9 Risky Financial Decisions You Might Consider Making as Soon as Possible

Sometimes, taking a risk is just worth it.

Sure, it causes you a certain amount of stress, and it may cause you a significant financial loss, but the gains could be potentially life-changing. Remember that these financial decisions are considered risky for a reason, and most guides won’t recommend them.

Just keep two things in mind.

The first one is, that, in order to maximize profit in the short run, you have to take risks.

Second, as long as you’re managing this risk, everything should be fine.

1.   Investing in Cryptocurrency

One of the first things you should do to maximize your profit is buy some cryptocurrency. BTC was $20K just two years ago, and if you had bought then, you would have made more than three times the profit.

You don’t even have to buy BTC, as there are other coins out there with an even lower buy-in and greater growth potential. Finding the best crypto to buy might be one of the best ways to maximize a small investment in 2024.

Sure, there’s a potential for substantial growth, but you have to acknowledge that this market is highly volatile and speculative. In other words, don’t invest more than you can afford to lose.

2.   Starting a Business with Minimal Market Research

Sometimes, too much research can kill your momentum or even completely discourage you. Now, this piece of advice may sound counterintuitive because people starting businesses without research is a far bigger problem. However, you have to know when to stop.

Identifying when you have enough data to start will allow you to start collecting actual market data. The lessons you learn from actually running a business will help you rectify the course and increase your odds of success.

Of course, there’s a high likelihood of failure without proper research, but you need to be drawn by potential profit, not risk. If the latter is the case, you’re better off playing at anonymous casinos.

3.   Buying Real Estate in an Unproven Market

Real estate is expensive compared to other types of investments. You can buy a single share, but you cannot buy a single room in an apartment or just a driveway in a house. Now, the costs of real estate greatly differ across the globe, and sometimes, the cost of real estate is low due to the market being unproven.

Since it’s such a costly investment, most people want to play it safe, and there’s your opportunity to make a significant amount of money. There’s the possibility of a high appreciation value, but there’s also a risk present of market downturns or poor location.

4.   Putting All Savings into a Single Investment

Every guide you encounter will tell you to split your investments in order to keep them secure. Diversifying your portfolio is important, but it’s not the way to maximize your profit. If you knew which investment would pay off the most, putting money anywhere else would seem like a waste.

Now, keep in mind that you cannot really know which investment will make you money.

Sure, there’s potential for maximized return, but there’s also an increased risk of losing all savings. So, it might be better to look for something in between—put a bit more money in a more promising investment.

5.   Leveraging Investments with Debt

If you absolutely knew that a certain investment would pay off (like if you had a time machine or something of the sort), you would put a lot of money into it. Let’s say you could travel through time back to 2015 to buy Bitcoin. From this perspective, you would sell your home, get a loan, and borrow from all your friends and family to invest.

Some investments have a window of opportunity; if you don’t have the money right now, you can’t take advantage of them. Major businesses and investors always leverage investments with debt, but this is often too risky for individual investors.

6.   Investing in Startups

These startups have the potential for exponential growth of unprecedented proportions. Being an early adopter makes all the difference in the world. Now, on the eve of AI transforming the business world, this makes more sense than ever.

Keep in mind, however, that hindsight is 20/20 and that you’re probably not going to invest in a 5-man startup that’s going to become the next Apple or Google. There’s an incredibly high rate of failure among startups, but when you get it right, it’ll be incredibly profitable.

Just keep in mind not to make these decisions at random. Put some research and thought into it. You must be able to rationalize this investment (at least to yourself).

7.   Quitting a Stable Job to Pursue a Passion Project

The possibility of fulfilling personal dreams is a reward on its own, and every success story starts with a person quitting their stable job (or being fired from one) and pursuing a passion project. Sure, this is risky and it’s expensive, but there’s nothing sadder than wasted talent.

You cannot grow until you’re challenged and in order to be challenged you’ll have to change your current setting and conditions.

In the worst-case scenario, you’ll try your luck, fail, and never have to wonder what could have been. It’s easier to find a new, stable job than to give up on your dreams.

8.   Speculating in the Commodities Market

One thing you might not have known about the commodities market is that it’s far more speculative than you think. As conditions in the world change and new geo-political events occur, the costs of goods will change drastically. This is why speculating in the commodities market can be quite lucrative.

The problem is that this is a highly volatile and complex market. As such, you’ll need to consider many moving factors at any given moment and have a deep understanding of issues that are not as easy to comprehend.

9.   Investing in Foreign Markets with Unstable Economies

When the market is too stable, this is great for long-term investments. Still, investment potential in such markets is not that great. Why? Well, because in a stable economy, everything happens the way it’s supposed to. You know which institutions and companies are doing well, and the likelihood of things continuing this way is always high.

In unstable economies, there’s potential for high returns due to market inefficiencies. Sure, there’s also a risk of economic instability and currency fluctuations but you can’t have one without the other.

Most people avoid risky decisions for a reason

There’s a reason why most people aren’t taking these risks. Risks are scary. You’re more likely than not to lose money by following this list. However, as long as you’re careful, approach it strategically, and invest only the money that you can live without, there’s a potential for a huge profit. Some people are fine with these odds.