With the stock market experiencing massive drops due to the coronavirus crisis, the uncertain down market has investors clamoring to sell at low prices. A lot of people are also considering learning more about investing.

To give you a couple of ideas about where to invest first, here are five investing tips that would help you learn how to become a successful investor. 

Jamie Street/Unsplash | The coronavirus crisis has negatively affected the stock market.

Establish Your Goals

Your approach to investing may vary depending on your priorities and goals. Maybe you’re looking for a way to grow your extra funds, funds for a comfortable retirement, or college funds for your kids.

Your risk tolerance also helps define your goals. The higher the risk of loss from your investment, the greater the returns are. But how much are you willing to tolerate these risks? Consider a variety of investment types and determine which work for you.

Look Into Investments with Guaranteed Returns

No investment has guaranteed returns, but these strategies could help you improve your financial status in the future.

The first strategy is to pay down your credit cards. Next is to invest in a retirement plan. Grow your money tax-free by investing in the tax-deferred retirement plans. Companies match your contributions to your 401k, so it won’t hurt to maximize it.

Zsun Fu/Unsplash | Invest in assets like retirement plans or pay off your credit card.

Try to Keep Costs Low

Check the charges for the administration fee. Some charge a flat fee, while others depend on the percentage of growth. If you only have less than $1,000 to invest, it may be better to use the percentage.

Use a Robo-Advisor

Investment services are now available on various online platforms, and these are called “Robo-advisors“. These offer user-friendly interfaces, low-minimum balances, and streamlined enrollment processes to help investors, especially the beginners. Find out if using robo-advisors works for you.

Adam Nowakowski/Unsplash | Try using an online platform when investing

Consider Investment Alternatives to Stocks and Bonds

Try to spread your eggs in multiple baskets and diversify your portfolio. Aside from stocks and bonds, you might want to consider energy commodities like natural gas and oil, precious metals like silver and gold, IPOs, or maybe investing in startups.

You can also try peer-to-peer lending, which is considered similar to crowdfunding. How it works is that small businesses will upload a business plan or product on the online lending platform. You then decide if you want to invest in something or not.