good savings account?

Hi,

I just got a new job and am starting to save a decent amount of money
now. What is the best place where I should invest the money? I want
my assets to be very liquid and guess the only thing I might be leaning
towards are the best interest rates. (is there anything else I should
think about?)

Can someone recommend a good institution? I already have a good
checking account and just need a place to "store" my money.

Help is much appreciated.

thanks,

Re: good savings account?

wrote:

> I want my assets to be very liquid and guess the only
> thing I might be leaning towards are the best interest
> rates.

www.moneybb.com lists not only high-interest banks but also the sign-up
bonuses that some of them pay (usually $25-50). I use
www.ingdirect.com, which is currently payin 3.15% APY, but some places
are paying 3.5%, and I've read of Lockheed-Martin's credit union paying
4% (see the "Financial" and "Hot Deals" forums at www.fatwallet.com)
and allowing anybody to join.

> (is there anything else I should think about?)

For banks, you want FDIC insurance, and don't just take their word that
they're insured -- go to www.fdic.gov to verify.

Check monthly fees, minimums needed to avoid fees, charges for checks,
transfers, or closing the account, and see how they pay interest if you
close the account (some banks won't pay you anything for the final
month if you close before the end of the statement period).

Money market mutual funds (different from money market accounts from
banks) now pay about 3% (it's typically expressed as the 7-day yield
rather annual yield), and they're usually more lenient about fees (to
avoid a low-balance fee, you may be required to meet the account
minimum only one certain day of the year rather than every day), and
check forms are typically free. Money funds are also available in
versions that are exempt from state or federal income tax, but
calculate your net for each type. Also look for low expense ratios --
they range anywhere from about 0.15% to 1.0% a year, and the lower it
is, the higher the interest you get. More info about money funds is at
www.ibcdata.com.

> Can someone recommend a good institution?

Mental? I know about several, from personal experience. ;)

Re: good savings account?

1.
www.bankrate.com allows you to quickly find banks with online services with
very good rates. EmigrantDirect.com is one such bank much bantied around
lately as being reliable and offering good interest rates. IIRC
INGdirect.com is similar. Also consider buying some six-month CDs or
Treasuries. Their rates are very good right now. These may also be bought
online, and bankrate.com also lists places that offer competitive rates for
CDs.

2.
Does your employer have a 401k plan? You should put in as much as you can,
or up to the employer's matching contribution, whichever comes first.

3.
Consider opening a Roth IRA immediately. You can withdraw your contributions
at any time. But what you don't withdraw will grow until your retirement,
with no taxes whatsoever on the accumulated earnings at retirement. You
can't make up Roth IRA contributions, so may as well stick your money there
until you know what you're going to do with it.

4.
Start learning about portfolio allocation and saving for retirement. Try
some of the free online portfolio allocation tools I list at
.

Then, ask more questions about what mutual funds will meet your goals,
purchasing bonds, etc.

5.
Consider asking further financial questions at misc.invest.financial-plan .
It is moderated and may better suit your needs.

I am assuming you have no debt. If you do, post back and list it and the
interest rate on the debt.



<> wrote
> I just got a new job and am starting to save a decent amount of money
> now. What is the best place where I should invest the money? I want
> my assets to be very liquid and guess the only thing I might be leaning
> towards are the best interest rates. (is there anything else I should
> think about?)
>
> Can someone recommend a good institution? I already have a good
> checking account and just need a place to "store" my money.

Re: good savings account?

wrote:
> I want my assets to be very liquid

Did you really mean liquid? Because most ordinary investments like
stocks are very liquid, they'll sell in less than a minute. Or did you
mean you want your assets to not lose value (like you might need them
to pay for something)? In which case a high yield savings account would
be more appropriate.

I would recommend EmigrantDirect savings account: 3.50% APR, no fees or
minimums, and they raise their rates pretty often to match the rising
interest rates. You can link your checking account and use EFT to
transfer for free.