I may be able to put away some cash for 4 or 5 years.  If rates will go up, then I will go with a 12 month CD.  If rates will go down, then I should lock into a 4 or 5 year CD.  What is your opinion and why?
218058
The Fed is still raising rates.  The country is at war (always creates inflation).  Unemployment is low and the economy is booming.\n\nRates will go up.
293651
Generally the shorter your time horizon, the less risk you should take on.\n\nIf you plan to withdraw in 3 years (a very short time horizon), you should be more conservative rather than more aggressive in your investments.
71987
The 30yr mortgage rate will probably not move until the end of April.At that time it looks like it will go up .05% . The sooner you lock in the better.
207251
Based on the rule of 72 your asset will double in 11.1 years.  \nHere is how the rule of 72 works;\n\n\nThis teaches you how to determine the number of years it will take for your investment or debt to double in value.\n\nDivide the number 72 by the percentage rate you are paying on your debt, or earning on your investment. Here are two examples...\n\nYou borrowed $1,000 from your friend, who is charging you 6% interest. 72 divided by 6 is 12. That makes 12 the number of years it would take for your debt to your friend to double to $2,000 if you did not make any payments.\n\nYou have a savings account with $500 deposited in it. It earns 4% interest from the bank. 72 divided by 4 is 18. It will take 18 years for your $500 to double to $1,000 if you don't make any deposits.\n\nRemember: 72 divided by the Interest Percentage is the number of years it takes to double.\n\n\n\n\nFor a calculator that you can use to determine how long it will take to double your money based on interest rates check this out.....
431292
Shop shop shop for your loan.  Different lenders offer different deals depending on how much money they "have to move".  Sounds like you want a fixed rate loan.  Don't pay "points" or loan origination fees unless the difference in the interest rate provides a lower payment that pays back that much money in the time you are fairly certain you will stay in the home.\n\nYou have some chance that you will lock in a fixed rate and then rates will fall later, but rates are fairly low historically still.  You probably face a higher interest rate risk by taking an adjustable rate mortgage, and you have said you don't want that kind of risk.\n\nIf you are buying a starter home and know you will be moving in 5 years or less, consider a 5 year ARM (adjustable rate mortgage), but only if the rate is a meaningful amount less than the current fixed rate mortgage with the same (other) terms.
589260
6 mo t-bills pay 5% and that is likely to increase. They are relatively safe and free from local taxes.  If you live in a high tax locality, that will beat cds. You can set up an account directly with the U S government and role them over as they come due.
371755
All depends on your age and what % of your portfolio this represents.  The younger you are, the more aggressive you can be, the older/closer to retirement, the more conservative you probably will want to be.\n\n1st things, first, understand what you're investing in and how to do so.  Else, it might not matter as you might end up throwing it all away.  So study first, then invest!
507599
The best relative safe one that I have found is a Bond fund that Charles Schwab has--it currently pays 5.8%.  I have some funds in it and did a lot of checking before going in that direction.  Schwab is a good Co. to deal with --no conning or high-pressure.\nRemember the "rule of 72" says that your 5.8% compounded and reinvested will double in 12 and 1/2 years.
340699
I say go for it. I did when I was at school. I had excess student loan money after all my tuition had been paid. Made an excellent return on investment. as to the poster who says you should never borrow to invest...that is just madness...EVERY business borrows to invest (when a company issues bonds there are borrowing money from investors at a lower interest rate and investing it at a higher interest rate)and even the government does it i.e. Treasury bills are used to fund government expenditure. as a word of caution though don't invest in stocks. the stock market is not predictable. you are better off with a CD/Treasury bill or a municipal bond
300644
Regarding those two low interest CC's, are those interest rates fixed for the whole term or do they expire on a date.  Read the fine print, I think you will see they expire from 6-12 months after you made the transfer.\n\nNow, if those interest rates are fixed, why would you trade those in for a higher interest rate?  Even the benefit of a tax write off doesn't justify it.  If your only reason for doing it is fear of a late payment triggering the penalty...then get diciplined!  Make sure the payments are sent!\n\nRegarding the other cards....\n\nLet me say that I'm in favor of balance transfers and debt consolidation.  BUT....the danger is that when you do it, you must dicipline yourself on your budget.  \n\nOver the past two years, thousands of people fell into the trap of consolidation. Then they turned around and ran up their credit cards again.  Now they have twice the debt!  It ended up with them filing for bankruptcy.\n\nIt sounds from the way you are talking that you are on that path.  So take my advice.  If you consolidate, cancel all your paid off cards and budget yourself!  Otherwise you will lose your Coop.  \n\nDon't play the balance transfer game!  It's going to ruin you.
