what to do with $22,000.00 for 5 months?

Question

I have $22,000.00 that I will need to use in June. I was wondering if it would be better to deposit it into my money market account or to buy a short term cd?

Answer 1

Do NOT go to a commercial bank - they'll give you a lousy rate!

Try INGdirect or HSBCdirect or similar on line bank. They'll work with you and probably get you 5% or more for 5 months.

Answer 2

Hey! Good question

Ok, first off, you want the money SAFE, and second off, make as much money as you can SAFELY make. You say "my" money market.. that likely means your bank. See below why that might mean looking around is better.

I read some of the answers, but needing it soon, and keeping it safe means do NOT buy stocks! Stocks can lose a huge amount of value, and are not insured!

Options that exist to keep it safe AND make the most on it are money market funds or CD's as you state.

However, The rates you get at your area bank is almost always crap, so check out ing.com or other online banks.

The place to find out how is paying the most interest is www.bankrate.com under CD's etc. I like money markets as they don't obligate you to keep the money there in case you have some emergency, and right now they match CD rates.. so unless you find out different stick with a money market.

So, now that you have the money, you will need to put that check or cash into an account if that isn't already done. Once it is in the account, then you can transfer it to somewhere safe.

Now, average savings accounts don't even pay 1% these days. You can get 5% interest per year at www.paypal.com among other. So, 4% interest difference for 6 months is a difference of $440 dollars.

If it isn't worth $440 dollars to go to some trouble and get a better rate, then just put it into your savings account where it is insured and safe.

If it is worth it, then buy that CD or use that Money Market account you find that is insured.

Answer 3

Both CDs and MMs are good options since they have little risk. However, the key difference between the two (and which may come into play) is the availability of funds.

MMs are very liquid, meaning you can take the money out at anytime without penalty. In fact, in some circumstances, your only option is a MM. For instance, if the money you're holding is a deposit of some kind for the purchase of something you are selling, like a house or car or deposit on a rental property then by law you are required to place those funds into a MM account. This is true for every state I've lived in but, of course, each state may have their own laws for this. So, I'm speaking from my experience not expertise in the subject.

CDs are considerably less liquid. In fact, if you withdraw the money from your CD before the CD "matures" then you could actually end up with less money than you started with. With CDs, you are significantly better off leaving the funds in the CD until the date the CD matures, or becomes available to withdraw without penalty. And CDs generally run from quarter to quarter, 1/2 year or year, etc. 5 months is an odd time frame for a CD so you may run into problems there.

So, if you may need the money before the 5 month deadline, definitely a MM is a better choice. If you an forget about the funds for 5 months then a CD will likely gain you a higher yield.

Hope this helps.

Answer 4

set up an account at emigrantdirect.com. Offering 5.05% APR currently. It might take 2 weeks to get the paperwork done, but it offers pretty good liquidity. So in about 5 months, it would be up to $22,450. So in June, when you need that cash, you can get to it without any problems. If you need the cash inbetween, the CD would have penalties for taking the money out, while the money market gives low rates.

Answer 5

It depends what degree of risk you are willing to take. The CD will guarantee you'll withdraw the $22,000 plus interest in June, but the interest rate will not be that high for such a short term investment. The money market returns could be higher but there is no guarantee. If there is a downturn in the market you could actually withdraw less than $22,000 by June.

Answer 6

Purchase GOLD bars.... that is the best thing to do, then put it in a safety deposit box or something, golds value will go up and of course you will not lose any value... paper money's value drops everyday this will be the best way to ensure that you get more from 22k may not be much but at least something

Answer 7

Go to the bank and ask them about their rates/options.

Don't do anything risky since you know you need the funds in 5 months.

Answer 8

It depends on the rate. A MM will leave it available, but might not have the rate.

Answer 9

i would jsut keep it under my matress lol that way i know its safe but if i were to put it in a bank i would put it in a saving account or something that it will gain interest .

Answer 10

buy a 10 acre plot of land 10K or so and 1K for misc, expenses

buy stocks with the rest