What have been your best investments to date?

Im not just asking about stocks. Is there any investment that you look back and said "man If I could do that again I would put twice as much in it."?

The 3 Best (and Smart) Investment Methods in the whole world, undeniably, are...

1. Work - working is one of the best investments because the rate of return per annum is extremely high. There're 2 calculations here: the 1st is investment on yourself. Let's say this month you spend $1000 to support yourself so that you can continue to live and work, and your salary end of this month is $2500, that makes your rate of return as much as 250% in a month. That will be 3000% a year! Just by working (for others). The 2nd calculation can be based on your savings. Let's say you have $250,000 in your bank account debt-free, and your salary this month is still $2500, that makes the rate of return as much as 1% a month and 12% a year. That's still a decent return based on this 2nd calculation although I much rather prefer the 1st. By the way, your salary will increase, so that means your rate of return will also increase.

2. Save - saving is another wise investment methods. There's this Rule of 72 used to calculate how long you need to wait for your investment to double up. If the annual rate of return is 10%, then you'll need to wait as long as 7.2 years to double your investment. Let's say if you save a decent $200 today, you'll need 7.2 years to double to $400. However, if you save only $100 today (a mere $100 difference), you'll have to wait for 14.4 years to reach $400. That's double the time just because of that small difference. Unfortunately, not many investment can generate 10% annual rate of return (or more), consistently every year. Regardless, to save is still a great investment method. The more you save, the more you have (by cutting down on wasteful spending). Put your savings in your bank account to give it some boost in fighting off inflation.

3. Do Business - operate your own business is another best investment. Basically, that's when you can earn high return through great products and services. However, there's a rule and that you must generate annual rate of return higher than the return when you work for others. Or else, it's better to sell off your business and return back to working for others.

That's it.

Some advice...
NEVER invest in mutual fund (and unit trust) unless you see yourself as a lazy and stupid person. Neither should you invest in stock market (directly). I don't mean mutual fund is bad. It's just not as good as stock market. I also don't mean stock market is bad either. It's just that if you want to invest in the stock market, you must...
1. Have a looot of time.
2. You're so smart your ROI (return on investment) on stocks is higher than working and running your own business - possibly because you're just too familiar with the stock market.

One more thing, mutual fund doesn't guarantee that your investment will not dry because of recession. So unless you're lazy and stupid, I advice you take control of your own money by Working, Saving, and Running Your Own Business.

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None of the girls I've dated have been good investments.

The truth is I would have to say Bank of America.

I wish I had borrowed money to buy more Google stock. I'd be able to pay off the debt and still have a huge profit, but it seemed so expensive when I paid $185 a share for it. Now it's around $450. Woulda shoulda coulda! : )

The best investment I ever made was in myself. Why lend other people money (bonds) or buy a piece of their company (stocks) when you can take that bread and get your own thing going. Invest all your cash in yourself. Start small and work up. But to answer your question in the sense you asked, yes, I really blew it back in 1982. I had the chance to go to work for a company and buy all the shares I wanted for less than twenty dollars. But I didn't think it would be a good choice for me so I didn't. I knew people who did. Ten years later each of those shares purchased for less that 20 bucks was worth over $3500.00. Do the math. It's just as well, though. I later met a lovely woman who turned into a gold digger big time. If I would have had millions I would have surely lost it all to her. So it worked out for the best.

The very best investment I ever made was an insurance annuity. My dear husband lost one-third of his retirement savings a few years back when the stock market took that sharp downturn. While there isn't the potential for dramatic gains that you may experience by grabbing a great stock, there is security in knowing that, no matter how the stock market it doing, you will be guaranteed a set return on investment. I put $50,000 in a tax free annuity 30 years ago. I now get a monthly check, plus a lump sum "bump" every ten years for the rest of my life. My last "bump" was $100,000 and the next one, in eight years, will bbe $150,000. I don't think tax free annuities are available anymore, but with that kind of return on investment, paying the taxes are well worth it. The economy could crash tomorrow, and I would still be guaranteed my income.

In the last year CHL.

Aquarius Platinum (AQP.L) - currently 113% in profit, but I think has been higher since I bought it in May 2005(?)

Debt Free Direct (DFD.L) - has been as high as about 165% in profit since I bought it sometime in summer 2005, but now dropped back to a mere 140% (not that I'm boasting or anything)

Wolfson Microelectronics (WLF.L) - was making quite a profit on this (I think at least 76% or more at one point), but it took a HUGE 166p plunge yesterday, so now making an 11.7% loss on it.

Manganese Bronze (MNGS.L) - picked it last year, as thought name had a bit of a ring to it..... in last few weeks it's surged into putting me 125.25% in profit on it at yesterday's close.

Trafficmaster (TFC.L) - quickly went into profit at the start of this year, plummeted not long after, but now rebounded to being 89%+ into profit at Friday's close (but I think may have been over 100% the week before that)

Guess not too bad going considering I only started investing on the London Stock Exchange via the HALIFAX's Sharebuilder service (http://www.halifax.co.uk/sharebuilder) in March 2005, and my research only consisted of a couple of tips from http://www.everyinvestor.co.uk + a quick glance at the forecasts @ http://quote.fool.co.uk

a few weeks ago I made $40,000 on a penny stock king.pk

http://www.kingresources.net

This was one weeks profit and is about the best I ever did. I sold and now am accumulating it again.

Seek professional advice for your trades.