I have $5,000 in my savings account, how/where can I invest them safely??

Question

We are planning to buy a house in the next 10-12 months and we need that 20% down payment. And even though we are still contributing to our savings account we probably wont be able to reach $20,000 in that amount of time. Further, it makes no sense to let $5k sitting in a savings account which interest rate is .20%. Please help! Need safe investment ideas!

Answer 1

I am in the same boat as you (planning to buy a house in the next 6 - 18 months) and am looking to invest around 20k in the mean time to accrue some interest until the purchase. I have been researching for several weeks to find the best investment option for my/our situation and am convinced an online savings account is the best way to go so that I can get to my money whenever I need it (unlike that of a CD). I agree bankrate.com is a good source to find the best rates and it has star ratings, which give you confidence in the bank. After research, the bank I plan on going with is E-Loan (https://www.eloan.com/savingsrates?context=deposits&sid=-irQKwQJ_dsSjJBUojbu4fVHg1U&user=bkr&mcode=bkrkwsk888), who's current APY (annual percentage yield) is at 5.25%. This is a very good rate and it is a reputable bank. Good luck with your investment!

Answer 2

go to a bank nad get CD's if you really want safe. They have a much better interest rate than the .20% But you can face penalties for early withdrawel so set it for the right amount of time that you may want. If you want a 6 month CD then go that way. i can tell you this. You wont grow 5000 to 20000 in a year without taking some serious risks. And with those risks, 5000 can easily become 0.

Answer 3

A great way to save safely, especially with a 10-12 time horzion is in either a CD or a online savings account, like ING Orange Account (currently paying around 5% a month). These accounts take about a week to setup. Easy to use once you get them started. There are several online banks to choose from paying higher a interest rate than brick and mortar banks. To get the best possible rate, check http://www.bankrate.com/brm/rate/mmmf_highratehome.asp?params=US,416&product=33

Note that these accounts are FDIC Insured, so the only risk to you is rate risk. In addition, there is no penilty for early withdraw like in a CD.

Remember, it takes an average of six months to find a house once you start looking.

Good luck!!!

Answer 4

Try a short term CD. Some banks are offering higher yield CDs for short terms, like 5 and 6 months. Check around and see what's out there. Investments are not FDIC insured, so unfortunatley, there's no absolute "safe" way to invest- there's always a risk that you could lose money. CDs are protected by the bank. Good luck.

Answer 5

When I was saving to buy my house in the next 10-12 months, I put my saving in Money Market account, because their interest rate was higher than regular saving account, but you could liquidize it without penalty like a compound deposit (CD) would. CD has higher interest especially if you sign up for the one 5 years or more, but it doesn't make sense if you are going to use the money before then, it charges you penalty to take the money early.

Answer 6

Since you need a very secure investment, I suggest you shop your local banks and credit unions for the best 12 month CD rate you can get. 5.0 rate is about tops you can get now.

Answer 7

I suggest a getting a cd from your local bank

Answer 8

Listen to Eddie
Also you can get a first timers loan w/o $ down. OR you can get a piggy back loan for the 20% short term

Answer 9

I would recommend you to do Forex trading as it will give you fast returns

http://money-review-site.com/investment.html

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