# What should I do with my money? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 2, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-my-money/584107 "2011-06-02T18:35:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CrimeThink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90db22/32.png) [@CrimeThink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrimeThink)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-my-money/584107/1 "2011-06-02T18:35:01Z")
My savings have grown to a point where I feel like I am really throwing away money by having it sit in an ING account at 1.15% interest. I was fine when the rate was over 4%, but with interest rates so low I am considering alternatives now. I am wary of anything risky. This is mainly because I will need the money to buy a house within the next 2-5 years and won’t be able to ride it out if there is a downturn. I really wish I could buy a house now as I think that would be the best use, but unfortunately I can’t commit to a location at this point in time. Any advice for something that will do better than 1.15% without a lot of risk? The amount we are talking about here is approximately $150,000 if it makes a difference. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-my-money/584107/2 "2011-06-02T18:42:40Z")
There is a direct correlation with yield and risk. To earn a greater yield, you’re going to have to take greater risk. ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-my-money/584107/3 "2011-06-02T18:45:24Z")
I’ve seen a few offers for high interest checking counts. Usually the rate is 4% or so. The stipulations are that you have to have a certain number of transactions each month. That might be something to consider. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-my-money/584107/4 "2011-06-02T18:58:09Z")
They’ve gotten a lot of bad press lately but if you know your money is going to be locked up for 10 years ahead of time and you’re allright with that an index based annuity is risk free and should get you decent returns if the market does decently. Again, the reason for the bad press is because a lot of these were sold to seniors who were not aware of the stiff penalties for early withdrawls. For a 10-year “do-not-touch” risk free investment it’s hard to find better. ---
**Author:** ![CrimeThink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90db22/32.png) [@CrimeThink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrimeThink)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-my-money/584107/5 "2011-06-02T19:12:31Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > There is a direct correlation with yield and risk. To earn a greater yield, you’re going to have to take greater risk. I’m aware. I was hoping to see some suggestions of other somewhat conservative investments that do better than 1.15%. I’m not really expecting a big increase, but I wanted to make sure I wasn’t overlooking any better solutions by sticking with ING and not exploring other options. If anyone thinks that my conservative strategy based on my situation is off the mark, I would appreciate on hearing what you would do instead in my situation. ---
**Author:** ![CrimeThink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90db22/32.png) [@CrimeThink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrimeThink)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-my-money/584107/6 "2011-06-02T19:15:44Z")
> [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](#): > > I’ve seen a few offers for high interest checking counts. Usually the rate is 4% or so. The stipulations are that you have to have a certain number of transactions each month. That might be something to consider. I checked [bankrate.com](http://bankrate.com) for interest bearing checking accounts, MMA’s and CD’s, and they seem to be around the 1% mark too. I would be more than happy with 4%. Can you link some place that has a 4% account? Are these reputable companies? ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-my-money/584107/7 "2011-06-02T19:22:43Z")
Invest in a baseball bat and a couple of goons then go into the loansharking business. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-my-money/584107/8 "2011-06-02T19:22:44Z")
Might I suggest you check out the [Lending Club Experiences](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=537202&highlight=lending+club+experiences) thread? If you’ve got that much money to throw around, they’ll give you 2% right on the spot, and the whole platform makes about 8% overall. You’d be able to diversify pretty well at that investment level. The downside is that you’re locking your money up for three years at a time. Or you could always just put 10k-20k into it to start. Disclaimer: I don’t make any money, in any way, from supporting Lending Club or their services. I’m just a happy customer. ---
**Author:** ![SylverOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@SylverOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SylverOne)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-my-money/584107/9 "2011-06-02T19:25:45Z")
If you’re willing to tie up the bulk for a few years, you can ladder some CD accounts to get you better rates. The bigger the CD and the longer the term, the better the rate. You may be able to get close to 3% if you’re willing to tie up at least $100,000 for a 3 year term, with$40,000 into a 2 year and $10,000 into a 1 year at lesser rates. Make the smaller CD an add-on, so that you can keep saving and adding money into it. Also, don’t assume the big guys have the big rates. Check into a smaller local bank or credit union. ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-my-money/584107/10 "2011-06-02T19:29:55Z")
