Real Estate

This investment could be buying a house, an apartment, or just plain land. Buying real estate is a bit expensive for a kid. If you are interested in real estate investments, you might consider real estate investment trusts (REIT), a public company that owns and manages a lot of real estate such as apartments, shopping malls, and office buildings. You can buy shares of REIT stock and not worry about managing these buildings.

Commodities

A commodity is anything from gold, silver, or oil, to farm products, such as cotton, soybeans, or meat. It can also be foreign currencies, such as yen, pounds, and lira.

The prices of commodities are driven mostly by supply and demand. For example, oil prices will go higher if there is a shortage. Investments in commodities are very speculative because their future demand is difficult to predict. These investments are best left to professionals, not kids. More information about commodities trading is available at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Web sites.

Collectibles

A collectible is anything from baseball cards, coins, stamps, or dolls to antiques. When you buy these collectibles, you hope to resell them for a profit some day. The downside of collectibles is that they can get stolen or damaged, resulting in losses. Also, they may not increase in value as they get older; some things actually lose value due to wear and tear. For youngsters, collecting baseball cards is fun, but not a sure way to make money. Click here for an example of a collectable Web site.

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