When you hear the word investing, you might immediately have an image of someone who owns a huge collection of stocks, bonds, or other financial investments. What you might not be aware of is that you can also be a investor and know what investing really means. Investing is essentially to set money aside with the intention of seeing a return/profit at some point in the future. Simply put, to invest simply means owning an item or an asset with the intention of generating income over time or the eventual appreciation of the investment which is an improvement in the value of the item. You make this profit through the dividends received by the company you are trading with.

The most common form of investing is through buying and holding stocks. Stocks are shares of stock in companies. A person can buy a particular share of stock from a broker or financial institution and hold on to that particular share of stock until it eventually sells for a profit. That profit is essentially what your earning through dividends.

Another common way of investing is through savings accounts. With savings accounts, you invest your money in a variety of ways like making a CD or investing in a mutual fund, stocks, bonds, or other investments. With a savings account, you are essentially putting your money into a tax sheltered account where the government or other agency will take care of any losses that may occur during a specified period of time. So if you don’t like the idea of having your money in stocks or other investments that have volatile investments, you will probably be fine with saving it in a savings account and investing in safer bonds or the like.

Lastly, you can invest in real estate. Real estate includes such things as commercial buildings, apartment buildings, or even rental properties. There are many different kinds of real estate investments, and the key to investing in these kinds of real estate properties is to buy them at a time when they are less expensive and hold onto them until they either sell for a profit or they need to be retired. So it’s like stocks, bonds, CDs, and savings accounts all rolled into one.

The main thing about investing in stocks, bonds, and savings accounts is that they all offer low-risk and medium-risk investments. The low-risk part is because you are not risking as much money on each investment, which means you will see better overall returns. On the other hand, medium-risk investments are where you will get smaller returns but they still offer decent returns. You can make up for smaller returns by investing more money in higher returns investments. The key thing is that you diversify, so you know you’re investing in a wide range of funds and industries.

When you do your investing, it’s also important to remember that capital gains and appreciation go hand-in-hand. Capital gains are what you earn when you sell an investment. Appreciation, however, is when you actually make a profit on your investment. With bonds, it’s considered to be when you receive a letter from your broker indicating your interest in a bond. The key point here is that you are earning interest, and as such, capital gains and appreciation should be reported on your taxes.