Dear students: we know. It’s been incredibly hard for you right now. If you’re old enough to invest, you’re old enough to take on debt. It’s likely you have a heck of a lot of it. Here you were thinking you were going to move out, make something of your life, and of course start making money. But the world had other plans.
The pandemic pushed students out of school and back into their parent’s house, if they were lucky. So much for that summer internship. So much for graduating. So much for paying down your immense student debt.
While I can’t fix all your problems, there are at least some recommendations to ease your burden and hopefully come out with at least a little cash. If anything, you can start paying down debt. At most, maybe get out of your parent’s house before the true insanity creeps in.
To get there, what you’ll need are stocks that show promising long-term growth, solid short-term growth, and stable passive income while you wait. For all that, I’d recommend Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSX: TD)(NYSE: TD), BlackBerry Ltd. (TSX: BB)(NYSE: BB) and RioCan REIT (TSX: REI.UN). Oh, another thing these stocks all have? They’re cheap!
TD Bank
Of all the Big Six Banks, you definitely get the most bang for your buck with TD Bank. The bank has a low share price, both because of market volatility and undervalue. It also has the most potential for serious growth. Perfect for students willing to buy and hold.
TD Bank should soar in the next few years and decades thanks to its expansion into the United States. The bank is now one of the top 10 banks in the country, with room to grow. Meanwhile, its share price has grown 210% since the last recession. It also has a solid dividend yield of 5.02% as of writing, with a long history of payouts. So you’ll get some great quarterly cash while you wait for this stock to grow.
RioCan
RioCan has a long way to go to reach pre-crash prices, and that’s due to being an REIT. On top of that, the company is focused mainly on retail. It’s no secret that this industry suffered during the pandemic, and continues to even as businesses open. But as businesses open, RioCan should see a huge increase in earnings, which should bring shares back to pre-crash norms.
Right now, there is a potential upside of 86% to reach pre-crash levels. That means you’ll be getting a steal when it comes to the company’s dividend yield of 9.44% as of writing. For example, $1,000 could bring in $96 each year, compared to $51 at pre-crash levels.
BlackBerry
Finally, for a top growth stock students should definitely take a look at BlackBerry. The company may be known for its movement to the cybersecurity industry, but it’s still underestimated. The company picked the perfect place to take advantage of an economy that’s moving more and more online.
Subscriptions from big businesses have grown by leaps and bounds with the pandemic. Businesses need to keep data safe, big and small, so a company like BlackBerry is a necessity. As we move into this new work-from-home world, BlackBerry should only continue to see this growth continue. That leaves its current share price of around $6 at an absolute steal. It could even triple if you hold out long enough.
Bottom line
It doesn’t take much to bring in solid growth and dividend income, even for students. Setting yourself up for long-term gains is an excellent idea, even now. If you’re able to put just $50 aside each month towards investments, heck even $50 each quarter, that’s automated payments that will last a lifetime.
Let’s say you just put $1,000 towards each stock and didn’t touch them. Once each stock reaches pre-crash levels, you could easily turn that into $4,696 in a year’s time.
