At the start of every financial year, we look back and try to ascertain if we were able to achieve our personal targets for investments and returns, and the results define our outlook for the upcoming year. Making investments is a necessity in today’s world, and while most of the people measure their returns in absolute terms of interest or profits earned, the actual income is far more subjective than objective. You make money when you invest it, but you can also make more money when you can let go of your expenses or cut them short! Here are six financial moves that will help you make money in 2019 from an American investment perspective:

1.    High Yield Online Savings Accounts

Do you know that you can earn a higher rate of interest on your savings account when you move it from a regular bank to an online bank? With fewer overhead costs, these online banks can provide you a higher rate of interest on your money. What’s more? These online banks and deposits are FDIC-insured, so they are actually ‘safe.’ The key is to find alternatives to your current setup and take advantage. That’s how you make more money!

2.    Mutual Funds

Instead of looking to manage your own portfolio of stocks, let experts and industry veterans do it. Mutual funds are a great way of ensuring returns while not having to worry about managing the portfolio and keeping up with the latest news and trends at all times. Money earned is not only in the form of returns; it is also in the form of time invested – one such cost that most people fail to recognize! Time is money, and you can use the extra time towards your own work or for setting up a side business. That’s how you make more money within the same 24 hours.

3.    SIP/ Laddering Investment Plans

If you want to make more money, refrain from taking the all-in approach. No matter how luring and appealing it may seem, it is never advised. Instead, take up a laddering investment plan wherein you keep investing a small amount of money into your investment vehicle at regular intervals. Take up a systematic investment plan with monthly contributions, and you’ll be surprised to see how small amounts add up to much bigger returns. Carry out some research, and you’ll find enough material to substantiate the effectiveness of this strategy!

4.    REITs

Real estate is another segment that lures many but haunts them too! While the upside of real estate is the increasing demands and prices with no foreseeable stopping to it, the downside can be managing the property and hassles being a landlord. REITs or Real Estate Investment Trusts are vehicles that allow people to take advantage of the real estate markets without the physical hassles of maintaining a physical property. REITs have been around for long, and if you are considering the option, you’ll find much data online for your research.

5.    Tax-Advantaged Funds

Another way of making more money this year is by taking advantage of the relaxation on taxes levied on certain funds. There are certain economically distressed areas or zones which tend to offer special tax benefits to attract new investments from institutional and high net worth individuals. There are specific funds which provide access to such tax-advantaged investments with a certain amount of minimum commitment. Explore more about such funds online if you are looking to make more money in the form of tax-free or low-tax investments.

6.    Pay Down Your Debt

According to Erik Gordon, the best way to make more money is by taking off the load from your shoulders in the form of the outstanding debt that you may be carrying. For instance, imagine you have $10,000 of debt on your credit card with a 23% APR. There are not many investment opportunities that will allow you to earn an equivalent amount of return, so it is best to pay down your debt. Cutting short on the debt before taking up any new investment positions will help you make more money in the long term.