# Where to Invest Money by Goal and Horizon > Source: https://www.investbay.com/en/blog/a-guide-where-and-how-to-best-grow-your-money-in-2025 · Part of InvestBay (https://www.investbay.com) · See /llms.txt for an overview. [Investing](https://www.investbay.com/en/news?investovani) # Where to invest money based on your goal and time horizon 08 July 2025 **Updated:** 8 October 2026 *Choosing starts with when you will need the money and what loss you can bear. Money for upcoming expenses serves a different purpose than capital for a long-term investment. Compare each option by its costs, risks and access to your money. The expected return percentage alone is not enough.* ## Answer these questions before you choose - When will I need the money? - How much do I keep outside investments as a reserve? - Where is the return supposed to come from? - Which fees will reduce the result? - How will I exit the investment? - What happens if things go badly? - How will this investment complement the assets I already have? ## How should you choose an investment based on your time horizon? How soon you will need the money is one of the most important criteria when choosing an investment. The following overview shows which options are worth considering depending on the length of your investment horizon. | When will you need the money? | What to consider | | --- | --- | | **Within 1 year** | Savings account, short-term term deposit | | **1 to 3 years** | Savings and term-deposit products, or suitable bonds with a maturity that matches your goal | | **3 to 5 years** | A combination of more conservative instruments according to your risk tolerance | | **5 years or more** | Diversified equity ETFs, funds, real estate investments and other long-term instruments | The investment horizon alone does not determine the right investment. Your financial reserve, your willingness to take risk and the possibility that you may need the money sooner also matter. None of the options listed guarantees that the capital invested will be preserved. Bank deposits are covered by statutory deposit protection up to a set limit. ## What growing your money means Growing your money means an increase in its nominal value. What also matters, however, is real growth, i.e. the result after taking inflation into account. If your money grows more slowly than the prices of goods and services, its purchasing power falls. Example: You have €4,000 in an account. With inflation at 10%*, in a year it will buy roughly what €3,600 buys today, even though you haven’t spent a single euro. *Ten percent is for illustration only. In 2025, average annual inflation in the Czech Republic was 2.5% (Czech Statistical Office). ## Return, risk and access to your money - [Return](https://www.investbay.com/en/blog/what-is-a-return-learn-to-maximise-your-investments) expresses how much an investment yields. When comparing offers, always check whether the stated return is before fees, costs and taxes are deducted, or after they have been taken into account. Distinguish whether it comes from ongoing payouts (interest, dividends, rent) or from a change in price when you sell. - [Risk](https://www.investbay.com/en/blog/understand-investment-risk-for-effective-investing) is the possibility that the result will be worse than you expect, including the loss of part of your investment. - [Liquidity](https://www.investbay.com/en/blog/investment-liquidity-what-it-is-and-how-to-calculate-it) indicates how quickly and at what price you can turn an investment back into cash. These three properties (the so-called [investment triangle](https://www.investbay.com/en/blog/understand-the-magic-triangle-of-investing)) affect one another. A higher expected return usually means higher risk or poorer access to your money. Very safe products, on the other hand, may return less than inflation. **The most common mistake I see is choosing an investment by the highest number in the offer. What matters more is when you will need the money and what happens if things don’t go to plan. Only once that is clear does it make sense to compare returns.— Pavel Los —CMO InvestBay ## Overview of options: purpose, return, access and risks For each option, we state what it is for, where the return comes from, how quickly you can get to your money and what the main risks are. Specific rates and fees vary by provider and change over time. Check them for the specific offer as of the day you make your decision. ### Savings account and term deposit - **Purpose:** a reserve and money for expenses within a few months. - **Source of return:** interest from the bank. On a savings account, the bank can change it at any time. - **Access to money:** usually immediate for a savings account; for a term deposit only once the agreed term ends, otherwise possibly with a penalty. - **Main risks:** the interest may be lower than inflation. In the EU, bank deposits are insured up to €100,000 per client and bank. ### Bonds - **Purpose:** a complement to an investment portfolio, or an investment with a maturity set in advance. The risk depends mainly on the issuer, the terms of the bond and the time to maturity. - **Source of return:** interest (the coupon) from the issuer and possibly the difference between the purchase price and the price at redemption or sale. - **Access to money:** if held to maturity, on the maturity date. Before maturity only by selling at the current market price, which can be difficult for less frequently traded bonds. - **Main risks:** the issuer may fail to repay the debt (for corporate bonds this risk is usually higher than for government bonds); when interest rates rise, the bond’s price falls. ### Mutual funds - **Purpose:** spreading money across multiple assets without picking individual stocks or bonds yourself. - **Source of return:** interest, dividends and changes in the price of the assets the fund holds, after fees. - **Access to money:** redeeming fund units usually takes days. For some funds, such as [real estate funds](https://www.investbay.com/en/blog/investing-in-real-estate-funds-a-guide), it may take longer or be restricted. - **Main risks:** fluctuations in value depending on the type of fund; entry and ongoing fees. ### ETFs - **Purpose:** regular, long-term investing in a broad basket of stocks or bonds. - **Source of return:** changes in the price of the underlying assets, plus dividends or interest, which are either paid out or reinvested. - **Access to money:** ETFs trade on an exchange on trading days; you sell at the current price. - **Main risks:** market fluctuations, broker fees, and currency risk for ETFs denominated in a foreign currency. ### Stocks - **Purpose:** long-term growth of wealth for those who can bear large swings in value. - **Source of return:** dividends and changes in the share price. - **Access to money:** you can sell exchange-traded shares on trading days, but at the current price, which may be lower than the price you paid. - **Main risks:** large price swings; a company may cut or cancel its dividend; with a single company you risk losing a large part of your investment. More in the article [Stocks under the microscope](https://www.investbay.com/en/blog/stocks-under-the-microscope-how-to-invest-in-stocks-smartly-and). ### Real estate - **Purpose:** a long-term investment with a horizon measured in years. - **Source of return:** rent after operating, management and repair costs, and the change in the property’s price, which only shows up in the result when it is sold. - **Access to money:** low. A sale takes months and the price at that point is not known in advance. - **Main risks:** vacancies and unpaid rent, unexpected repairs, falling prices, rising interest rates if financed with a loan, and currency and legal risk for properties abroad. You can invest in real estate by buying a whole property, through a real estate fund, by financing a loan, or through indirect participation in specific real estate projects. Each route gives the investor different rights, risks and ways to exit the investment. ### Cryptocurrencies and short-term speculation - **Purpose:** speculation, not building a reserve or a regular income. - **Source of return:** mainly changes in market price. Some cryptocurrencies also make it possible to earn rewards through staking. These rewards are not risk-free and may involve restrictions on access to your funds, technical risks or the loss of part of the assets you put in. - **Access to money:** trading runs around the clock, but in a downturn only at a significantly lower price. - **Main risks:** very large price swings; some platforms lack regulation and client protection. Be prepared for the possibility of losing your entire investment. ## Save or invest? It is not an either-or choice. Split your money according to when you will need it: - **Reserve and short-term goals** (unexpected expenses, a planned purchase within months): [savings products](https://www.investbay.com/en/blog/the-best-ways-to-save-money) with quick access to your money. How large a reserve to hold is covered in our article on [financial reserves](https://www.investbay.com/en/blog/financial-reserve-how-to-build-and-manage-it-correctly). - **Long-term goals** (for example [money for retirement](https://www.investbay.com/en/blog/saving-for-retirement-how-where-and-how-much)): investments whose fluctuations in value you can bear and which you won’t have to sell at a bad moment. A longer investment horizon gives more time to overcome short-term market fluctuations and to benefit from reinvesting returns. However, it does not guarantee that the investment will recover, nor that the result will be positive. How to spread money across different investments is discussed in our article on [investment strategy](https://www.investbay.com/en/blog/investment-strategy-understand-them-and-choose-the-right-one). Starting with a smaller amount? Read the article [What