ilovedolphins
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Post by ilovedolphins on Jul 22, 2017 9:53:11 GMT -5
Sometimes when I look at my stocks I wonder if I am making much money by the time they take out the broker fees. I wonder if I should just be buying more savings bonds and hope I come out well in the end. There would be no risk of losing your money that way.
If you have savings bonds do you have a large sum in them?
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giramomma
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Post by giramomma on Jul 22, 2017 10:05:24 GMT -5
We have some money in bonds. Maybe about 2K or so? Some of them are my bonds that are no longer earning interest because they are so old. I need to get them cashed in.
The majority of that 2K is from when DH's grandma gave us a wedding present. It was supposed to be for appliances for our house, but they didn't need to be replaced, and I didn't want to spend the money on our starter home.
It's going to kill me to cash them in. Because I got them in 2001, when interest rates were decent. So, they are the only non-stock thing that we have that's earning like 5%.
But, we need new windows, so cash them in, we will. I also think that's a project worthy of his grandmother's money. MIL has awesome pictures of his grandma helping build the house that his grands lived in when DH came along and grew up visiting.
If you are concerned about broker fees, I would look to invest in an index fund. The fees are super low. I would also reduce how many times you contribute...assuming this is a taxable account. I'd just make your purchase once or twice a year. There's no reason for fees to eat up 5-7% of your money.
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ilovedolphins
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Post by ilovedolphins on Jul 22, 2017 10:39:01 GMT -5
Would depend on my age and goals and other variables. I have no savings bonds. If I was young I would not want to lock in a 4% return. If I was retired and wanted complete safety and they produced the amount of money I needed I might use them. Too many variables to really answer. To me the real question is....what are you doing that you have all these brokerage fees? Personally, I manage about $10MIL for myself and family and I have little to no brokerage fees. I was mainly looking at the fees on my work 401K account.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2017 10:57:42 GMT -5
Sometimes when I look at my stocks I wonder if I am making much money by the time they take out the broker fees. I wonder if I should just be buying more savings bonds and hope I come out well in the end. There would be no risk of losing your money that way. If you have savings bonds do you have a large sum in them? EE bonds bought now are paying .10%. I bonds 1.96% Pretty sure your 401K is beating that!
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Jul 22, 2017 11:20:06 GMT -5
I have savings bonds I bought that are pulling in over 5%.....about $2000 worth. I wouldn't buy any today, as the interest is so lousy. But when I bought them in the 1980s and 90s, it was a savings account for me that was difficult to get my hands on.
Actually i I forgot about them until I read this. I should check to see if they are still earning.
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justme
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Post by justme on Jul 22, 2017 12:33:46 GMT -5
I just noticed my online savings is up to 1.5. Craziness 😉 but I'm guessing that might be a sign of rates going up so I wouldn't lock in now.
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Artemis Windsong
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Post by Artemis Windsong on Jul 22, 2017 15:40:30 GMT -5
I have savings bonds. I need to check maturities.
I bought savings bonds for the grandkids to help with college each year until the interest rate was pitiful then college costs. Two grK used the money to be helped with rent Then we just wrote a check each semester end. Barely helped with one book.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2017 15:59:41 GMT -5
I'm actually buying an I bond each month. The interest rate is pretty unimpressive, about 2%. That's supposedly the inflation rate. Anyway, it beats most of the online banks.
I wanted to save in something other than retirement funds, and I'm nervous about the stock market. I'm staying the course there, but savings bonds offered a different method.
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ilovedolphins
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Post by ilovedolphins on Jul 22, 2017 17:13:05 GMT -5
I'm actually buying an I bond each month. The interest rate is pretty unimpressive, about 2%. That's supposedly the inflation rate. Anyway, it beats most of the online banks. I wanted to save in something other than retirement funds, and I'm nervous about the stock market. I'm staying the course there, but savings bonds offered a different method. I think I will probably put some more money into savings bonds also.
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countrygirl2
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Post by countrygirl2 on Jul 24, 2017 1:29:18 GMT -5
The I bonds I bought when they first came out are going gangbusters, wish I had bought a bunch more. Bought them for quite a few years. Finally the rates got so low I quit.
My initial $65k investment is now worth $112k, with the really old ones earning 5.8% currently I don't have a lot like that. Could have bought $30k a year and just didn't realize the opportunity I had. Hoping we never have to use them and they will go to son, they have quite a few years to earn yet. Mine are the old paper ones and I have them in our safety deposit box.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2017 7:17:19 GMT -5
I'm actually buying an I bond each month. The interest rate is pretty unimpressive, about 2%. That's supposedly the inflation rate. Anyway, it beats most of the online banks. I wanted to save in something other than retirement funds, and I'm nervous about the stock market. I'm staying the course there, but savings bonds offered a different method. I think I will probably put some more money into savings bonds also. Why? The rates are pathetic and they're locked into the rate you buy them at, it's not like they're going to get better as they age.
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hoops902
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Post by hoops902 on Jul 24, 2017 12:02:33 GMT -5
If you're worried about the risks associated with stocks in general, then bonds are fine. If your premise is that stocks don't earn much more than your 4% bonds, you need to find better investment options for being in the stock market that doesn't have such high fees.
