Investing in things other than stocks, bonds, mutual funds

Pretty much everybody is familiar with the term investments because it is a way for us to get a return on the money that we have invested so that we can benefit from them sometime in our future. Investments are gaining popularity because of the fact that Social Security is nowhere near close enough for people to live off of when they retire; many people are finding out that they need to invest money into other types of investments just so they can survive when they retire. But investments don't have to be used to save money for your retirement, investments are just a great way to earn a return on your money, meaning you will end up getting more money then what you put into it, well at least that is what is supposed to happen.

Something else that almost everybody is familiar with when it comes to investments is certain types of investments. Almost everybody is aware of the fact that you can invest in stocks, bonds and mutual funds, even if they don't know exactly what they are. But chances are if you are interested in investing you are already aware of what those common types of investments are. If you are interested in investing your money to get some type of return you might be interested in learning about the other types of investments that are available to you.

Here is a look at other investments, which does not include stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.

- 401K - this is probably the most popular type of investment because the money is taking directly from your paycheck and you never realize it is missing. Also many companies will match a portion of what you are investing to help build your account for your 401K; some companies will even allow you to roll over your investment if you switch jobs.
- Life insurance - this type of investment is actually quite popular, what you are doing is paying a certain amount to maintain the policy each month and if something happens to you your family will be able to collect on the policy that you paid for which can help to cover numerous costs and expenses that your family can incur.
- Money market funds - this type of investment is great for a short term investment strategy. How you earn money with this kind of an investment is that you are considered an independent shareholder so you earn money from the investments that you make into the money market funds.
- Annuities - this type of an investment is an agreement between you and the insurer and works to produce income for you and protect your earning potential; many people receive an annuity when they retire. This type of an investment is a tax deferred income which means that the money you put in is not taxed, but it will be taxed once you take it out. There is usually a time limit on this income and if you withdraw it early you will be paying higher taxes.
- Brokered Certificates of Deposit - this type of investment is similar to a savings account but with CDs what you are doing is depositing money into an account for a set amount of time. The longer you leave your money in the account the more of a return you are going to see on your money. But one of the best things about CDs is that even if you do take your money out early you are not going to be charged any penalties or fees for withdrawing your money.
- Real estate - this type of investment is a tangible investment and it can include land or anything that is permanently attached to your property. Real estate is considered a smart investment and can actually make you a lot of money over time. Many people invest in real estate as a form of rental properties, empty pieces of land that they can later sell to developers, commercial buildings that they lease out, etc.