Ask the Readers: What Has Been Your Best Investment Yet?
Editor's Note: Congratulations to Elle, Martha, and Natasha for winning this week's contest!
We make many investments throughout our lives — many require money, time, effort, or some combination of all three. The big ones are education, career, and retirement, but the small investments like a weekend getaway with your friends or weekly dinner-dates with your spouse are no less valuable.
What has been your best investment yet? What did you have to put in, and what did you get out of it? What big investments are you working on now?
Tell us about your best investment and we'll enter you in a drawing to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card!
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Mandatory Entry:
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Good Luck!
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I bought shares of Gilead just before Sovaldi hit the market, and sold just before the pricing controversy became a media sensation.
Our 2 best investments were buying homes when the market was on its way up. We bought our first home in 2000 and sold it the following year for a $60,000 profit. Then we bought our second home and sold it 2 years later for a $65,000 profit. We haven't been that lucky since then. We're in a home now that seems to be going up in value so hopefully one day when we sell it we will profit again.
Getting my doctorate in chemistry is going to be my biggest investment. Sure, it has been really hard to make ends meet while working on it, but that also has made me able to follow a budget and pay attention to prices.
I'm almost there!
MY best investment has been my house. I got it for a great deal and fixed it up it has been steadily been going up in value.
My biggest investment required a teammate, my husband, and it's our three children. It has been worth every bit of sacrifice and love. I became a stay-at-home mom, learned to be frugal on one income, and poured all that I could into raising them. They're all grown up now and I'm so proud of them!
My current biggest investment? My husband. He's been with me through so much and yet he still loves me and considers himself blessed to have married me! We now get to rediscover each other and it's good!
Getting an education is the best investment I made, and that anyone can make. It pays off by being able to earn a higher salary and to have a better quality of life.
My career! I took 2 years off of the working world and went to graduate school. I tripled my salary when I graduated. Seems to be paying off so far!
My best investment is a high interest Annuity!
I don't have any investments yet
My best investment was a college education which has helped me get jobs.
My best investment that I paid money for is my college degree ringing up at around $15000 in tuition and books. It gave me a toehold into my career and I've more than earned back the initial investment.
My other best investment was my first stock purchase ever: I bought some shares of Berkshire Hathaway and they have doubled in value. More importantly, that gave me the confidence to keep investing in my brokerage account and retirement accounts. Too bad I didn't buy more!
My best investment is my house. I stand to double what I put in to it.
I'm not sure if my comment was deleted but really quickly:
My education cost $15,000 and gave me the start to a career where I can make multiples of that.
My first purchase of stock was in Berkshire Hathaway and gave me the confidence to keep investing as it has doubled in value since!
My law degree is definitely my best investment so far!
My education is my best investment!
My best investment was buying and paying for a home back in the early 2000's! I had to end up selling it due to a divorce and been struggling living month to month every since! I wish I could afford to buy my own home again instead of renting!
saving the max amount in 401k every year.
Our biggest investment was our home. It put us on a tight budget, but it paid off. We could never afford the house now, 17 years later.
My best investment has been towards education, both mine and for my children. Through scholarships and hard work, the family now has members with lots of letters after their names and successful careers.
By luck, our best investment has been our house. We were able to buy a great house at a very reasonable price and the current value is twice what we paid.
Our best investment has been the home we bought in 1972 and sold in 2005 for over 6 times what we paid for it.
My best investment thus far in life has been my electric toothbrush. It cost $100 10 years ago, and I buy a new pack of heads every year for $20. Having nice clean teeth allows me to shine my smile every day at work and in social gatherings. It has also kept me away from needing to spend money on fillings or other dental work. Investing in ones health has countless benefits that I know I will especially appreciate as I get older, and would recommend to anyone!
My beach cart was my best investment! The best $50 I have ever spent. It's probably 10 yrs old, and used every weekend in the summer. I no longer break my back trying to carry chair, cooler, umbrella, beach bag, etc. And I guess my 457 plan at work. :)
One of my best investments was a bachelor's and a master's in accounting. I can get a job in just about any city.
My second best investment was all the time and effort I've put into my relationship with my husband. I am more financially responsible knowing it's not just my money I'm spending, and research says I'll have fewer health issues because of the joy being with him brings.
My absolute best investment was my decision to give my life to Christ. My desire to honor Him makes me more accountable with my actions and my interactions with others, and I'll get to spend eternity in Heaven!
My best investment was my education.
Bought a property many years ago, held it a few years and doubled our money when we needed it.
In 2009 I bought an 8 bedroom house for $191K which was about 1KM from a large University. Back then you were allowed to put down 5% on your first home purchase if it was a principal residence (approximately $10,000 for me). I locked into 3.69% for 5 years on a 30 year mortgage. My payments were around $1000/month and the house came tenanted at $400/room - $3200/month. Its been ridiculous ever since and when I renewed last year I locked into another 5 years this time at 2.69% bringing my monthly down even further.
