Looking to invest and grow your nest egg? There are all kinds of wealth-building vehicles, but where’s the best place to invest money right now? Whether you have $100 or $100,000 to deploy, we’ll show you how to choose a “good” investment and share some of the top investment options in 2026!
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered financial, legal, or investment advice. All investments carry risk, including the potential loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Returns mentioned are illustrative and not guaranteed. Always conduct your own due diligence and consult with a licensed financial professional before making any investment decisions.
Summary:
What makes a “good” investment for you largely depends on your age, risk profile, investing goals, and other factors. Some want to grow their money faster (at the cost of greater risk), while others are happy with lower but steadier growth. In this article, we’ll be focusing on long-term investors who want safe, predictable returns.
Buying a good investment at a great price raises your returns, giving you “walk-in” equity or larger profit margins.
Everyone wishes they had cryptocurrency when it spikes 50%, but when it falls 60%? Not so much! Many prefer less volatile investments that deliver strong returns for years, even decades!
Appreciation is one of the main benefits of investing, but paper “gains” aren’t real gains until you sell. Cash flow is actual money in your pocket!
Browse cash-flowing turnkey rentals for sale in top markets!
Many investors want monthly cash flow, but especially if you’re investing for the long haul, you’ll want some appreciation, too. There are multiple ways to achieve this. You can “force” appreciation by either renovating or better managing an investment property. You can also just wait for your investment to appreciate organically as the market goes up.
What kind of returns can you expect from real estate, the stock market, and other popular investments? Let’s look at the numbers:
What is the best investment right now? Here are six options that will make your money work harder for you:
New build investments are properties you can rent out to tenants. Right now, builders are sitting on inventory and competing for buyers, which means you have significant leverage. If you buy “turnkey,” these rentals often come with property management in place, giving you “passive” monthly cash flow, appreciation, and all the other benefits of real estate investing. Rent to Retirement’s new builds come with all kinds of incentives, making now one of the best times to buy new!
While builders are looking to offload inventory, you can get massive incentives, like interest rate buydowns and closing credits. Not to mention, new builds cost $20,000 less than resale homes (as of mid-2025), giving you walk-in equity potential when you close. Newly-built properties also often have lower repair costs, which gives you more cash flow and allows you to charge more for rent!
Many new builds have homeowners association (HOA) fees, and depending on the builder, quality and build timelines can vary—unless you buy a pre-built home with Rent to Retirement!
Get into a new build turnkey rental property for just 5% down!
Real estate notes are documents between borrowers and lenders that investors can buy, often at a discount. There are two main types of real estate notes—performing and non-performing—which is based on whether the borrower is making mortgage payments on time. Depending on the investment, terms can range from several months to many years, and investors get paid through regular interest payments.
Private real estate notes provide passive income, often with 10%+ annualized returns, and investors can charge “points” (fees) at the start and end of the loan. Because a mortgage or deed of trust ties the note to the asset, the note holder may choose to foreclose on the property (and recover their investment) if the borrower defaults.
You’ll want to be knowledgeable about both real estate investing and the lending process before investing in private real estate notes. These investments carry borrower default risk, which could result in long, costly foreclosure processes.
An index fund is a “basket” of stocks that tracks a certain market index, like the Dow Jones or the S&P500. These funds are highly diversified, holding hundreds and sometimes thousands of companies. You can invest in them like you would any other stock, by transferring money into a brokerage or retirement account and purchasing the number of shares you want!
With index funds, the barrier to entry is almost non-existent, as you can buy shares with as little as a few hundred dollars, and returns are 100% passive. Because they’re diversified across various markets and industries, you enjoy steadier returns than if your money was invested in only a few companies.
Aside from income funds, most index funds offer very little in terms of consistent monthly income. Because they are largely appreciation-focused, you must sell shares to realize returns.
Private money lending is the process of lending your own capital to real estate investors, often on a short-term basis. Terms can be negotiated between the borrower and lender, allowing you to make high returns.
Once you do your due diligence, private money lending is very passive, and because these loans are often secured by the property itself, you could take ownership of the property if the deal goes south. Depending on the deal, you could make returns of 12% or higher!
Every deal is different, so private money lenders must have strong underwriting abilities, vetting both the borrower and the deal itself.
Value-add rentals are distressed or outdated properties you can improve through renovations or improved management. This allows you to not only “force” appreciation but also charge higher rent for an updated home!
Cosmetic rehabs (light, non-structural improvements) are very manageable for beginners. What’s more, these properties give you appreciation after renovations and cash flow once you rent them out. Prices are lower now that much of the U.S. is in a buyer’s market!
Value-add properties are not “passive” investments. They often require “sweat” equity, which is the time and effort you spend renovating or improving the management of the property. You also risk buying in more undesirable areas in order to purchase properties at a low price.
Skip the tenants, toilets, trash, and renovations! Turnkey rentals make real estate investing actually passive!
Government bonds are financial instruments that allow you to lend money to the government. In return, you receive interest payments (usually once or twice annually) and recoup your total investment at its maturity date.
Government bonds are arguably safer than virtually any type of investment, they’re easy to purchase, and they’re completely passive!
With lower yields than most investments, bonds give you very modest returns. There’s also reinvestment risk, meaning if your bond matures when rates are lower, the next bonds you buy might have a lower yield.
Many investors see real estate as a more reliable source of income while other popular assets are experiencing volatility. Much of the U.S. has flipped to a buyer’s market, and despite mortgage rates easing in recent months, affordability is still a challenge for many Americans—resulting in rising rental demand in many markets. Pair this with incentives on new build properties, and now is a great time to invest in real estate!
Turnkey properties give you the many benefits of real estate investing with the passivity of stocks and bonds. You could buy a low-maintenance, new build investment with property management in place and enjoy cash flow, appreciation, and tax benefits for many years to come. Stack several properties over a few years and you could even retire early with real estate!
There is no single “best” place to invest your money. However, new build real estate investments, private real estate notes, index funds, private money lending, value-add rental properties, and government bonds are some of the top options for long-term investors looking for stable returns!
You can often get a 10% return on your money with investments like turnkey rentals, value-add rental properties, private real estate notes, private money lending, and even the stock market. Just keep in mind that returns aren’t guaranteed!
There’s no such thing as a completely “safe” investment, as all investments carry some level of risk. But, historically, the housing market has been less volatile than many other markets, and real estate gives you a tangible asset with several avenues for building wealth (cash flow, appreciation, loan paydown, tax benefits, and more).