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An investment can be more than just a way of making a financial return. There are some assets that you can invest in that can offer potential lifestyle benefits as well as making you richer. Below are just six examples of such investments.
Vacation homes
A buy-to-let property can be a great way to invest your money. Most people rent such properties out to long-term tenants. However, it’s also possible to buy property in a touristy location and rent it out to guests on vacation. The likes of AirBnB are very popular platforms for doing this – by getting enough guests per year you can cover any mortgage and make a profit on top. You could also hire a property manager to maintain the property and hand over keys to guests.
Of course, a vacation home can also have dual benefits – when no guests are staying there, you can use it for your own leisure. You could buy a property in a location that you regularly vacate to, allowing you to escape to your favourite destination whenever you want. You could even plan to move to that property when you retire.
Classic cars
Many car fanatics like to invest in classic cars. By restoring or maintaining an old car, you can increase its value over time and then sell it for a profit. By choosing the right car, you could potentially make thousands.
Owning a classic car also gives you the option to drive it and get use out of it yourself. You’ll probably want to have a separate everyday vehicle, but you’ll still be able to enjoy taking out your car on country drives or attending classic car conventions. Some petrolheads may even enjoy the act of restoring and maintaining it – it could be a craft hobby with financial benefits. Just be careful of how much you spend when restoring/maintaining as this will affect any future profit.
Art and antiques
Rare art and antiques can often gain value over time, providing that they are well looked after. This is particularly the case with famous works of art or antiques by famous designers (although you’ll usually need a lot of money to invest in these).
A benefit of such investments is that you can use them to decorate your home. An antique bureau or table could even get some practical use out of it. This is something you can’t say of investments like gold (which usually just sits in a vault) or a collectible toy (which usually has to stay in its box to maintain its value).
Collectible watches
Expensive watches are known to appreciate in value over time. Some people can make thousands in profit just from buying a single expensive watch. This can make them a great investment.
On top of potentially making a return, you can also get personal use out of it by wearing it. Most watches don’t have to be kept in a box to retain their value. So long as you wear it with care it should still appreciate in value (it’s probably best not to wear it as an everyday watch, but one for special occasions, just to be safe). The same can be said with some items of jewellery.
Wine and whisky
Wines and whiskies of celebrated vintages can often become more valuable over time. By buying a bottle and storing it safely you could make a profit by later selling it to a wealthy wine enthusiast or upmarket restaurant/bar that sells rare bottles.
Opening the bottle will devalue it, so you want to keep it sealed. However, one advantage of this investment is that if it doesn’t increase in value, you can still drink it and enjoy it for yourself. This makes it a win-win investment – you either make money from it or get to drink it.
Rare vinyl
If you love music, investing in vinyl could be the way to go. Rare vinyl can sell for a lot of money – especially first pressings of classics. A whole collection of rare vinyl could be particularly valuable.
Of course, your records don’t have to just sit on the shelf collecting dust to make you a return. You can also play them and enjoy your investment as it appreciates in value. Just make sure that you look after your records so that you don’t devalue them. Learning how to handle and clean vinyl could help you to preserve it while maintaining its value.