Savings/investments/bonds Master Thread.

[Yo ssi]

IME primis had slow but good support, with real people.

[chevron]

Smallbusinessbank.com have competitive tiered rates for business savings account. But both their app and their website leave PLENTY to be desired.

This looks like something I designed 20 years ago

[4yourinfo]

E*Trade has a $5,000 minimum for treasuries at auction, and no automatic rollover feature.

Interactive Brokers has no option that I could find to place auction orders online.

So basically stay away from E*Trade.. I have an account with an offer for a bonus 600 if I transfer 100k wanna buy t bills but feel like between waiting for the next auctions or forgetting I’ll be loosing out on lots of interest… or is there a way for me to do it without loosing interest once it matures?

[gozalim]

So basically stay away from E*Trade.. I have an account with an offer for a bonus 600 if I transfer 100k wanna buy t bills but feel like between waiting for the next auctions or forgetting I’ll be loosing out on lots of interest… or is there a way for me to do it without loosing interest once it matures?

currently can buy for this auction

[mercaz1]

If my 14-year-old son has ~$1200 sitting around in a Capital 360 savings account at 3.75%- is there a better option for him- either a higher savings or a etf perhaps that he can park the money in for a few years?

I understand I am asking the internet for financial advice
I already have an idea of what I want to do but want to hear other opinions

[HoKo]

If my 14-year-old son has ~$1200 sitting around in a Capital 360 savings account at 3.75%- is there a better option for him- either a higher savings or a etf perhaps that he can park the money in for a few years?

I understand I am asking the internet for financial advice
I already have an idea of what I want to do but want to hear other opinions

If you could leave the money in there for a longer time Horizon then I would say go with a S&P 500 Index fund. if he is intending to withdraw it in a year or two then you could switch to something else with a higher interest rate... but given the small amount of money and relatively short time Horizon I'm not sure the juice is worth the squeeze.

[incendia]

If my 14-year-old son has ~$1200 sitting around in a Capital 360 savings account at 3.75%- is there a better option for him- either a higher savings or a etf perhaps that he can park the money in for a few years?

I understand I am asking the internet for financial advice
I already have an idea of what I want to do but want to hear other opinions

You should consider a CD account

[mercaz1]

If you could leave the money in there for a longer time Horizon then I would say go with a S&P 500 Index fund. if he is intending to withdraw it in a year or two then you could switch to something else with a higher interest rate... but given the small amount of money and relatively short time Horizon I'm not sure the juice is worth the squeeze.

what is a longer time horizon

what if he wants to leave for 3 -4 years

and what if he wants to leave for 5-7

[dealmaster]

If my 14-year-old son has ~$1200 sitting around in a Capital 360 savings account at 3.75%- is there a better option for him- either a higher savings or a etf perhaps that he can park the money in for a few years?

I understand I am asking the internet for financial advice
I already have an idea of what I want to do but want to hear other opinions

If you could leave the money in there for a longer time Horizon then I would say go with a S&P 500 Index fund. if he is intending to withdraw it in a year or two then you could switch to something else with a higher interest rate... but given the small amount of money and relatively short time Horizon I'm not sure the juice is worth the squeeze.

from a pure financial standpoint I would agree, however bear in mind that you may be disrupting part of the carefree childhood experience by exposing your son to the financial markets(I can already hear the critics crying foul about how we need to teach our children responsibility etc, I can tell you from personal experience that, Thank G-d, my family has done well, financially, and we never allowed single children(unless they were already working) to invest. We all learned when the time came. I feel living a few rungs below what your financial situation allows for, will help your children lead a much healthier and happier lifestyle and teach them responsibility as well.) Sorry for the rambling, but you did ask for advice 😉

[mercaz1]

i wouldnt expect him to be constantly checking any investment -this would be set and forget until ready to sell

I don't understand how not investing is living a few rungs below your financial situation or how you know what my financial situation is

what does working have to do with it as well? He earned some of this money and some from his bar mitzvah

I was asking because it seems a shame to let it sit in a savings account when it could be making more even if there is some slightly higher risk- I am not looking for major returns

[ExGingi]

i wouldnt expect him to be constantly checking any investment -this would be set and forget until ready to sell

I don't understand how not investing is living a few rungs below your financial situation or how you know what my financial situation is

what does working have to do with it as well? He earned some of this money and some from his bar mitzvah

I was asking because it seems a shame to let it sit in a savings account when it could be making more even if there is some slightly higher risk- I am not looking for major returns

I would probably put it in a Vanguard Money Market Fund for now. VMFXX and VMRXX are currently yielding over 5%.

