Places to invest, other than in stocks...

[JohnH]

What are other places to invest?

I've never played the stock market. If I had the cash I'd be going out and buying land or other real estate. At the rate those prices are climbing it would be a better return without the risks of stocks or bonds. At least around here it would be.

Land prices are going down right now, at least in eastern TN and Ohio. Just spoke with a realtor yesterday about a big price drop on a property and she said the market is just pretty weak right now and sellers are needing to adjust their expectations and that it is a "buyer's market".

[Ernie]

Some time ago I worked for a non-profit Christian publisher that needed operating funds in order to do a large printing of Christian educational materials in order to get a good rate on printing. Without funds, the price per copy was going to be much higher. We found someone who was saving up funds to buy a house down the road and he was glad to see his money put to good use in the meantime rather than get used for unchristian purposes at a bank.
He bought thousands of books and every quarter the publisher paid him for any books that they sold. This gave him a good return on his investment, and greatly reduced the price per copy for the publisher.
It seems to me that the Christian community could be much more creative in helping Christians find Christian purposes for their investments.
Such arrangements...
1. Help the investor save up for a house or save up for some other need.
2. Keep the investor's funds from funding things that God is unhappy with.
3. Allow the investor to invest in the kingdom of God while at the same time saving up money for an actual need, a place to live.

I would like to brainstorm about some more creative investment opportunities like this.

[mike]

I am not sure I like the idea of churches borrowing money to fund building or purchasing new facilities, but if that's going to happen, why couldn't such loans be funded by individuals as investments instead of bank loans.

[eccentric_rambler]

I am not sure I like the idea of churches borrowing money to fund building or purchasing new facilities, but if that's going to happen, why couldn't such loans be funded by individuals as investments instead of bank loans.

Pretty common, in my experience, but often the loans are interest free.

[JohnH]

I am not sure I like the idea of churches borrowing money to fund building or purchasing new facilities, but if that's going to happen, why couldn't such loans be funded by individuals as investments instead of bank loans.

In our church our mutual aid office does that, because banks want to see that your homeowners' insurance has a big cash reserve. So they can list as their cash reserves all the loans they have made to various churches that are still due to be paid.

This means our loans are "callable", that is, in the unlikely event the mutual aid fund ran dry, they would have to demand some loans be paid early. So when we take a loan for a church or school building, some of the brethren have to sign an agreement they will help immediately pay off the loan if it is called. Realistically, if we had such a disaster (billions of dollars of claims all at once suddenly) we would find other ways to help bridge the gap.

[Signtist]

]

And who are you suggesting has compiled and maintained this list?

I don't remember hearing about that offer, but it is long enough ago perhaps I've forgotten. I'll try to check into it.

I didn't suggest that it is a curated list. There is little doubt in my mind that Phil could have named several others who operate exactly as he did. You can look into it, or not. It doesn't matter to me. My information could have been wrong, and it changes nothing at this point.

[JohnH]

Some time ago I worked for a non-profit Christian publisher that needed operating funds in order to do a large printing of Christian educational materials in order to get a good rate on printing. Without funds, the price per copy was going to be much higher. We found someone who was saving up funds to buy a house down the road and he was glad to see his money put to good use in the meantime rather than get used for unchristian purposes at a bank.
He bought thousands of books and every quarter the publisher paid him for any books that they sold. This gave him a good return on his investment, and greatly reduced the price per copy for the publisher.
It seems to me that the Christian community could be much more creative in helping Christians find Christian purposes for their investments.
Such arrangements...
1. Help the investor save up for a house or save up for some other need.
2. Keep the investor's funds from funding things that God is unhappy with.
3. Allow the investor to invest in the kingdom of God while at the same time saving up money for an actual need, a place to live.

I would like to brainstorm about some more creative investment opportunities like this.

It requires a very high degree of honesty to do this, so it is probably best kept amongst church members who are in close fellowship, and where there will be proper discipline for any shennanigans.

[Neto]

What are other places to invest?

I've never played the stock market. If I had the cash I'd be going out and buying land or other real estate. At the rate those prices are climbing it would be a better return without the risks of stocks or bonds. At least around here it would be.

The thing about investing in land is that if you need to sell you are totally at the mercy of the market at that time. Sure, that's also true of stocks, but unlike stocks, selling land is generally an all-or-nothing proposition.

[JohnL]

What are other places to invest?

I've never played the stock market. If I had the cash I'd be going out and buying land or other real estate. At the rate those prices are climbing it would be a better return without the risks of stocks or bonds. At least around here it would be.

The thing about investing in land is that if you need to sell you are totally at the mercy of the market at that time. Sure, that's also true of stocks, but unlike stocks, selling land is generally an all-or-nothing proposition.

True. The market fluctuates depending on the economic health of the place. That’s why I said “at least around here.” The South is real popular right now and it’s a sellers’ market. The South is getting a lot of move-ins from California, Michigan, NY and PA. Then there’s places like Michigan and California where a good amount of people are leaving and it’s a buyers’ market.

[JohnH]

True. The market fluctuates depending on the economic health of the place. That’s why I said “at least around here.” The South is real popular right now and it’s a sellers’ market. Then there’s places like Michigan and California where a good amount of people are leaving and it’s a buyers’ market.

I spoke with a realtor a few days ago in eastern TN who told me it's a buyer's market.