Is your money lying idle in your bank accounts? Have you still not been able to chalk out a strategy to deal with your surplus money? While most of us think that we have already parked our liquid money safely in a bank account, few of us realize it is only lying idle and not growing as it should and could. Being brought up in a conservative Indian household, most of us too defensive about our money but sometimes this approach is not the right approach. Given the increasing inflation and shooting living standards, only your work would not suffice, your money will also need to work in order to create wealth for you.

Here are top 5 options where you can invest your idle lying money

  1. Gold

Gold is the topmost priority with an Indian investor and is also the oldest form of investment. Gold is a go-to option among investors especially during the times of crisis when the markets are falling. Gold works as a hedge against inflation and a security investment if need be. It offers around 7% to 8% returns in the short-term and can even shoot up to 20% if held for a longer period of time. Depending on the size of your portfolio, you can invest around 5% to 10% of your money in gold.

  1. Bonds

If you are looking for an avenue which is high on liquidity and is risk-free, bonds are the options. A bond is essentially an agreement between the investor and other entity defining the terms and conditions of the agreement. The returns are fixed and the amount received at the time of maturity is your principal value plus the return earned on that principal amount.

  1. Short term floating rate fund

This is a type of short-term investment with a floating rate of interest. A floating rate of interest is one where the principal is invested in two different types of securities- fixed securities and floating securities. If you have a small risk appetite, these are a great investment option.

  1. Certificate of deposit

A Certificate of Deposit is a certificate that bank issues to the lender or the depositing person for a fixed tenure on a pre-fixed rate of return.  It is a form of ultra-short bond under the debt fund category. 8% is the average return of this instrument. It has a foxed lock-in i.e. funds can be redeemed only on maturity. A CD can be issued for a minimum of 7 days and a maximum of 1 year.

  1. Invoice discounting

This is a comparatively new entrant in the investing industry. It is a 30 to 90-day investment avenue which gives attractive returns to investors. It happens only on online portals.

 

Once you have saved your emergency funds and parked them in an appropriate place, the remaining liquid should be invested in avenues which provides considerable returns as compared to a savings account. If you are too conservative about investing your liquid fund, try Simply Save from Piggy which is a feature that enables you to save your money and get it invested in choicest liquid funds which are low on risk and high on liquidity. simply save allows investors to park money just like a savings account but with better returns and liquidity.

Be a smart saver and channelize your funds in the right direction.