There are literally thousands of ways to make money. The problem is to find that one method that works for you the best, one that fits your personality, values and interests. The best way is the one that you understand.
Investing
Stocks
This is probably one of the most common ways of making money.
One caveat is that you need some money to make money with stock investing. Also, problem is that stock market is very speculative and goes up and down. However, it is not that bad as it seems. Most common way, of course, is to invest money in particular stocks like GE, Microsoft, Google and other Fortune 500 companies. However, this is more long term investment, and you really could use help of a professional investment adviser, financial planner or a stock broker. On the other hand, you could find a proper discount stock broker and do it on your own. You can sign up for investment newsletters, financial periodicals, financial newspapers, magazines, like Wall Street Journal or Barron’s magazine (this one is highly recommended). Also, there are investment specific services or newspapers and web-sites. This is more of a long-term way though and you do need money to make money with this method.
Recent trend is to invest in either distressed assets, such as companies that undergo bankruptcy, or invest in penny stocks. There are thousands of stocks that cost, well, pennies per share. The hope is that you invest a thousand of dollars in several of them, and one of them will shoot up later, making you 100 times what you invested. There penny stocks newsletters and web-sites online. However, you should be careful for scammers, as some of them own those stocks and just induce other people into buying and increasing value for the same penny stocks they invested in. It is a gamble, but you do not need a lot of money to try. You will need to find a discount stockbroker who can let you invest into those cheap stocks, because many do not offer such service. You will need to use brokerage account, trading account and money to invest.
Options
Instead of spending thousands you may have to spend only few hundred dollars instead if you decide to buy a stock option on the stock.
You can buy call option on a stock, thus betting that stock will rise up in value beyond expected price, and then you can buy at the strike price that you initially anticipated, and sell at whatever premium the stock is trading for at the market. The difference is your profit. Or, you can purchase a put option, and bet that stock will go down.
You will also need discount stock brokerages for this service. Pros for trading options is that you do not have to invest thousands of dollars to bet that stick price will move up or down. Cons are that options are much more volatile than stocks, you can loose your money much faster, and stocks options have limited life – up to one year usually. You will need to use brokerage account, trading account and money to invest.
ETFs
This is my favorite way to invest. ETF stands for “exchange traded fund”, which is basically a fund which invests in other stocks, but is traded on exchange as a stock itself. It is easy to purchase and you are buying basically service of fund managers who constantly follow the market and shuffle portfolio to ensure that fund gains, and not looses, money. Not all ETFs guarantee profits, but you can check web-sites for listings of ETFs that are profitable and which have increased in value in the last 3, 6 months or a year. This is one of the safest ways to invest. With ETFs you can invest in stocks, commodities, real estate, any industry – because many ETFs are specifically designed to invest in those. You will need to use brokerage account, trading account and money to invest. And yes, some ETFs have options to trade.
Forex
Forex trading, or foreign currency trading, is another way some traders make money. Forex market has become very popular because of a possibility of using a leverage and making a profit. You do not need very large amount of money to trade foreign currency because of the availability of leverage. Forex is not the safest way to make money and is not for everyone. If you like starring all day at the charts and if you like to do some serious analysis of economic events that affect currency movements – then Forex is for you. Forex trading requires diligence and learning curve, but potential profits are very lucrative. I do know several Forex traders who consistently make good income, and I do know about people who tried and were never successful. Forex traders usually trade following currencies – US dollar, British Pound, Swiss Dollar, Yen, and other currencies. In order to trade Forex you need to have a good computer, then find Forex broker which can provide you with a good trading platform and decent leverage. Leverage is regulated in United States, but it is not regulated in many other countries.
Some Forex brokers offer managed accounts, but you need more money to invest. Also, some offer automatic trading, where computer trades your money while you sleep. I would not invest a lot of money into those as computers can make mistake.
Gold and futures trading
I will only briefly talk about it because this area is not very familiar to me. I do know a couple of successful futures traders and can tell you that they are financially well. But it takes time and dedication to learn the art. Again, if you like charts and economics – this is area for you. Futures work like options – these are basically contracts to buy or sell a commodity at certain price at certain date in the future. For commodities and futures trading you will also need to find a decent broker to open a trading account. You can trade gold futures as well, and trading futures does not require large investment. However, if you want to invest long term in gold and other precious metals – I suggest investing in ETFs which invest in gold and silver.
Consulting
I can not omit this way of making a buck because it is so basic and widespread. Not all, but many of us face certain skills that might be useful to others. Those could be computer networking knowledge, car fixing knowledge, fitness and sports experience, actual industry knowledge, and you name it. There is often somebody who might need you help to go through maze of information. The most difficult part, of course, is to find clients. Basically, consulting is the same as having your own business and you will need to learn how to talk to people, how to use internet and social media, etc. There are few books that a good on this topic and you might find wealth of information on the internet as well. You need to watch out though, some of the consulting may require licensing (civil engineering, legal, medical, nutritional and fitness consulting in some states). Nevertheless, it should not discourage you.
Tutoring
This is different form consulting but similar at the same time – you are selling your skills and knowledge. If you know math well – it is kind of easy to find tutoring positions or tutor online as a private tutor. If you know science, accounting, finance and other complicated topics – it is also pretty easy. However, you may tutor as an artist or musician, as sports/bodybuilding coach and you name it. You need to identify your skills
I recommend to read more about the area in which you are interested. You can check any of the books links to which I posted throughout the text. I have read a number of them and they are actually useful more often than not. If you want to full recommended list on money making, business and entrepreneurship, click here:
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