This is a question that I get asked a lot. This is also a question that I almost always answer the same with the exception of the rare circumstance of when I am talking to someone who is doing what they love and they are what I would consider to be at the least, a semi-sophisticated investor.
Whether you have twenty dollars or twenty thousand dollars, if you are unhappy with your job, are trading you time for money, don’t have any knowledge of investing or if you are just plain out looking for the “golden” answer, this one’s for you.
What I believe everyone should be doing is following their dreams and passion. I firmly believe that everyone has something that they are interested in and or passionate about. I think everyone has a “hobby” for lack of a better term, that could be monetized. Some people love movies, socializing, sex, baseball, curling, dogs, whatever. There is always something and there is always a way to monetize it. I am not saying to run out and quit your job! Gotta make that clear right of the bat.
An example I can give comes from a friend of mine who asked me this very question just a couple of days ago. What should I do with twenty thousand dollars? This friend has always wanted to be a writer yet she does not make the time in her life to write. She went to school for writing and yet…. after a couple of tries to get published she gave up. I told her that if I were in her shoes, with 2 children, no husband, working full time at a job that I was getting tired of, that I would commit myself to a certain amount of time doing things - be it writing, reading blogs from other writers about publishing or whatever- that would take me in the direction that I wanted to go.
From experience I can tell you that once you start moving in a direction, things start to happen. Call it the power of the universe, the law of attraction, call it whatever you want, but essentially, shit starts to happen. I told my friend to keep that money for when shit happens, which it will. Maybe she will need an editor or a cover artist or maybe she will decide to educate herself in some other way, but to put that money aside for that reason.
If she was able to clearly define what she would like that money to do for her ie: generate passive income, maintain its value in the face of monetary deflation, or to make capital gains, she should consider studying those topics to have a better understanding of what she wants to invest in. I would at that point have referred her to my favorite Robert Kiyosaki books and called it a day, until she called again with more specific questions after putting in the time to do some research. Its not a fluffy answer or a quick fix, but that my friends is the my million dollar answer to the million dollar question, what should or could I invest in with twenty thousand dollars. Invest in yourself first!