But investments don't have to be restricted to shares, property or bonds.
David Boyle, group manager of investor education at the Commission for Financial Capability says for a lot of people investing in alternatives is driven by their passion for that item.
"I've got a record collection - a lot of people have records jammed into boxes - they could be valuable but the reason I have got a collection is because I love the sound."
He says the challenge with alternative investments is figuring out if there will be any demand for it in the future.
"In a lot of cases - some of that stuff - cars, aeroplanes - there was no demand at the time and it was destroyed. But when you look back and there is a scarcity of them left that is when the need or demand drives the price."
When people go to sell their investment it can be hard to find a buyer and if you need to cash up there's a temptation to sell at a discounted price.
Boyle said there was also a risk that your money could do better elsewhere in that time frame but that was something people only knew about in hindsight.
"It is not liquid and you need a genuine interest or expertise.
"Unless you are going to do it full-time - you need to be careful about what you do buy or pay for expertise."
Classic cars
According to British money website thisismoney.co.uk classic cars have been one of the best investments over the last decade.
An investment in a Ferrari or Jaguar could have earned you as much as 487 per cent in the last 10 years based on data from the Historic Automobile Group International looking at the top 50 collectible cars in the world.
But they don't come cheap - an investment could be start at tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Cheaper cars can often cost a lot to restore eating into any potential returns.
And there's always the risk that the car you pick will go out of fashion and you won't be able to make any money on selling it.
Experts warn that it is a very risky market. Values can swing about a lot and with prices having risen dramatically in recent years, some in the classic car industry are questioning whether a big fall is due.
Art
Over the last decade high value art has been a stellar performer. Photo / Getty
Art investors had a bit of a rough year last year according to The European Fine Arts Foundation with value of global sales down 7 per cent from from US$68.2 billion to US$63.8 billions.
But over the last decade high value art has been a stellar performer.
Art worth over US$1 million has gone up in value by 400 per cent in the 10 years to 2015 according to TEFAF and ultra-high end art - those works priced over US$10 million went up in value by 1000 per cent.
In New Zealand the value of art sold at auction rose to $20.1 million in 2015 up from $19.6 million in the prior year, according to the Australian Art sales digest.
The average value rose from $4233 to $5601.
But at the lower cost end it may not be so easy to turn art into a winner.
Melanie Gerlis, author of 'Art as an Investment?' told British paper The Telegraph last year that combining all research on the broad market pointed to an average return on investment on investment-grade art, held for between five and 10 years, of around 4 per cent per annum.
"Considerably less than gold, wine and both public and private equity," Ms Gerlis said.
Art buyers may also face the risk that they will not be able to sell the work at a time when they want to and unlike shares or property it does not produce an income while you own it.
Investing in art can also be costly in that you may need to pay for advice on what to buy, insurance once you have bought it and a re-sale fee when disposing of the art.
Wine
Wine is an alternative investment opportunity. Photo / Getty
Wanting to turn your love of wine into cold hard cash. It might not be as easy at you think.
The fine wine market has hit a rough patch in recent years with the Bordeaux Index - a measure of trading in wines from the French region of Bordeaux - went up just 1.5 per cent in 2015 and that was the first positive year it has had since 2010.
Prior to that fine wine did have a good run. Between November 2004 and November 2008 the Bordeaux index went from 100 to 260 - a 260 per cent increase.
Getting hold of the wine that is highly valued can require knowing the right people.
More than 90 per cent of tradeable fine wine comes from Bordeaux and outside or that Burgundy wines and vintage Champagne are some of those most traded - not the kind of stuff you can pick up from your local liquor shop.
Like art or cars wine is not an asset that earns money while it sets in your wine cellar and it may be hard to sell when you want to cash up.
Unlike other investments it has finite shelf life as after a certain time it will become undrinkable.
Records
Occasionally, people will be happy to spend thousands of dollars on one record to add to their collection. Photo / Getty
Chris Hart of Real Groovy record store in Auckland said record collections are similar to art collections -- you must be happy to live with the investment.
Occasionally, people will be happy to spend thousands of dollars on one record to add to their collection.
"They're rare, people spend a lot of time and effort to find them."
Recently, Hart had sold a rare AC/DC record with original vocalist Dave Evans for US$4500, and the Sex Pistols' 'God Save The Queen' record on the EMI label would go for between $300 and $500.
David Bowie's 'Life on Mars' with its rare New Zealand cover was also worth a lot, Hart said. The records often packaged as 'collector's items' would often not be worth much in the future, but the more unusual and not widely released records can end up being worth a lot more.
"That can sometimes happen, but largely [people invest in records] more for the thrill of the chase and collecting," Hart said.
Collectibles and memorabilia
The 19th century British Guiana one-cent magenta stamp sold for a staggering £5.6m at an auction in New York in 2014. Photo / Getty
Investing in memorabilia of your favourite past-time could be worth a lot of money in the long run.
Film posters, set pieces, movie and TV scripts and collectible items have all sold at auction for big money.
The international version of the poster for the 1927 science-fiction film Metropolis was sold in 2005 for US$690,000.
Graphic artist Heinz Schulz-Neudamm designed the poster and there are only four known copies in the world.
A rare Pokemon card is listed on eBay for US$100,000. Only 39 of these Pokemon Pikachu Illustrator cards were ever made and its the only design to have "Illustrator" written on it rather than "Trainer".
The eBay description reads: "This card is the Holy Grail of Pokemon... The illustrator is the most valuable card in the hobby."
Coins and stamps are the traditional collectible items, and are still selling at auction houses for millions.
The "Flowing Hair" silver dollar coin, believed to be the first US dollar to be minted, was bought by a collector for $10 million in 2013.
The 19th century British Guiana one-cent magenta stamp sold for a staggering £5.6m at an auction in New York in 2014.