to invest small amounts in](https://www.investbay.com/en/blog/small-investments-how-and-where-to-invest-small-amounts). If you are mainly interested in regular income, we explain the difference between payouts while you hold an investment and growth in its value in our article on [passive income](https://www.investbay.com/en/blog/how-to-build-a-passive-income-without-illusions-realistic-paths-to). Wondering specifically what to do with €4,000? We go through it step by step, from your reserve through horizon and costs to spreading your money, in the article [Where to invest €4,000](https://www.investbay.com/en/blog/where-to-invest-4000-eur). ## When something looks too good to be true Is someone promising you a high return “without risk”? Be careful. A higher return usually comes at the price of higher risk. If someone claims otherwise, it may be a non-transparent model, an unregulated project or outright [investment fraud](https://www.investbay.com/en/blog/investment-scam-5-steps-to-safe-investing). Before investing, check who is behind the offer, where the return is supposed to come from and how you will get your money back. ## Investing in specific real estate projects InvestBay offers indirect participation in specific real estate projects. For each project, we state the horizon, the planned sources of return, the costs and the risks. Neither rental income nor the sale price is guaranteed, and your access to the investment may be limited for the duration of the project. The investment carries the risk of losing part or all of the amount invested. It is therefore not a substitute for an emergency reserve. **Interested in a specific real estate project?** First compare its horizon, costs and risks. Work out a model return in the calculator. [Investment calculator](https://www.investbay.com/en/calculator) · [Investment offers](https://www.investbay.com/en/properties/) ## Frequently asked questions ### Where should I invest money so that it earns something? It depends on when you will need it and what loss you can bear. Money you may need within months belongs in your reserve. Capital for several years can be spread across different types of investment. No investment has a guaranteed return. ### What is the best way to grow money? There is no universally best investment. Compare the options by purpose, horizon, costs, risks and access to your money, not just by the return percentage. ### Where should I put €40,000? The same approach applies as for a smaller amount. First set aside a reserve, then spread the rest across different types of investment and providers according to your horizon, so that the result does not depend on a single asset. With a larger amount, consider consulting an independent professional. ### What does growth in value mean? An increase in the value of money or an investment over time, ideally faster than inflation. It can come from interest, dividends, rent or a change in an asset’s price. ### How can I grow my money with low risk? Lower risk usually also means a lower expected return. You can reduce risk by spreading your money across several investments and providers, keeping a sufficient reserve and choosing a horizon that matches the investment. There is no such thing as a risk-free investment. Deposit insurance up to the statutory limit covers bank deposits, not a fall in the value of investments. ### How does an investment return calculator work? You enter the amount invested, the expected annual return and the investment period. The calculator works out a model result. The return you enter is an assumption, not a promise; the actual result may be higher or lower. ### Where can I grow my money if I don’t want to invest in stocks? For example in bonds, bond funds, real estate or a term deposit. Each option has a different source of return, access to money and risks; see the overview above. Know someone who is thinking about investing? Send them this article so they have the key facts in one place. ## Where to invest with InvestBay? ### Almresort Gartnerkofel Nassfeld Available now Austria estimated annual appreciation: 6–8 % investment length: 7 years ### Wyndham Portocolom 2 Mallorca Available now Spain estimated annual appreciation: 9.00 % investment length: 5 years ### Element Residence Bali - tranche 1 Available now Indonesia estimated annual appreciation: 10.00 % investment length: 7 years ## More articles ### Where to invest €4,000? Options by goal and risk [Full article](https://www.investbay.com/en/blog/where-to-invest-4000-eur) ### InvestBay's portfolio has entered a new phase 03 June 2026 [Read article](https://www.investbay.com/en/blog/investbay-s-portfolio-has-entered-a-new-phase) ### How to build the ideal investment portfolio – and why it must not lack real estate 10 September 2025 [Read article](https://www.investbay.com/en/blog/the-ideal-investment-portfolio-a-step-by-step-example-and-tips) Investing [All articles](https://www.investbay.com/en/news)