I have about $42,000 and I'm looking to buy a place in 1-2 years. What should I do to increase it till then?

Question

I've been using Traditional CD's to get it this far. I didnt know if there's anything else I should try investing in for the next year or 2 that could help me gain as much as possible to afford a better apt.

Answer 1

If you have any debt, immediately pay it off. Car debt, credit card debt, etc. If you can apply for a mortgage and not have ANY other credit expenses, you'll get yourself the best terms.

If you're already debt free, congratulations. Then you should start looking into a stock mutual fund to invest some of your money in. Unlike individual stocks, mutual funds are a lot safer because they're more diversified. There's still some risk, but the greater the risk, the greater the return. You'll likely get better returns on your investment than through the CD's, especially in the current market conditions.

Check out American Century Investments.

Answer 2

If you need the money in a year or two, then the stock market is NOT the right place to put it. The only reason people can tolerate the ups and downs of the stock market is because they keep the money in for 20 years, so all the ups and downs even out.

If you can find a 5% return on your CDs, then that's probably the best place for it.

Answer 3

Is there a major reason you want to wait a year or two? This is a buyer's market right now, and you can probably get a good house at a great price. There are a lot of motivated sellers out there now. If I was in the market, I'd get the house at a good price, and risk getting a mortgage at a rate that's a bit higher than I'd like. You can always refinance later when rates drop, and the house appreciates a bit.

Answer 4

Contact your financial institution to see if money market rates are currently higher than the CD's you have. You can get a higher rate for longer term CD's, however you should steer clear of anything riskier. You may also want to consider buying sooner, depending on where you plan to buy, because in many areas it is a buyers market and you may save more on the price.

Answer 5

Park the money in a CD or Money Market accout. 1-2 years in not a good time frame to invest in a mutual fund because it might go down in value.

Answer 6

I don't know what the rate of return was on your CDs but I would suggest putting it in a higher-yield account, like ING, Emigrant Bank, HSBC or WAMU, which typically have savings rates of 4.5-5.25%. This is an easy, non-volitle way to increase your earnings. In two years, at 5%, you could earn an additional $4000.

Answer 7

buy just plots of land. Find some land that's uncleared. Clear the land using a logging company (they pay you X$'s per board feet of lumber), it's cleared for little to no money, and you might make money off the deal.
Finally when your ready to buy a place, land is easy to sell, you can make alot of money on the deal, and it will hold it's value. where as stocks, or mutual funds can lose money, and are messy to get your investiment out fast.

Answer 8

. If you don't have any emergency savings or if you need this money in 1-2 years, open the VG Prime Money Market fund ($3000 minimum). You'll earn 5.22% (as of May) on your money and have easy access to it. Once it swells large enough you can transfer money from it to other Vanguard funds.

Answer 9

If you are going to need it that soon, you can't expose it to serious risk. The markets can dip for an extended period of time. Do not invest it in the stock market.

Answer 10

higher returns are not risk free.
want to take risk?
invest in share