[dm123]

I would probably put it in a Vanguard Money Market Fund for now. VMFXX and VMRXX are currently yielding over 5%.

Even if it’s just set & forget for 3-4 years? You think rates will stay high for that long? They might, but on the chance they plummet in the next year or so to what we’ve been used to for the last while wouldn’t a CD or bonds be a safer long term bet? If he’s willing to check rates and move around accordingly every 3-6 months or so I’d probably agree with you.

[biobook]

He earned some of this money and some from his bar mitzvah

If he earned it, why not let him decide?  Let him read about compound interest, investing basics, and offer to discuss the options with him.  Have him calculate what he'd gain at different interest rates. https://www.investor.gov/financial-tools-calculators/calculators/compound-interest-calculator  Let him think about whether he wants to risk losing any of the money he worked for by investing in the stock market.  When will he want to use it?  How much of it will he need at that time?

That said, I agree with dm123. ETFs are good for long-term investing of money beyond what one really needs, but it sounds like this is his entire savings, so CDs make more sense. Capital One has no-risk CDs with no minimum required, 4.30% for 3 years, a little less for 4 or 5 years.  If he doesn't expect to need it all at once, he might put half in 3 yr, half in 5 yr.
https://www.capitalone.com/bank/cds/online-cds/

In 3 years, $1200 will become $1342 in a savings account at 3.75% interest, and $1394 in a CD at 4.30%.  Some people wouldn't bother transferring to a CD for that $52, but for a 14 year old it can be a valuable introduction to financial responsibility.  And maybe even fun.

[haltkup]

If my 14-year-old son has ~$1200 sitting around in a Capital 360 savings account at 3.75%- is there a better option for him- either a higher savings or a etf perhaps that he can park the money in for a few years?

I understand I am asking the internet for financial advice
I already have an idea of what I want to do but want to hear other opinions

I opened for my children a youth savings account at Apple bank. It’s currently yielding 5%. They spent the time educating my kids on the banking process and my kids love going in to make their own deposits.
https://www.applebank.com/personal/banking/savings-cds/savings/youth-savings

[dealmaster]

i wouldnt expect him to be constantly checking any investment -this would be set and forget until ready to sell

I don't understand how not investing is living a few rungs below your financial situation or how you know what my financial situation is

what does working have to do with it as well? He earned some of this money and some from his bar mitzvah

I was asking because it seems a shame to let it sit in a savings account when it could be making more even if there is some slightly higher risk- I am not looking for major returns

point by point- it’s true that it would be a “set and forget” investment but to a 14 year old $1200 is a lot of money and it will always be there somewhere in the back of his head.          My point of living below your means had absolutely nothing to do with your financial situation rather it was an answer to the (hypothetical) challenge that it is important to teach a 14 year old about investing to teach him responsibility, to that I was arguing that the most important and effective lesson you can teach your child is by living below your financial ability. My point of working was that once someone is “working” as apposed to “learning” and is very much exposed to the financial world at large, they certainly should be exposed to investing and taught the ropes of the equity market. As to your last point, of course seeing money “just sitting around “ is certainly hard and perhaps you should invest it without telling your child (and guarantee the principal, of course) I was simply pointing out that in my (not so) humble opinion it is far more valuable to retain the disconnect from the financial world rather than make a potential 5-8% average profit on the $1200

[Mareh Makom]

Whats the minimum amount of time recommended for putting money in the s&p at all?

[Willie]

best option for checking/savings with highest interest now is Primis at 4.92?

[biobook]

Whats the minimum amount of time recommended for putting money in the s&p at all?

I think what you're asking is this:
If I expect to need the money in x years, should I invest it in the stock market?

Here are my cutoffs.

x= <3    Definitely not
x= 3-5   Probably not
x= 5-10  Maybe
x=10-20 Yes
x=>20    Definitely yes

[4yourinfo]

best option for checking/savings with highest interest now is Primis at 4.92?

mybankingdirect just went up to 5 with a 5 month cd 5.15

[Mareh Makom]

I think what you're asking is this:
If I expect to need the money in x years, should I invest it in the stock market?

Here are my cutoffs.

x= <3    Definitely not
x= 3-5   Probably not
x= 5-10  Maybe
x=10-20 Yes
x=>20    Definitely yes

My x is 6, so thanks!