Investment advice needed

[sweet angel]

I have been $1000 - $5000 that I'm looking to get out my savings account and put into something that will earn more than .25% interest. I need something that is accessible in case of emergency (without a huge penalty), that earns a decent interest and isn't too risky.

I tossed around the idea of CDs, but for a 5-year, the interest is only 4%.

I have a Janus fund, but I'm not sure I want to put anymore in that and risk losing it altogether.

Any insight/advice for me?

 

[marlasmom]

Clark Howard is recommending ING Direct.

 

[sweet angel]

Okay, who is Clark Howard and what is ING Direct?

(Yes, I'm totally ignorant when it comes to this stuff -- never had anything to invest).

 

[salmoneous]

Check out the Treasury's iBond program.

 

[Jimbo]

It's unlikely that you can get more than 4% interest, and at the same time have accessiblity to your money in case of emergency. Since you already are a customer of Janus, maybe you could stash the money in their Money Market fund. It's currently yielding 3.99%, is absolutely safe, and has checkwriting capability. You won't be able to do much better than that.

 

[sweet angel]

It's unlikely that you can get more than 4% interest, and at the same time have accessiblity to your money in case of emergency. Since you already are a customer of Janus, maybe you could stash the money in their Money Market fund. It's currently yielding 3.99%, is absolutely safe, and has checkwriting capability. You won't be able to do much better than that.

Thanks, I'll check into that.

 

[barkley]

check out interest rates at area banks and credit unions-i've seen huge differences in the offerings on similar accounts. my mom has hers in shorter term cd's but the interest rolls into an interest bearing savings account. she does'nt touch the interest and has a mental figure in her mind of how much she want's immediatly available for an emergency, when the figure in the interest bearing savings account rises above that rate she rolls the excess into the next c.d. she purchases.

unless you already have an emergency fund set up that does no penalty for withdrawl i would'nt consider locking the only available monies into one.

 

[sweet angel]

My plan is to only take 1/2 of my available savings and do something with it. That way I have money for emergencies, but also money available if the emergency cash runs out.

 

[DMickey28]

ING DIRECT is an online bank. Meaning it does not have a brick location. Current rates on deposits is just above 4.75% APY for new deposits now through April 15, I think. We use that for our savings and you can get the money out within 2-4 days if you need it. Sometimes quicker!

www.ingdirect.com

 

[mickeyfan2]

Go with a 30 day CD. Around here they are getting about 2.7%.

 

[sweet angel]

Bumping for any other responses -- preferably in layman's terms. Thanks!

 

[mickeysgal]

Well first I'd define what you mean by emergency use only. When I think of emergency, I think about big time stuff like a job layoff, medical illness, etc. An emergency where you need all hands on deck, so to speak. Not something like water heater needs replacing, new tires, etc. That said, I would opt for a Roth IRA. You can take what you put into it out in the event of a true emergency - without penalty. However, the interest, or earnings, are subject to penalties upon early withdrawal. Someone correct me if I'm wrong about this!

 

[JamieW]

Visit bankrate.com

They have all kinds of info about investment rates and just investing in general. You can find which banks are offering the highest rates on CDs, money market accounts, etc.

ING is a good idea. There are also emigrantdirect, hsbcdirect and some other ones that have 4+ percent interest rates. Most, if not all, are listed on bankrate.

You should also post this on the budget board. All kinds of investment advice can be found there.