10,000 to invest...but where?

[lisaross]

i've had a vanguard money market or mutual fund for YEARS...come to realize the interest now is only paying 0.7%???? thats crazy! its not my emergency savings, but its also not for retirement - thinking probably use towards the kids college...so where to put for the next 7 years?

any suggestions?

thanx

 

[ct_chris]

For a consistantly good safe return I like
PIMCO Total Return D (MUTFTTDX)

 

[QVCshopper]

Sounds like you have it sitting in a money market fund. Right now, they aren't yeilding much. So, if you're sure it's for your kid's college fund, I would put it in a 529 Plan in a higher yielding mutual fund that follows the stock market at a risk you're willing to take. That way, your earnings won't be taxed when you use it for your kid's college, plus you'll earn higher interest and dividends.

I used to work at Vanguard (great company) before becoming a mostly SAHM, so I would stick with them. They have a 529 Plan. Also, Fidelity is another big one. Just do your research and look at the funds; Vanguard's site has a helpful advice section. I also like Vanguard because they don't charge much to run their funds (called loads), which means you keep more of your money.

For such a small amount, I personally would not be going to an advisor. But, that's just my opinion.

 

[BSil]

Interest on a good many savings vehicles is very low right now. I thought I read that ING had a program running for a minimum of 10K max 250K that was variable but decent. I want to say it started higher, and went down in 4 months, but I want to say it was better than .7%. I might be wrong though, and I can't remember where I saw the ad. Maybe it was a mailer of some sort from them.

Check a local CU. Many of them have some half decent rates for a portion of your money, and then a slightly lower rate for the remainder. There was one in my area which was giving a higher interest rate on the first $1000, and then a reduced (but still better than most places) rate on the remainder. You can always split it up, and take a nice rate on the smaller amount and find something else to do with the remainder.

Even though the economy isn't great, I still find the stock market fairly reliable. You can buy some decent stocks now at half decent prices and hold on to them. You could also lose everything, but hey that's life. I mentioned in another thread I heard GROUPON was about to go public, and supposedly be valued more than Google was went it went public. It could be worthwhile to grab those up, and then cash out a little later. Google if I recall came out and jumped for quite some time. Cashing those out from the original purchase price would have made you some quick money. Of course, I let my wife talk me out of buying those at the time.