Where do you guys keep your emergency fund? Currently ours is in a AMEX savings account, but was just curious if there might be another option.

My parents life insurance policies. They're lucky I haven't needed it.

I keep mine in ING Savings. Why? because I can move it over to checking immediately and use it if a meltdown occurs. Never had to do that though.

CJS4715, That is my thinking as well. Just wasn't sure if there was a better option.

My checking account, rates just dropped from 2.01% to 1.51% - still very solid

see if you bank or CU has some type of high interest rewards checking or savings account.

we get 4%

Catch!

where do you get 4% 'right now' in a checking or savings account.

ING is at .8%
HSBC is at .4%

http://www.money-rates.com/savings.htm
(only one is above 1% and that's 1.01%)

http://www.moolanomy.com/1333/best-high-interest-savings-account-and-money-market-rates/
(highest is 1.05%)

Did you forget a '.' in front of 4%?






[This message has been edited by edwardsk2003 (edited 9/19/2012 3:53p).]

I have a credit union account... highest savings interest being offered right now is .6% in an 18 month cd. Where are you banking?

typically, new local banks will give out high interest rates as they try to raise deposits. i started a 4% but am now down to 2.01%.

my wife's credit union through work has the 4%

CU name?

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CU name?

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SWACU

My credit union pays 2.75% on my checking

Vanguard S&P 500 index fund. I'm taking the risk that I won't have an emergency at the same time the market crashes. I'll use my credit cards for an emergency, sell my funds that day, and pay off my credit card bill within 7-10 business days of the emergency . I'm fine with selling my funds for a loss in an emergency if that should be the case. Disclosure: I'm unmarried with no mortgage/kids.

quote:

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Vanguard S&P 500 index fund. I'm taking the risk that I won't have an emergency at the same time the market crashes. I'll use my credit cards for an emergency, sell my funds that day, and pay off my credit card bill within 7-10 business days of the emergency . I'm fine with selling my funds for a loss in an emergency if that should be the case. Disclosure: I'm unmarried with no mortgage/kids.

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$1000 in a savings account at the same bank as my checking account for same-day access to cash. Otherwise my health savings account and GNMA fund inside my Roth IRA.

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I built up my emergency fund in a savings account at my credit union. But when I switched jobs, I rolled my 401k into a Roth IRA. And Im still funding it after I do my 401k match. I'm thinking about putting all my savings account money into it, and doing the credit cards+roth IRA approach for emergency fund. To be sure, it would be frustrating if the market repeated the 2008 crash and I had an emergency in a down market.

However, more and more I'm convinced that the Wall Street elites and the Fed are rigging the game to favor investors over savers. I feel like they'll just keep printing money (QE) every time they feel like their stock portfolios are threatened. Instead of getting abysmal interest in my savings account, I may as well play the game and get some more skin in the stock market.

And then if several years pass and I never need the emergency funds and my Roth IRA keeps increasing in value, I can use all my contributions+$10,000 in earnings to purchase a home. I'd get to take advantage of these sweet interest rates (which with QE are going to stay low until at least 2015) and build equity in a home while all my friends are paying rent.

I may be getting ahead of myself here, but the more I analyze this stuff, the more it seems like wall street and the central bankers are trying to take advantage of the middle class with low interest rates for savers, and perpetual charging them of rent. I may not be part of their class, but I feel like I can build wealth by understanding what they're doing, and choosing the financial vehicles that they're rewarding (investments, home ownership).

quote:

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Vanguard S&P 500 index fund. I'm taking the risk that I won't have an emergency at the same time the market crashes. I'll use my credit cards for an emergency, sell my funds that day, and pay off my credit card bill within 7-10 business days of the emergency . I'm fine with selling my funds for a loss in an emergency if that should be the case. Disclosure: I'm unmarried with no mortgage/kids.

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Emergency fund should be a low risk vehicle.S&P 500 index fund is way to risk IMO.

I keep a 6 months emergency fund, that I keep in regular savings account. I only touch this only for emergencies.

After that, I invest about $500 a month into a Indexes divide up between US stock(30-40%), world stock(30-40%)and Bonds(25% or age).

ING - the house fund became the emergency fund when we didnt use it all on the house. and then my wife liked having cash in the bank, so it is still there. i did pay off a car with it after the house settled though.

needless to say, interest rates suck. i wish we had bought apple stock with it. hahaha!

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SWACU

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It is good to see that there is still a real credit union out there.

I remember when the term credit union meant something.

I keep 6 months emergency in a .60% online savings account (may switch the credit uninon soon if the rate is better)

We also use the online savings for other cash savings (vacatioin fund, new car, fun money).

Put in 10% paycheck into 401k and maximum into Roth for both wife and I every month. Roth is split across a number of mutual funds currently in the moderately risky range and slowly reducing risk as age goes up (currently 35).






[This message has been edited by GCRanger (edited 9/24/2012 1:20p).]

Money market fund at brokerage.

TIAA Direct has 1.25%, no min.

i'm getting 0.8% in a sallie mae high yield savings...may look into transfering into that tiaa though

Crocker -

What kind of fees are there on those TIAA accounts?

the reason i have stuck with ING so long is that there are no fees involved.

Looks like they've put creating new savings accounts on hold for a period, as this is a new offering for them.

There's not a monthly fee and you get a certain number of withdrawal transactions for free (I believe it's 6). Deposit transactions don't count against this.

Assuming nothing changes once they reopen account creation, I have yet to run into any fees.

I have 4-1yr CD's that I keep my emergency fund in. One of them is maturing every 3 months. The interest rate on them is abysmal. However I like that if I truly need emergency cash it's right there. I don't have to worry about pulling it out in a down market, or have lost it all in a market drop.

Keep in mind, it's very likely that when you need your emergency fund the market will likely be down too.

Ally money market account. Rate just went up to .90% and I have a debit card tied to the account if I need to access it quickly.

Some people have a different definition of an emergency fund than I do. Money stored in any kind of retirement account is reserved for truly catatropic emergencies - paying off ransoms for kidnapped family members, opportunity to move to mars, etc.

Aside from that, I assumed that an emergency fund should be somewhere where you can get to it if you need it, but not so easy that you'll spend it on trivial things. I keep a seperate account for our emergency fund, and another account for regular savings that we will use for buying a car or furniture.

Outside of the checking/savings/emergency savings/retirement accounts, I don't know where to start investing the difference, so I usually just throw it into the 401k.