Prosper

While I was employed, I invested in a deferred compensation plan called a 457 plan. Similar to a 401K (but for government workers) money is taken out of your pay, pretax, and invested. When the stock market crashed in 2008, I lost more than half of the money that I had invested. Much of it was never recovered. Over $17,000 gone in the blink of an eye. While the market was crashing, I tried desperately to get my money out, to no avail. I had to watch as the amount in there dropped every day. At the same time, the value of my house fell to less than half of what it was worth when I bought it.

Since, I have decided to diversify. I have invested in physical gold, and direct lending. In direct lending, you join a network of people who lend money directly to consumers. As far as I am concerned, this is no different from buying stock, because stock is nothing more than you loaning money to a corporation. Like stock, diversifying your money among several borrowers limits your exposure.

The company that I use for this is Prosper. The way it works is that you open an account, and you look over people who have applied for loans. Prosper has already pulled their credit and verified employment. You then contribute some funds to each loan, and as the person makes payments, you get repaid with interest. Interest paid to you is part of the bidding process. Take a look. It can't be worse than losing half your money in the market.