You have been working hard all your life in order to earn money. Investors would often say that you should start making your money work for you instead of the other way around. With so many options available, how does one make the proper decision? It all depends on the amount of money you are willing to invest, how much return you want to get, and how long you are willing to keep the money out of your hands.

Of course, these all have a relationship with one another – for example, the longer the money is inaccessible to you, the higher the returns usually are. The risks are also greater, but these are outweighed by the instrument that will yield you higher revenue. And of course, the higher the principal amount you are willing to put in, the higher your profits can be as well.

Some basic options for the millennial investor in these times are:

1. Cryptocurrency

With the advent of everything becoming digitized, including money, investing in cryptocurrency could be a worthwhile endeavor for millennials in this day and age. The advantages are complete transparency and control over your activity and how you want to manage your portfolio, which is largely unaffected by political movement or factors that typically affect traditional currency. Apart from that, the trend so far is that use for this kind of currency has been increasing over the years, so you are assured of its continued relevance beyond popularity or trends.

2. Real Estate

Tried and tested throughout generations, investing in real estate can prove to be lucrative even in these modern times. Though capital outlay can be quite hefty, the usual trend is towards increase of value over the years. Income returns can be quite sizable if, for example, you rent out your property and have a stable lessee occupying your place for a continued period of time.

Real estate returns are also immune to inflation and are hence a good asset to have in your portfolio.

3. Scholarship funds

If you are thinking about making sure that your child gets the best education, then investing in Group RESP’s or a Registered Education Savings Plan is a good way to secure this. Here, contributors’ premiums for children of more or less the same age group are pooled together in order that the returns generated are more sizable than if they were taken individually. It is a good way to diversify your portfolio as well as ensure that your child gets a good education.

4. Playing the Stock Market

Though highly volatile and unstable in nature, those who have the stock market down to a science can really earn sizable amounts from it just by knowing how to play smartly. Just make sure that the money you invest in here is something you can easily stand to lose, so that there are no hard feelings if you don’t get the returns you envisioned. The stock market is really a gamble – you can get exponential growth, or meet with a similar amount of loss.

Depending on your tolerance for risk, these four initial suggestions can help you flex your investment muscles. Work with what you have, start small, and let your equity grow just by being wise in your investment choices.