'I Will Earn It Back'... Risky Investments

 Lottery Ticket

• Current odds of winning grand prize on US lottery ticket is         ~ 1/ 195,000,000
• Practical tip: Saving $25/ week for 40 years will save                 ~ $250,000
• Saving $50/ week for 40 years will save ~$1,000,000

 Collectibles

• It's not about how much it's worth but rather if someone will buy it... Is there a market for it?
• "Collect for the Love, Not for the Money. Get that car outta the garage and drive it!"

 Precious Metals

•  In 2010, gold reached the same price it held in 1980
• 'You pay money to hold the asset and it's not going to give you an income'

 Cash Value Life Insurance

• Term insurance vs Cash Value Life Insurance
• Term insure =  pay a premium, and upon the death of the insured person, you collect money
• Cash Value Life Insurance = money paid for premiums is placed into an account that is supposed to earn income
• but 'These policies can cost up to eight times more than term policies that offer the same coverage. Sometimes projections of potential earnings are inflated. Also, companies generally charge fees to administer the accounts. All in all, a term insurance policy may be a safer bet.'

 Timeshares

• Relaxing on the beach and you hear the lingering salesman saying 'you can have all this, whenever you want at an unbelievably low cost... just come with me to a meeting, we'll even pay you $100 to attend, and how about a free boat ride too?'
• If you really are committed to return often, okay... if the rates are comparable to booking on your own
• Don't plan on selling the trips for a profit

 Art

• Must secure, insure, and store it
• No guarantee people with money will love it too
• 'Luc Renneboog, a Dutch professor of corporate finance, analyzed recorded art trades from 1951 to 2007. He found that art appreciated about 4 percent each year -- far less than other types of investments'

 Bank Accounts

• "'The general answer in the academic world is that the riskiest investment of all is the bank account,' Grable says. He points out that the interest will never outstrip increases in the cost of living. 'Rising prices keep people from accumulating wealth. Your biggest fear as an investor should be keeping up with the cost of living. Banks are not your friend.'"

 Investment Pitched as 'Sure Thing'

• Make sure the company/fund has had a 'bad year'
• 'Pitches for these types of investment opportunities often appear when the stock market is faltering; salesmen look for investors who are wary of losses in the stock market, and they show numbers to build confidence.'
• 'If you start feeling scared or greedy, step back and wait to commit your cash.'

Quotes and Info from: 10 Risky Investments