208957
I agree with Mr. Greedy.  You should roll it into an IRA and you'll have better control over it.  If you want to take money out it will be processed sooner and also you'll have more options to invest in.  You can even keep things invested the same when you roll it over.  There is no penalty as long as you don't withdraw any funds.
371527
Use Bankrate's CD rate compare tool.\n\nhttp://www.bankrate.com/brm/rate/brm_depsearch.asp\n\nIt looks like Downey has the best 12-month rate for a jumbo CD at 5.2%\nhttp://www.bankrate.com/brm/rate/dep_ratehome.asp?params=CA,4&product=24&sort=3
58347
Watch out for some of these answers. 20% return (with no time frame mentioned...hmmm) with little risk is not realistic. A private equipment leasing investment is a huge risk, not only if construction slows and business drops off, but there is zero transparency, who are they?\n\nHigh yield (junk) bonds aren't a terrible idea, but only for a portion of your money, not all. What you have to ask yourself is:\n\nDo I already have a sufficient emergency fund (3 months worht of expenses, min) set aside NOT counting the 9Gs? If so, you can invest for the longer term. If not, find a good money market account (INGDirect or HSBC Direct) and plug enough of the $9,000 in there to make up the 3 months. Depending on your expenses you may need to add money to $9,000.\n\nOnce your emergency fund is taken care of, you can invest the rest. You now have to ask yourself (or have a financial planner ask you) what am I saving this money for? Is it ok to lock it up for retirement or do I expect to use these funds to buy a house in 5 years or send someone to school 16 years from now? Your time horizon(how long you have to stay invested) is the single largest determinant of how much risk can be built into your portfolio through asset allocation. Your attitudes towards risk will fine tune your allocations. A competent financial planner can help you through this process.\n\nALSO, AVOID these spammers talking about Daily12 or Swisscash or any other pyramid scheme. They're garbage.
3880
Hi I'm looking to buy a place also. You are somewhat younger then me, I'm 25. I think that a house is always a sound investment for people who can stay in one place for a long time. I would suggest talking to a real estate broker about your finances. But the real question you should ask yourself is, “At this young age am I ready to stay in this home for at least 5 years?” If the answer is no then I would continue to rent.
173741
If you want no risk buy a CD. Shop around for the best one year rates.
348296
First, whatever you save, don't take out for whim purchases (try to keep it to true, true emergencies).  Keep putting in as much as you can afford and when you get your tax refunds back in April/May (based on your salary, I'd say you'd be due for a refund from the IRS and perhaps your state too), don't spend that money, save it (as you never has access to the money in the first place).\n\nGMAC Bank (primarily online, FDIC insured) offers 5.16% interest on their Money Market Accounts (MMA) with roughly a 5.25% Annual Yield (this varies as they change up their interest rate when the Feds do).  They won't slash your interest after six months (or after a certain period of time) although you need to keep a Daily Average of $500+ with them.  It's also a great vehicle to prevent spending since you get charged $10 for every withdrawal over the limit of three (3) you make in a month although you're free to deposit as much as you like whenever you like.  You can set-up automatic bank-transfers and direct deposit very easily.
657076
What you do depends a lot on what kind of person you are.  If you have a lot of self-control and self-discipline, take it all now and invest it, living off what it generates.  If it's a large enough amount, it can form the foundation for enough growth to keep you in comfort for the rest of your life if you invest propersly.  If it were me, that's what I'd do.\n\nIf, on the other hand, you're likely to spend it all as soon as you get it, take the sum over time, so you'll always have some money coming to you.  It's not a very good solution though.  Your annual payment in 50 years is going to seem a lot smaller than the one you'd get today.  Inflation would just eat away its buying power.