Andy Reed wrote:Steer clear of crypto currencies. They are a fad, nothing more. Only useful if you want to launder money or conduct illegal activities. Even worse then stocks or bonds as a speculative asset because they have no income stream, just the concept of a greater fool willing to pay more to buy it off you later. If you plant a few fruit trees they will yield for many years, or you can sell the fruit to buy things you want.
There have been a couple of bitcoin dealers that have taken client money or had it stolen, and there is no protection for those that lost money, silk road, sheep marketplace and Mt Gox have all seen owners of bitcoin lose all of them. Considering the brief time period involved it's a pretty bad investment.
Far better to take pleasure from things that are real, like a garden, some animals, some trees, land etc. These things can be used as money in a pinch or produce things you can exchange for money.
I can't understand why crypto currencies are so popular, same goes for stocks, especially stocks of companies that have yet to make a profit. Not rational at all.
I hold a bit of silver, but it is the second most useful commodity in the world after oil, and just its antibacterial properties alone mean it will always have value, at least to me.
Personally I like shares as you do "own" physical assets and get dividends and is easily converted to cash. Just don't buy penny stocks, have a diverse portfolio in a few sectors and remember the golden rule - it's time in the market NOT timing the market. I prefer assets that work for me so would not buy silver or gold or speculate on plots of land - if I did want too speculate I would consider stamps or art. At least stamps are very smuggable,
I would be interested in property to rent out but as it is very hard to evict a person have opted for buying shares in listed property companies in South Africa and the UK.
