We can all agree that a boring investment is one that is not subject to sever short term market swings due to current events or the resulting mass hysteria that is being experienced by millions of market traders and investors today. It seems to them that the only way to earn a profit is to buy or sell those shares of ownership of companies that will earn the most money within the shortest amount of time.
You can get rich quick or go bankrupt within a very short time. What’s bad today can be good tomorrow and visa versa. On the other hand, the long term investor seeks current buying opportunities with the idea that such an investment will produce a yearly dividend with a modest gain in the price of the stock as time passes.
The investor has little to lose and a whole lot to gain during the period of ownership of such stock. Those companies earned a profit year after year and it is safe to believe that those companies will continue to earn a profit, regardless of the financial health of the economy or other market pressures that cause those big swings of value.
Those are boring investments because I can do other things with my time, besides watching the second by second changes of those prices while praying that I won’t go broke. I don’t want a nervous breakdown and the worst thing that could happen is that my obsession to be rich could cause me to be homeless and deep in debt. Pay cash for what I buy and also make darn sure that the risk is as low as it can be.
I’d rather be bored than broke. With that in mind, take a good look at what meets your buying standards. The track record of a particular company tells the entire story of past performance. The products that the company makes are in constant demand. Every living thing has to eat and drink in order to stay healthy and alive. Human Beings also require shelter, clothes and health care services to fix what will eventually fail within their body. We all die and when that happens all of the wealth in the World won’t bring you back to life.
Those of your family who remain alive will receive the benefits of your wise investment practices. Do you have life insurance? The proceeds from your passing are tax free to your next of kin. So, if your goal is to provide for your wife and children after you are gone, life insurance is a wise investment. Your total payments for such coverage could yield a million or more for your survivors. You are buying peace of mind and how much is that worth to you?
Low risk investments truly are boring and most of those boring investment opportunities can be found in the food service industry. Also, look at the industries that mine our natural resources or make products that are essential to our daily life. As long as I’m alive people will buy computers and the software for it. People will buy appliances to cook their food or to keep it from spoiling before it is consumed. The top money makers in the restaurant business won’t go broke any time soon, but you do assume a little most risk for those kinds of investments. To invest in vacant land and/or other forms of Real Property is also an excellent investment opportunity, due to depressed property prices Country-Wide.
You can invest your surplus cash into Government insured certificates of deposit for a predetermined period of time and a stated rate of return in the form of interest paid to you. That is the safest and most boring kind of investment that you can make for yourself and your loved ones.
With the above in mind, take your time and assess those investment opportunities on a company by company basis within those industries that are likely to remain stable for years to come, but at the same time do appreciate as time passes. You might not get rich, but you won’t go broke either.