Money will be used for down payment on an investment property in late summer(Jul/Aug). The thought of it sitting in a savings account just seems silly. Would love to hear some ideas other then a CD/high yield online account.

You're trading return for risk. How comfortable are you if the $75 is only $55 in August?

Not comfortable at all.

You definitely need to figure out your risk (loss tolerance). If you need the full $75, keep it in a savings account or CD. If you need $70, you can probably play around in bonds. Less than that, maybe you can go into ETFs.

I wouldn't invest anything needed in 7-9 months and neither should you.

Stick in in an online savings account getting 1%.

Old Buffalo said:

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You definitely need to figure out your risk (loss tolerance). If you need the full $75, keep it in a savings account or CD. If you need $70, you can probably play around in bonds. Less than that, maybe you can go into ETFs.

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Not sure I'm investing in bonds st in this environment

Online savings account is your best bet.

Short time frame, low risk tolerance does not point towards any type of investment to me.

As others have said, go online savings.

LOL at bond investments

If you don't have it already, open a chase checking/savings account with that amount and you can get 500 cash for each account. Girlfriend and I each got 500 for opening an account with at least 15k. Keep it above 15k for three months and the money is yours. Cancel the account when you need it in 5 months and wak away...

Check into credit unions. You can usually earn higher interest there vs a traditional or even inline savings account.

I'm a member at 3 different credit unions, and none of them come close to the rate of Online accounts.

YouBet said:

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Check into credit unions. You can usually earn higher interest there vs a traditional or even inline savings account.

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Your SWA Credit union is the exception, not the rule. Most CUs have ditched the fraternal requirements and are not much more than smaller retail banks.

Hell even USAA isn't worth dealing with for checking or savings anymore.

Agree with Duncan Idaho...USAA went from being our go-to bank to No.2 or 3 at best. We recently funneled all of our brokerage to Vanguard and moved primary checking to Chase. What's the deal with USAA, what are they doing over there in San Antonio (aside from chasing business off)?

Foamcows said:

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If you don't have it already, open a chase checking/savings account with that amount and you can get 500 cash for each account. Girlfriend and I each got 500 for opening an account with at least 15k. Keep it above 15k for three months and the money is yours. Cancel the account when you need it in 5 months and wak away...

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How many accounts can you open, and what limitations are there? One could easily take advantage of this...

Asking for a friend...

Looks like the current offer is $350.

I think its one account per person... but if you are married... thats two... not sure about business accounts.

There are 500 buck offers, but they are usually mailed to you. When we opened our account, the rep at the bank mentioned there is a very elusive 750 offer, but I have never seen it.

The offers are serialized, so you will need two of them to open two accounts and get the kickback. No fees on the account, keep a minimum balance of 15,000 for 3 months and they put in the cash, simple.

redag06 said:

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Looks like the current offer is $350.

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If you don't have a mailer coupon for $500 you can buy them on eBay for around $0.99

Goldman Sachs offers 1% savings account as an option.

Usaa just has checking and savings accounts as a convience to their other business operations.

Mert2003 said:

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Agree with Duncan Idaho...USAA went from being our go-to bank to No.2 or 3 at best. We recently funneled all of our brokerage to Vanguard and moved primary checking to Chase. What's the deal with USAA, what are they doing over there in San Antonio (aside from chasing business off)?

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They just lost my business for insurance as they weren't competitive at all...may be losing my checking/savings soon as well

Comments about USAA are interesting as I've been contemplating a shift to NFCU/Ally combo. I'm currently USAA (primary)/NFCU (secondary). NFCU customer service has always been as good or better for me than USAA especially in the last 5 years.

USAA lost my homeowner's policy many years ago and my car insurance a few years back too for not even being in the ballpark on rates.