Today, most people are not eager to invest in the stock market or put money in bank CD’s because the returns are not as promising as they once were. CD’s and savings accounts do not usually offer a great enough interest rate and stock mutual funds returns have been gone down sharply in the last few years. Although it is fine to continue investing in stocks or put money in the bank, it might be a good idea to consider getting into some unique and good investments.
First, before trying out any good investment options, you may want to consider investing in yourself. This is something that many people tend to overlook, but is quite important in order to succeed in the world of investing. 
Investing in yourself simply means getting educated about various subjects and issues surrounding what you truly desire in life and what conscious and subconscious obstacles you have placed into your life that prevents you from reaching your goals. Sometimes it just includes understanding basic finances, tax law, and the compounding effect of interest, for example, to set your feet on a solid financial footing.
Pay Off Your House
Real estate has always been considered one of the good safe investments. A unique way of seeing real estate as a good investment is to pay off your house as soon as you can. This will allow you and your family to feel more secure, reduce the interest you pay on borrowed funds and free up your income to get back to college, take self-improvement courses or even go into a home based business venture.
Scrap Metal Investing
Now, if you already own a plot of land that can is zoned properly, you can consider going into scrap metal business. You can buy large amounts of 
copper, aluminum and other metals which are used for different industries and purposes and sell them at a handsome profit in the future. Of course, you wouldn’t want to park your gold scrap in your salvage yard, but that is another unique and excellent business idea. By giving fair prices to your customers and clearly showing them how you calculated your offered price, you will have a steady customer base. Due to the soaring spot gold price, buying gold scrap was one of the very good investments for 2009 and will undoubtedly be one of the good investments for 2010 and beyond. With the sinking value of the dollar and the political uncertainty around the world, don’t expect gold prices to move of the $1,400 per ounce price soon.
Collectibles
For those who appreciate art or other collectibles, you can consider collecting them from yard sales and flea markets and marking them up for profit. This is one of the good investments for young people who don’t have a lot of funds as you can purchase many items from yard sales for almost nothing, mark them up 100-300 percent, and sell them on auction sites like eBay.
For more valuable items you buy, such as artwork and Carnival glass, you just need to have a good understanding as to which art pieces and other items will be valuable several years from now. Keep in mind that there are some items which may be valuable today, but may be worthless in the future. Collect those which are timeless pieces, such as Barbie, Disney figurines, Mickey Mouse, etc., instead of those which are just fads. If you are knowledgeable about collectibles, then this is definitely one of the good money investments that you should pursue.
What are good investments for you personally? One of the wonderful aspects of having a hobby is that you have a “work from home job” that you have a true passion for – this is the best investment you can make. “If you can make money at something you have a passion and a love for, you never will have to hold a job the rest of your life.” Passion for your occupation, not money, should always be the driving motivation in selecting your career. How many attorneys and doctors have you read about that quit their professions after years of investing in their educations only to raise animals or similar career changes?
Investment Properties and Currency Trading
You can also try different more investments, such as online Forex investment trading, currency futures trading, e currency trading, stock and currency option trading, Forex option trading, etc. There are some great overseas property investments to consider in hot markets, such as property Spain and property Cyprus, and the added benefit is that you can rent these properties out and then move into your overseas home once you retire. Paying cash for houses can also be a lucrative business as you can get homes at a discount if an owner needs funds immediately.
Having several good investments will help to diversify your risk, which is important. Not only the type of investment, but geographical diversity in your investments is important to a stable financial future. Keep in mind, though, that you should not invest any money that you are not ready to lose.
How to Make Good Investments
As an MBA graduate with many years of experience in investing, there are a couple of tips that I always keep in mind before investing:
- Will I enjoy the investment, not just for potential gain, but because I like this type of investment or the beauty of this artwork that I’ve acquired.
- Am I getting excited about someone talking to me about the business, a salesperson or marketer that is urging me to invest, or am I excited about the investment because I have researched it carefully, received others’ opinions on the investment, and have looked at concrete objective returns on investment? If you are investing primarily because someone is urging you to invest, you may want to slow down and proceed cautiously.
- Will I feel good about the investment ethically? Sure, there is a lot of money to be made buying gold scrap from people who don’t know the spot gold price and paying them a low amount for their scrap jewelry. You can make a lot of money paying cash for houses and robbing homeowners of their equity, which is also legal. But will you feel good about yourself?