There are types of investments that have zero or almost zero risk that earns a certain interest for a given period of time. These are called Certificate of Deposit in USA or Guaranteed Income Certificate in Canada. This works by depositing your money to the bank and having it locked for a period of time, for example a year or more, in exchange for a guaranteed interest of the amount you deposited.

These types of investment is considered very low risk because the chance of you losing your money is almost zero unless the bank runs and your deposit is not insured. Since they are low risk, the return is also low and fixed.

When putting your money in a locked-in investment, be sure that you will not need that money during the period that it’s locked. Otherwise, you could end up paying penalty if you have to withdraw it or you may end up borrowing money with higher interest than what your locked-in investment will return.

If you have extra money outside your emergency fund and you have no idea on how to invest it then maybe this is a good start for you to see how investments work.