> [@CrimeThink](#): > > I checked [bankrate.com](http://bankrate.com) for interest bearing checking accounts, MMA’s and CD’s, and they seem to be around the 1% mark too. I would be more than happy with 4%. Can you link some place that has a 4% account? Are these reputable companies? I just did a quick google search on “high interest checking accounts” and the best one was 4%. Most were between 2 and 4. They are usually smaller banks and credit unions. But the max amount allowed is 25k on a lot of them. So this might not work for you. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-my-money/584107/11 "2011-06-02T19:32:49Z")
You might want to wait until congress quits fucking around with the debt ceiling in August. The market could be in for a serious shellacking if they don’t reach a compromise. I’m looking at pulling most everything out of the market prior to that and sticking it in an annuity and cash instruments. These bozos have little regard for the impact on people who are trying to put something aside. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-my-money/584107/12 "2011-06-02T20:47:55Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > The market could be in for a serious shellacking if they don’t reach a compromise. Wouldn’t that be a good reason to lock-in a jumbo CD at 3%? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-my-money/584107/13 "2011-06-02T23:26:55Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > Wouldn’t that be a good reason to lock-in a jumbo CD at 3%? Where are you finding that sort of rate? ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-my-money/584107/14 "2011-06-02T23:54:53Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > You might want to wait until congress quits fucking around with the debt ceiling in August. The market could be in for a serious shellacking if they don’t reach a compromise. I’m looking at pulling most everything out of the market prior to that and sticking it in an annuity and cash instruments. These bozos have little regard for the impact on people who are trying to put something aside. Then again having a lot of money in the bank won’t do you much good either if the dollar tanks. I’m in a similar financial situation (which is a good situation to be in). Basically i’m going to talk to my dad’s financial advisor. But really the best advice I can give is to diversify. I don’t think it makes sense to keep pulling money in and out of different markets or financial instruments trying to time them. Since, you know, a) I don’t really know what I’m doing since I’m not a financial professional and b) I don’t have time to sit there and watch my investments all day. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-my-money/584107/15 "2011-06-03T00:08:55Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > I don’t have time to sit there and watch my investments all day. Ah but wouldnt that be a great life…heck if I had a $300k-$400k to drop into lending club I probably would seriously consider retiring and living off of thousands of little loans… ---
**Author:** ![Greenlight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/439d5e/32.png) [@Greenlight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greenlight)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-my-money/584107/16 "2011-06-03T00:11:03Z")
You should give it to me. But seriously, save it or something. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-my-money/584107/17 "2011-06-03T00:34:26Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > [QUOTE=Chefguy] > The market could be in for a serious shellacking if they don’t reach a compromise. Wouldn’t that be a good reason to lock-in a jumbo CD at 3%? [/QUOTE] Interest rates will soar when the Tea Party decides to teach us big-spending Socialists a lesson. It may seem paradoxical, but when you fear inflation may be coming soon, cash is a logical asset. Certainly better than locking it up in a long-term CD at a pre-inflation interest rate. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-my-money/584107/18 "2011-06-03T00:58:24Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Where are you finding that sort of rate? [Navy Federal Credit Union](https://www.navyfederal.org/products-services/checking-savings/certificates-rates.php) > [@](#): > > 7 Year Certificate (Share/IRA) 3.2% APY ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-my-money/584107/19 "2011-06-03T01:45:09Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > [Navy Federal Credit Union](https://www.navyfederal.org/products-services/checking-savings/certificates-rates.php) Ten years ago, I’d have considered it, but at my age seven years is a long time to tie up money. ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-my-money/584107/20 "2011-06-03T03:07:52Z")
> [@SylverOne](#): > > If you’re willing to tie up the bulk for a few years, you can ladder some CD accounts to get you better rates. The bigger the CD and the longer the term, the better the rate. You may be able to get close to 3% if you’re willing to tie up at least $100,000 for a 3 year term, > Also, don’t assume the big guys have the big rates. Check into a smaller local bank or credit union. Two days ago I saw Greek bonds were yielding 25%. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-i-do-with-my-money/584107.md?page=2)