It can be difficult for individuals with student loans to set money aside for investments. Indeed, student debt can cause financial pressure and much available money must be devoted to living expenses and paying off debt. Nevertheless, this website has discussed some less risky investments to pay off student loans that student debt borrowers may wish to pursue in order to create an additional income stream.
Student debt borrowers may not want to invest in risky investment vehicles for fear of losing their money which can be used in a financial crunch or can help pay off student loans. However, I personally have missed out on some extremely lucrative, albeit risky, investment opportunities over the past decade, and the experience has left me pretty bitter about not taking a chance on some investments. As a result, it may sometimes make sense to make risky investments to pay off student loans so long as you do not place too much money in such investments.
I am extremely disappointed that I did not take part in the Bitcoin revolution that occurred in the past decade. To my knowledge, I first heard about Bitcoin in 2012 when one of my friends who was connected to the tech world told me about it. At the time, I dismissed Bitcoin as merely a novelty that would never amount to anything, and I did not want to pursue risky investments to pay off student loans since I thought that I would lose my money if I invested in Bitcoin.
I gradually heard more about Bitcoin over the years, and in 2015, I watched a TV show with Morgan Spurlock showing this presenter describing Bitcoin and living off of Bitcoin for a period of time. This really piqued my interest in Bitcoin. By this time, Bitcoin was easier to handle and a few platforms had sprouted up supporting those who wished to buy and sell Bitcoin. I did some investigating about how I could purchase and store Bitcoin, and I seriously considered buying Bitcoin.
However, I eventually decided not to purchase Bitcoin at this time. The idea of Bitcoin was a little confusing to me, and I still did not understand how something that existed in cyberspace could have value. I was not interested in pursuing risky investments to pay off student loans since I thought I would lose my money.
In any case, Bitcoin is worth over 100 times now than what is was worth in 2015. In addition, Bitcoin is worth many times more now than it was in years prior to 2015. Had I invested $2,000 in Bitcoin in 2015, I could have made more than enough money to pay off my student loans and possibly work toward other financial goals. I had far more than $2,000 in emergency funds at the time, some of which was just sitting in a bank earning a small amount of interest. This experience shows me how risky investments to pay off student loans may work even if you contribute a small amount of money to such investments, and accordingly, lower the risk associated with such investments.
Another one of the risky investments to pay of student loans that I am also sad I did not pursue was buying Tesla stock. I have known about Tesla for a long time. The first time I remember hearing about Tesla was in 2012 when I was studying for the bar exam. I watched the movie Revenge of the Electric Car, which prominently featured Elon Musk and Tesla. At the time, I thought about how cool Elon Musk was and how awesome it would be if Tesla could actually realize its dream of transforming the worldwide automotive industry.
This appreciation of Musk and Tesla continued into 2015 when I purchased Ashlee Vance’s seminal biography of Elon Musk and read the book several times. When I needed to be uplifted, I turned to the book because it was so inspiring to reread passages about Musk struggling and succeeding despite the odds. At times, I thought about investing in Tesla, but it seemed like a risky investment since Tesla teetered on the brink of bankruptcy for much of its history.
Tesla stock is now worth over 100 times now from what is was in 2012 when I first heard about the company. Had I purchased several thousand dollars of Tesla stock then, I would have had enough money to pay off my student loans and accomplish other financial goals. This story further shows that risky investments to pay off student loans should be pursue in certain circumstances.
While the “golden age” of making quick money on digital currency may be behind us, it is now easier than ever to buy and sell digital money. Indeed, Coinbase, a top digital currency platform just went public bringing digital currency into the mainstream. If you wish to sign up for Coinbase, consider using this link. If you do, I will likely receive an incentive I can use to keep the lights on at Student Debt Diaries and you may receive an incentive as well.
All told, student debt borrowers need to be conservative with their finances since they usually do not have much money to spare and should mostly stick to conservative investments so they do not lose money. However, in certain circumstances, risky investments to pay off student loans may be appropriate if you do not invest too much money and are cautious about the investment.