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a personal finance question? |
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Raiding
Piggy |
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by Grant
Bynum� 1� 2� 3�
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Money
Market Funds
Here
are some funds you can start with just�$500 or
less:
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| Bank |
Rate |
Minimum
Amount to Open |
FDIC
Insured |
First
Internet Bk Of Indiana
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6.43% |
$100 |
Yes |
NetBank
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6.00% |
$100 |
Yes |
| American
Express |
5.65% |
$100 |
Yes |
| Cross
Country Bank |
6.55% |
$500 |
Yes |
| Source:�
BankRate.com�� |
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These
are simply great ways to get started growing your
financial muscle.� One thing to watch:� for
extra safety, I would recommend getting a MM fund that
is FDIC insured, if at all possible.� (Basically,
this means you should get a MM through a bank!)� It
will get you a somewhat smaller rate of return, but you
may sleep better.� Also, of course, read the fine
print of any MM (or any other financial instrument) that
you are considering.
What I really like about
these is that you can take as little or as much time as
you need to learn about other types of investing...then,
withdraw some of your money right away, without
penalties.� I give it a big thumbs up...think of
these as "ankle weights" in our financial
fitness analogy!
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CDs
For simplicity, we just
decided to stay with 6 month or 1 year CDs:
CDs are a double-edged
sword.� You get to lock in a great rate...but if
the economy gets really good, you are tied to a real
dog.� On the other hand, if the economy goes South,
you've got a winner!���� You
don't want to necessarily go longer than 12
months...because by then you will want to be putting some
of your money into more lucrative investments.� Try
these dumbbells on for size...I see your financial flab
melting away!
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