If you are planning to buy a house within the next year things could be a little bit more harder than you expect. With the government failures, debt levels rising, and the stock market quite volatile many people are trying to figure out where the best place to put their money is right now.

If you are on a good wage and have a secure job it’s better to make money work for you in the next 12 to 24 months. Many people are nervous about what is happening in the global stock markets right now. And many are choosing to sell any of their positions and look elsewhere to where they can invest for security and safety.

Right now the best two choices are a money market mutual funds, or some sort of federally insured account. A downgrade on U.S. debt and a full collapse of the economy is one of the worst things that could happen right now, but don’t be surprised if we do in fact seeing this occur.

The story is a lot different if you’re trying to invest for the long-term them make money somewhere other than the stock market. But don’t tire thinking there are great opportunities out there at the moment when there are only a select few. The hangover from the credit crisis is still continuing so if you are looking for other investments at the moment is quite important to sit down and talk about it and take your time.

With the sub prime crisis and dramatic crash in house prices, there are many opportunities are out there right now just waiting to be snapped up by keen investors. What you have to realise is even though the price of properties has fallen dramatically, there is still a chance of further price decreases over the coming years. That is again a reminder that one must take the time when searching for unique and long-term investments to protect their own capital.

Also it is important to understand that the economy right now is on a fine line. Job security is important, and many investors have fallen victim to tying themselves up in big investments, high yield risks, without realizing their job was on the line. If you get laid off or fired from your job then your obligations to your investments can put you at serious financial risk. Diversification is important but try not to overdo things that are way out of your control.