To buy the same groceries for our households and pump the same amount of fuel for our vehicles, we are paying a lot more than we used to – in simple terms, this is inflation. If our incomes didn’t increase along with the increases in prices, it can be challenging to save or invest. However, given that tougher times are probably yet to come, it is advisable to save some of your income for the future. It is a tough time to make decisions about investments, both due to the difficulty in allocating funds for savings and due to many market instruments losing attractiveness in the face of the crisis. However, here are a few options that you could probably consider in Sri Lanka at present.
- Real Estate
Purchasing land and property is a smart decision as long as you evaluate the locality and the factors
affecting the development of the area in the short and medium term. If you choose carefully, you could
easily sell the property at a future date for a much higher price as a result of the inflationary impacts.
If not, you could choose to develop the property and earn rent on a monthly basis which would help you
to counter the impacts of inflation on your purchasing power.
Purewin’s tailor made mortgage loan schemes can be useful if you are considering investing in real estate
as there would be both financial support and professional advice.
- Gold
Monitor the price patterns carefully and invest in gold or other precious metals as per your preference.
Generally it is advisable to invest in gold biscuits or coins as they retain the value of gold entirely unlike
pieces of jewellery. Investing in gold can help to save you a lot of money in the future when you actually need to purchase gold as you have the option of melting the gold and having it converted to jewellery.
Moreover, the purchase of gold will ensure that you generate a better yield from your hard earned money
than keeping it in the form of cash itself.
- Equity or Stocks
Investing in the stock market through the Colombo Stock Exchange is a proven method of generating a high return. However, as is the case with all investments where the returns are high, there is a
considerable risk of the share prices plummeting. Therefore, it is important to assess the financial stability
and growth prospects of the companies that you intend to invest in.
While treasury bills and bonds have traditionally been seen as secure instruments to invest in due to the
backing of the government, this article has considered other alternatives. What one must bear in mind is
that there could be dynamics in the economy which defy the usual rules of thumb when it comes to
investments during inflationary times. Hence, it is always best to connect with a specialist who would be
able to provide proper insights and guidance on your investment decisions.
