With the general cost of living climbing steadily higher, many people are looking for multiple streams of income to survive the coming years. According to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, in Nigeria, inflation rose to 17.33% in February 2021, making it the highest inflation rate recorded in four years.
Many young people are actively seeking out ways to earn more money or investments to bring more returns.
Here are seven investment paths that some may call unorthodox, but we call them genius ways to better your finances.
1. Jewellery
Not just any type of jewellery, gold! For a long time, people saw gold jewellery as a good store of value. You can buy gold jewellery, flaunt it, and then sell it in times of need. Investment in jewellery is something that some Nigerians unknowingly do, as the older generation passes them down to the younger generations as heirlooms.
However, recently, the physical demand for gold is not as high as before and prices have been lower. According to the Bank of America, the market prices for gold are still viable and are projected to average $2,063 per ounce in 2021. Once you purchase gold, you can make a profit by trading it or simply renting it out. To enjoy this investment, you need to make sure you have secure storage space.
2. Art
In 2020, a painting by the late Ben Enwonwu, widely considered the father of Nigerian modernism, was sold for $1.4m at Sotheby’s auction in London. All over the world, contemporary African art is continuing to rise in popularity.
With the global digital market allowing for a wider audience, you could purchase and collect paintings, sculptures and more, for resale at auction houses, anywhere in the world. It takes time to mature, but it’s almost always worth it.
3. NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens)
NFTs are a newer and very much exciting form of investment. They are unique digital items — images, music, videos, tweets, almost anything — traded on the internet between the creators and the collectors. How it works is that a unique digital signature is attached to an item through a process called minting, using blockchain technology. This process creates a contract that no one can change.
Anyone on the internet can access the marketplace and bid to buy an NFT. If it’s art, secondary sales are an additional form of income. The artists get paid when another collector buys their art. Nigerian crypto artist Jacon Osinachi shows just how valuable NFTs are.
It is well to note that this is still in its nascent stage and extremely volatile at this point, however, it is a development to keep an eye on.
4. Farms
With the volatility of the stock market, more people are looking to farming as a more reliable investment venture. Lately, more Agric investment platforms are cropping up; people pool funds into farms to help with infrastructure and crops, providing a good measure of profit.
The investments mature with seasons and are not just limited to crops but also livestock. There are risk factors that affect farms, but with most of these farms insured, it provides a sort of safety blanket (a profit is almost guaranteed.) It is a great way to make some passive income. Because at the end of the day — food never goes out of fashion.
5. Vintage Drinks
It’s not enough to buy alcohol for drinking. How about investing in it? Collectable liquor is a unique way of accruing profits. Some fine wine collections can be worth more than a house! People find and keep rare bottles of wine, whiskey or any spirits for resale later. The older or rarer the bottle, the more expensive it is.
Auction houses are an excellent place to acquire unique or rare bottles of spirits and wines. If preserved well, these bottles go for more lucrative prices than the original price.
6. Time
Time is another precious investment, this one especially all the more valuable because once it goes you can’t get it back. You can invest in your time, by using it to rest, think, learn, love and live. To maintain a healthy mind and body, use time to take care of yourself. As the saying goes, health is wealth.
7. Money Market Fund
Money market funds are a great way to invest small sums of money for short term periods to profit. It’s great because people who do not have much money still enjoy the benefits of investments. Funds like Afrinvest Plutus funds allow you to invest with as low as ₦5,000, so it is convenient for young people to grow their income gradually. You can visit https://www.afrinvest.com/, 08085919106, or send an e-mail to aaml@afrinvest.com for all the details.
