{"id":8507,"date":"2010-02-16T05:00:39","date_gmt":"2010-02-16T12:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/getrichslowly.org\/blog\/?p=8507"},"modified":"2020-12-12T17:51:02","modified_gmt":"2020-12-13T01:51:02","slug":"how-to-get-the-best-rates-on-your-savings-safely","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.getrichslowly.org\/how-to-get-the-best-rates-on-your-savings-safely\/","title":{"rendered":"How to get the best rates on your savings — safely"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the past year, one of the frequent questions I get is: “Where I can safely<\/em> invest my money to get a decent return?” For example, Joseph wrote in November:<\/p>\n

Around February\/March, I should have $5,000 to invest. My debts are under control and my wife and I have lowered our monthly expenses. I was wondering if you had any advice on ways to invest $5,000. I don’t want a savings account<\/a> because the interest rates are just sad, but I don’t know if a certificate of deposit<\/a> or money market account is worth the effort.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Or take this e-mail I got from MG just last week:<\/p>\n

How about addressing how to invest $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000 these days? With high-yield savings rates<\/a> getting lower and lower and the stock market not doing so well either, what would you recommend?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Note:<\/strong><\/em> Before I launch into the main point of this article, let me counter that last claim in MG’s e-mail: The stock market hasn’t been doing so well lately. What?<\/em> In the U.S., the S&P 500 index is up over 30 percent<\/a> in the past year. It’s up nearly 60 percent<\/em><\/a> since bottoming out on 06 March 2009. If that’s “not doing so well,” I’m not sure what more MG wants! For long-term investing<\/a> (as in decades), I am still convinced the stock market makes the most sense.<\/div>\n

Because the stock market has been so volatile over the past 15 years, a lot of people are scared to invest. Or they just want to find safe places to put part of their money in the short term. Unfortunately, it’s not like new ways to invest safely are being invented. If you want your money to be safe, you’ve basically got the same tried-and-true investments you are already familiar with.<\/p>\n

Two recent articles in national magazines addressed this subject. Let’s look at their advice.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Advice from “Consumer Reports”<\/span><\/h2>\n

The March 2010 issue of “Consumer Reports<\/em>” has a great article on finding the best rates on your savings. They start at the same place we all<\/em> start: bank accounts. Here is what “Consumer Reports<\/em>” recommends:<\/p>\n