The fully vested 403b that one of my employers paid into. Nothing like free money!
Some of the best investments we've made was to invest and save to be able to put both girls through college.
Getting a college education has been my best investment so far!
I'm hoping that attending junior college to earn a medical office tech certificate will be the best investment I've made so far.
My biggest investment for now is my education, I'm having my dissertation this June for my Doctor in Philosophy in Educational Administration and Supervision.
In business, I was able to put up a Beauty Salon (January 2016) for my siblings and family so that I won't support them anymore or give monthly allowance. Last year also, I co-owned a canteen business here in our school but till now were not able to get our profit.
I am working on a new investment now with my husband and mother in law, hoping to win for the bidding of a grocery space this June 30, 2016.
My best investment has been the purchase of our home. Buying a fixer upper has allowed us to purchase at a low price and fix it up as we go. Real estate is always the best investment if you buy at a low price and are there long enough to let it grow in value.
Our home. Choosing property wisely can be a great investment that you actually enjoy and use before selling for a profit. We just sold our home and realized a significant gain.
After getting rid of my debt, putting together my first ever blog has been my best investment. While it has not been an investment of money, it has definitely been an investment of time, by far the more precious resource, especially when you have small children. I am learning so much, and giving voice to my thoughts is helping me to really listen to my inner voice and use it to make better decisions. Learning about the technical side of things has also been very stimulating at a point in my life when I really wasn't learning about anything so much anymore. I have a ways to go, but I am energized thinking about it, which is definitely a great feeling.
My best investment was my first home. I was able to turn around and make a profit off it with a few improvements,
My best investment has been my car! I've also invested in some stock and was able to pay off some loans with the money I made.
My house has been my best investment.
My investment in solid education and highly marketable finance skills. I hold 2 master's degrees, and have had a strong professional experience in credit and underwriting. I think the best investment a person can make is in a good education and developing strong professional skills in a field they enjoy.
My best investment was stock in Cisco. It more than doubled and I wish I had put more money in that what I did!
Purchasing my home!
As unlikely as it sounds, my home has been my best investment. I bought it in 2010, at the bottom of the real estate market, and its appraised value has almost doubled! Lucky timing for me!
My children
My best financial investment has been in diversified annuities and mutual funds portfolios. I have found that diversifying my investments has helped me through the ups and downs of the economy over the years. My best non financial investment has been my time helping others.
a rental house that I purchased.
My best investment has been my car
My education has been my best investment so far!
I haven't invested in anything that has paid off yet.
So far it's been my college education.
My best investment has been is my home. I bought it when prices were low.
My best investment has been buying our house. It's not only a good financial investment, it's a place to make memories as a family.
Our best investments have been our homes. Our last home we sold for a profit of $65,000. Our current home has increased $90,000 in value. We are updating it to add more value. We are doing a lot of the work ourselves to save money. We are also paying cash for all materials.
My best investment was my education and my Roth IRA for the future
My best investment has been my marriage.
The best investment I ever made was my grad school degree. It helped me to jump careers and double my income. Also, I think traveling can be an investment -- it's like an education in that it enriches your life and is something that can never be taken away from you.
I think my best investment so far will be the education I get after getting a second degree to switch careers. I'm going to be much happier with what I do and have many more options to work in the new field I've chosen.
Finding a job that I love and doing monthly investments into several stocks.
My best investments have been the adoption fees I paid to get two dogs from the shelter and give them forever homes. It has given us love, companionship, and days filled with shenanigans that I wouldn't trade for anything.
My college degree!
My best investment has been my house. It's paid off now so I can live rent free.
My best investment was buying our house
I know I'm supposed to say "my education" or whatever but it's my house. It doubled in price in less than three years and now I own two houses.
my mutual fund based on my desired retirement year
Starting our retirement fund at age 21.
Still young and haven't made any significant investments yet... But I'm hoping being in the habit of aggressively saving money for retirement will help!
I have to say my best investment has been the purchase of my home.
My best investment (hopefully) to date has been my education. I received my Bachelors and Masters Degrees within 6 years, and while was fortunate was save a good deal of money in the process, the combination of overall funds, time and effort were a challenge.
My best investment is my car. I've had it for over 10 years and it's never given me problems. I don't have to worry about car payments.
My education.
A wireless water kettle! It kept giving back - tea, coffee, soup, hot water bottles, you name it, saving gas, electricity and heat, until it had to stay behind in an intercontinental move
my children have been my best investment.
My best investment was my husband's college - it was important for our marriage (supporting him emotionally and taking on more responsibility in the household while he was doing schoolwork) and his his career that he was able to do that.
Marrying a sensible man who has become a financial partner, not a liability.
I bought a townhouse and sold it a year later for a 20% profit.
My best investment has been my house.
My best investment is rental properties.
my best investment was deciding to go to college.