistance of investors. People might borrow money from a peer-to-peer lending company to pay off debt or to consolidate other loans.

Investors research the available potential loans and decide how much money they want to invest in a potential loan based on the information given, such as the borrower’s credit history, debt-to-income ratio, and the reason for borrowing.

Peer-to-peer lending companies such as Lending Club have small minimum investment thresholds per note (Lending Club’s is $25), which allow for maximum diversification to minimize risk.

Investors choose from different grades of notes, A through G, that represent different risk levels to the investor. Higher grade notes like those graded A and B have a lower rate of return but also a lower charge-off rate.

Lower grade notes like those that are graded D through G have a historically higher rate of return, but they also have a higher charge-off rate (i.e. the chance of not being paid back).

6. Diversify your money

Speaking of diversification, another great option for investing $100,000 might be to break it up and diversify it into several different investment choices.

For instance, you might want to put $25k into real estate investing as a down payment on a smaller house or condo if market prices on homes in your area or a nearby area are lower. From there you could take another $25,000 and invest it in index funds.

Consider taking another share and putting it into a large-cap stock fund, some into an international stock fund, etc. Then take another portion of your $100k into a crowdfunded business venture.

By diversifying how you invest your $100,000, you run even less risk of losing the money and gain more experience in investing as you learn which types of investments suit your investment style and risk tolerance level – and which don’t.

Summary

As you can see, there are multiple options to invest in $100,000. It is best to figure out what your risk tolerance is and which of the six options above would work best for you and your family.

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14 Comments

  1. Mike Mihaljevich says:

    There are different types of Index Funds. Which ones provide the best rates with no risks involved?

    1. As you know, the rates can vary and change often. In addition, there is always risk involved. You just need to compare and see what you like the best before investing.

  2. Is buying a condo in a Wyndham Resort a profitable investment, or are they not telling us about hidden costs?

    1. There are way too many factors involved for me to know that. For instance, What is the market like there? What is the cost in comparison to other properties and what is the state of the real estate you are considering? You would have to do some homework to determine if it is a good investment or not.

      I hope some of this helps you make some sound real estate decisions. Good luck!

  3. What are the best investment resources for baby steppers?

    1. Well, everyone’s needs and investing budgets are different, so you might have to scope out more than one avenue until you find the one that is right for you.

      Good luck in your investing efforts!

  4. What about putting the money in a CD? I thought of doing it for 5 years so at least I would get interest.

    1. A CD can be a great way to get a return on your money and is one of the safer investments. However, the returns are usually much lower than what you could get investing in real estate or the stock market. For instance, some banks offer CD’s for 1 year at 2.5%. However, many crowdfunded real estate companies provide over 10% returns as do some index funds. However, there is more risk involved. So, really you have to invest the money in a way that aligns with your risk tolerance.

  5. What do you think about investing in virtual money?

    1. This type of investment does carry some risk, of course. In fact, it may be more risky than many other investment options. Before investing in any type of virtual money or cryptocurrency make sure you understand those risks. Diversification would probably be wise. Also, since this is a relatively new way to invest, if you are at all unsure it might be a good idea to consult a financial advisor first.

  6. Hi Laurie,
    Very well said – “Investing that money properly has the potential to make it grow exponentially”. In the fast pace life if anyone wants to make the future financially strong then it is necessary to start saving and take smart decisions of investment. Buying a home with a down payment can make you a homeowner. You can plan to give it on rent or you can live happily in it. Doing a research on your rental property is of utmost importance. You can also look for mortgage broker to get the best mortgage rate on purchase of a residential or commercial property.

  7. Anton Beloff says:

    Choose right one Stock Investing ideas and invest in “Blue Chips” high liquid Shares (not penny), to get 20%+ of annual return with low risk and diversification.

  8. I have a fair amount of my money invested in index funds but I also keep a fair amount in a high interest savings account for my eventual home purchase. Of course with the price of real estate in Canada, I’m not sure if “investment” is the term I would use.

    1. Deacon Hayes says:

      Haha. Yeah, I typically don’t view my primary home as an investment, even in the U.S. You have to live somewhere. So, unless you have roommates, it takes money and doesn’t make money. I’m glad to hear that you’re investing in index funds. That is primarily what we do as well.