Best 7 Places You Can Keep Your Money Outside Of Banks

Many people have over the years formed the habit of keeping their money in banks. Apart from the financial inter-mediation services banks render, they used to be safe havens for money. That is no longer the case. Some banks are now run by crooks and petty thieves. With bank failures a common occurrence these days, many people now crave other places to keep their money outside of banks. In fact, these days, keeping all your hard-earned money in a bank is no longer cool. People have started to look more at alternatives. There is currently a tendency to simply "spread" your money to other areas now that banks are increasingly becoming unstable. You are at liberty to consider the following alternatives depending on how much you have to put away or the dictates of your temperament.

01. A business. You can buy into a business in part or you buy one outright. Businesses like farms, car dealerships, retail outlets, restaurants, bakeries and franchises are good places to keep your money. When the business is professionally and profitably managed, your money will not only be safe, it will yield good returns.

02. Home Vaults/Safes. With improved personal and private security in place in many homes nowadays, people do keep their money at home in well constructed vaults and steel safes. Even in banks where your money is expected to be safest, they too keep their money in vaults. If you can afford one and you know you can provide security, you can keep your money in home vaults. You must however ensure that there are no extant laws against such practice in your own country.

03. Real Estate. Prime land and buildings are some other places you can keep your money. If you choose well, you can earn income from rents as well as capital gains on the property. Some tax laws are more in favor of people who keep their money in real estate than in banks to yield interest.

04. Precious metals. You can also keep your money in precious metals like Platinum, Gold, Silver and Copper. There is a very active market for commodities worldwide. You can buy and sell easily depending on price movements and your cash needs. When these precious metals increase in value, you gain. Conversely, you lose when they decrease in value. A close watch on the price movement therefore helps you to make "buy" or "sell" decisions in collaboration with professional dealers in the metals.

05. Treasury Bills. Treasury Bills or Treasury Certificates are short-term debt instruments issued from time to time by the Central Bank to raise funds for government. The bills are a neat and safe way for government to borrow money from its citizens. Treasury bills are one of the safest places you can keep money and be assured of guaranteed returns on it. Since government unlike a company can not simply disappear, it is always available to redeem the bills when they are due. That grows your money for you as a lender to government.

06. Quoted Stocks. These are paper assets that are traded freely in the stock exchange. You can buy and hold any quoted company stock when you want to keep your money there or sell when you need your money back. When you buy and hold, you can earn dividends on the stock as well as gains in stock appreciation. Alternatively, you can sell off the stock at a higher price. Both ways, your money grows.

07. Precious Collections. These are hard assets which people can buy and preserve. For lovers of art and precious collections, you can also keep your money in them. Precious collections include paintings, vintage cars, watches and jewelry. These collections are assets you can diligently hunt for and acquire. Many appreciate in value over time as they get older and rarer. You can then sell at higher values. Your money grows when the collections increase in value.

Finally, let me advise that no one should dabble into any of these areas without proper guidance and advice from credible professionals. There are many professionals who specialize in all these areas. You need professional advice or assistance before you can deal. This is very important because the different areas have their own peculiar shortcomings which the advice of practicing professionals who specialize in the field can help you to deal with.