Investing usually involves leveraging historical data. You check prior reports, evaluate spreadsheets, and come to a satisfactory conclusion. Piece of cake. But, what happens when you’re trying to figure out where to put your money during COVID-19? Pandemics happen infrequently, which is a good thing. However, it also means you have little information to gauge whether areas to invest in during COVID-19 make sense or not.
Areas to Invest in During COVID-19
If you’re scratching your head trying to figure out how to make money grow in the current climate, you don’t have to poke around in the dark. In fact, a few areas have risen as strong platforms to spread your wealth pragmatically. Below are four areas to invest in during COVID-19 where you can put your disposable income before a second potential wave of coronavirus.
1. Shift money into your home.
For most people, buying a home is the single biggest investment they’ll make. If you own property, now is the right time to start building equity in it. According to late October 2020 figures collected by Realtor.com, the Housing Recovery Marketing Index continues to soar beyond early 2020 levels. Even if you aren’t planning to sell anytime soon, you may want to improve the perceived and real value of your house with a few tweaks.
Where should you start? Think low-hanging fruit: Tackle those nagging repairs and upgrades. Energy efficient windows, improved HVAC equipment, and modern roofing can instantly raise a home’s net worth. So can a tricked-out home office perfect for telecommuting and wired for success.
Yes, upgrades cost money, even if you’ve already paid for the best home warranty you could find based on participation of local providers. The cash you put back into sprucing up a primary residence isn’t lost, though. It’s a way to get more from home ownership than merely a place to live.
2. Accumulate products with a shelf life.
No one knows if sheltering in place regulations will occur again. In November 2020, the United Kingdom went back into lock down mode due to rising cases of COVID-19. To be sure, any country could follow suit throughout the prime cold and flu season.
If you have extra cash in your pocketbook, consider shopping for shelf-stable supplies that can support quarantine-style living. It’s like free money down the road. Remember how difficult it was to find the simplest paper products like bath tissue, facial tissues, and paper towels for the first few months of the pandemic? Though you don’t want to become a hoarder, you also don’t want to be without necessities like cleaning solutions and over-the-counter medications.
Other items worth paying for now instead of hoping they’re available later relate to work-from-home life. Already, computers and printers below a certain price point are hard to come by. Another surge of coronavirus could render them virtually impossible to purchase, even through online retailers and wholesalers. Get them now and reduce the stress of sheltering in place.
3. Enter into the stock market.
If you’re interested in jumping into the stock market, consider this one of the areas to invest in during COVID-19. pharmaceutical companies are looking fairly strong. As Motley Fool’s team notes, giants like Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson continue to post attractive revenue jumps and possibilities. Why? One reason is that many healthcare companies are competing to bring the first viable COVID-19 vaccine to market.
Of course, pharmaceutical stocks aren’t your only choice if you’re focused on building out your investment portfolio. Tech has gotten a serious boost with the pandemic, and innovation seems to be the name of the game for entrepreneurs. Therefore, tech stocks could be hot. Or you might even want to poke around crowdfunding sites to explore novel inventions to support.
Word to the wise: Playing around with stocks can be stressful unless you know what you’re doing. Talk to your financial advisor before making major decisions about where to put your dollars or whether to move them from a safe to a riskier vehicle. If you dislike risk, try an annuity or pension.
4. Load up on wellness items.
A surprising effect happened when people were forced to remain at home most of the time: They took their wellness more seriously. Some exercised to deal with their anxieties. Others tried tasty, healthy dishes and turned their kitchens into veritable world cuisine cafes. Plenty embraced “family board game night” as a way to ward off lock down ennui.
Have you considered buying new athletic gear to keep you warm this winter in case you’re confined to working out at home or in your neighborhood? Hit the “buy” button soon. Otherwise, you’re courting the possibility that the most popular apparel, footwear, and equipment will be out of stock once the holidays hit.
Investing in exercise equipment and even hobby materials like knitting and crocheting kits helps you maintain a stronger physical and mental health. As long as you use what you buy, you’ll get a serious return on investment. You may even snag some ridiculously low end-of-year deals on retiring apparel and equipment models, allowing you to stretch your budget more.
COVID-19 has made us more thoughtful about different aspects of our lives, including where, how, and when we spend our funds. You don’t have to stockpile your cash, though. Instead, spend it intentionally and with an eye to getting something back in these areas to invest in during COVID-19
