USE A MONEY MARKET ACCOUNT WHILE YOU WAIT FOR HIGHER RATES
If you have money that you want to invest safely, you are no doubt wondering when will interest rates go up? We are halfway through 2010 and interest rates remain as low as ever which presents a problem for those who want to make money without risking it like you would in the stock market.
As I write this, stocks are down another 229 points and the Dow is hovering right around 10,000. It hasn’t been a good year for stocks and nothing with the economy really points to things getting better any time soon. Some of us just don’t want anything to do with stocks right now and that leaves us with only one option: interest income.
Most people get their interest income from bank CD’s or Treasury bills. They are totally safe (FDIC) and the most popular ones are the 1 year variety. I don’t like to lock up my money for longer than a year at a time and I think many others think that way as well.
Right now if you look online, you will see that the best rates you can get for a CD are between 1% and 1.5% which is not much at all. I mean seriously, if you had one million dollars all you would get is $15,000 in interest at the top rate for a 1 year CD? Who said “time is money”?
The best money market interest rates are not far behind at about 1.35% and with a MMA your cash is not locked in for a year or any period of time. That is the biggest advantage of money market accounts: you can get a decent interest rate from them and your money is 100% liquid at all time.
Interest rates will have to go up sometime and whether it is this year or 2011, you need a place to park your money where you can get to it. Not everyone is willing to hand their money over to the Treasury or a bank for a set period of time and if you are one of those people, you should take a look at the money market rates in your area and online.
At this time, the only way you can get the best money market rates is to go online. It is unlikely that you will find a local bank in your city that offers as high a rate as you will be able to find on the Internet. Of course, for many there is a comfort issue and they prefer investing their money with a bank or institution where they can actually walk in and talk to someone. If you send your money to a bank you find online, you might have less of a feeling of security which is an issue for some.
In conclusion, if you are willing to do the research online, you will be able to find money market interest rates that rival those of 1 year CD’s and Treasury bills. It is something to consider if you don’t want to tie your money down in case rates do start going back up again.
I HATE POLITICIANS TRYING TO BRAINWASH OUR YOUTH
It’s disheartening for me to see stories like this one about government officials preaching and giving advice to anyone, much less the youth of our country. It seems Fed chairman Ben Bernanke now has the time to try to deflate the dreams of college seniors. While the stock market and world economy melts around him, he has time to go out and lecture kids about the importance of not thinking that money equals happiness?
Money doesn’t equal happiness? Tell that to all the people looking for jobs now and living off of unemployment. Tell that to all the people who have been looking so long that their unemployment checks have run out. Tell that to all the people that have lost their homes and have futures so uncertain that they don’t even know where they are going to live. Tell that to all the people suffering from low interest rates (which Bernanke is responsible for) who depend on that interest income to live.
While there is truth in the statement that money doesn’t equal happiness, it sure does give a person a lot more options. The more money you make now, the more you will have later on for emergencies. Money doesn’t bring happiness but it can bring comfort, peace of mind, and the ability to have NOT rely on the government.
Bernanke is the one who has driven interest rates as close to zero as they can get. My 84 year old Dad now has virtually no income other than social security because his savings can make about one half of one percent. Thanks Bernanke and all your government cronies.
People are now wondering when will interest rates go up and my answer is not any time soon with this bunch in charge. Government needs to stay out of our lives and to have Bernanke going around giving college commencement speeches lauding getting jobs that make you feel good inside rather than those that make a lot of money is very scary.
The fact is that people in charge now under Obama want you to be dependant on them and government. They DON’T want you to make money because then you don’t need them. They DON’T want you to be successful because then you won’t need to rely on the government for things like social security and unemployment benefits. They WANT you to need them and vote for them. They WANT you to NEED the government.
So, guys like Bernanke who are ruining our country and everything we cherish are out there doing what they do best: brainwashing our youth trying to inculcate socialism into their developing minds. When will we wake up and fight back against them?