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MN-Investor
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Post by MN-Investor on Jul 24, 2017 13:26:37 GMT -5
DH's employer liked employees to participate in the EE savings bond program, so DH bought bonds from 1983 thru 2005. When the bonds started maturing in 2013, we started cashing them in. The first $50 bond, bought in Nov 1983 for $25, was cashed for $115.32 - interest at 5.16%. Not bad. Some years we bought a bond each month, other years it was only a few bonds. But my husband just loves cashing them in. The funny part - I get the currency, he gets the change.
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ilovedolphins
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Post by ilovedolphins on Jul 24, 2017 19:11:19 GMT -5
I think I will probably put some more money into savings bonds also. Why? The rates are pathetic and they're locked into the rate you buy them at, it's not like they're going to get better as they age. The EE bonds are locked in but the I bonds change with inflation.
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countrygirl2
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Post by countrygirl2 on Jul 25, 2017 10:57:19 GMT -5
Yes, that's what I was going to say, the I bonds have 2 components, one a fixed rate which is lousy now, but the other part is based on the CPI and fluctuates each 6 months so yes they can raise. And they are guaranteed to never go negative. That's why mine are earning so much, the fixed rate was high back then so a little inflation goes a long way.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2017 11:15:36 GMT -5
Right, but the inflation rate has never been great so you're pretty much locking in at a lousy composite rate.
May 1, 2017 0.98% November 1, 2016 1.38% May 1, 2016 0.08% November 1, 2015 0.77% May 1, 2015 -0.80% November 1, 2014 0.74% May 1, 2014 0.92% November 1, 2013 0.59% May 1, 2013 0.59% November 1, 2012 0.88% May 1, 2012 1.10% November 1, 2011 1.53% May 1, 2011 2.30% November 1, 2010 0.37% May 1, 2010 0.77% November 1, 2009 1.53% May 1, 2009 -2.78% November 1, 2008 2.46% May 1, 2008 2.42% November 1, 2007 1.53% May 1, 2007 1.21% November 1, 2006 1.55% May 1, 2006 0.50% November 1, 2005 2.85% May 1, 2005 1.79% November 1, 2004 1.33% May 1, 2004 1.19% November 1, 2003 0.54% May 1, 2003 1.77% November 1, 2002 1.23% May 1, 2002 0.28% November 1, 2001 1.19% May 1, 2001 1.44% November 1, 2000 1.52% May 1, 2000 1.91% November 1, 1999 1.76% May 1, 1999 0.86% November 1, 1998 0.86% September 1, 1998 0.62%
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countrygirl2
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Post by countrygirl2 on Jul 25, 2017 11:39:17 GMT -5
Add it to the fixed rate and its better then other investments.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 25, 2017 12:20:23 GMT -5
Add it to the fixed rate and its better then other investments. It's 1.97% right now. Everything I have that I consider an investment is doing better than that...MUCH better...and has been for years. Even my checking account is paying 2.5% up to 15K. Better than online savings accounts, but not a whole lot. I'm seeing several in the 1.1 to 1.2 range now. eta: Seeing lots of 5-year CD rates around 2.25-2.35. You can't cash I-bonds in before 5 years without penalty anyhow.
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Jul 25, 2017 13:41:07 GMT -5
You can also invest in TIPs ... never really paid much attention to it... and don't really know much --- but I thought that was the way to go if you had bigger amounts (like 10K at a time) to invest with little risk
I've got I bonds too... I think I've got $2K total invested over a 10 year period. They are worth a nice amount now... but this is another one of those "dang, I wish I had been more committed and purchased regularly rather than when the mood struck" things.
I stopped buying when the rates and inflation took a nosedive.
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SVT
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Post by SVT on Jul 25, 2017 21:58:09 GMT -5
Right now I just have stocks and cash. No bonds. Some of my cash is in 5% savings accounts, some in 3% checking accounts, other money I use for bank account bonuses which yield even higher returns. All FDIC insured, of course.
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movingforward
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Post by movingforward on Jul 26, 2017 9:09:13 GMT -5
Right now I just have stocks and cash. No bonds. Some of my cash is in 5% savings accounts, some in 3% checking accounts, other money I use for bank account bonuses which yield even higher returns. All FDIC insured, of course. Where are you finding a 5% savings account?
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SVT
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Post by SVT on Jul 26, 2017 9:30:55 GMT -5
Right now I just have stocks and cash. No bonds. Some of my cash is in 5% savings accounts, some in 3% checking accounts, other money I use for bank account bonuses which yield even higher returns. All FDIC insured, of course. Where are you finding a 5% savings account? There are a few options: -Insight prepaid card with a linked savings account. You get 5% APY on up to $5k per account. -Northpointe Bank checking account. You get 5% APY on up to $10k. -Mango prepaid card with a linked savings account. You get 6% interest on up to a maximum of $5k per account. There's a monthly fee though that you can't avoid. So if you have $5k in this account, the interest rate is effectively 5.28%. As of now, I have 2 Insight prepaid cards with linked savings accounts, so $10k earning 5% right now. There are reports of being able to have up to 4 accounts per SSN (so x2 if you have a spouse). I'm working on my 3rd one now. I've decided that the other 2 aren't worth it to me, personally, so as of now, I'm sticking with the Insight accounts. I'm fine with the rest of my cash in 3% checking accounts and other accounts just for bank bonuses. I've made $1275 this year in bank bonuses alone so far (just started 2 months ago actually). I have $500 more I'm waiting to receive. There are $1550 worth of bonuses I plan to go for over the next couple of months. The bonuses, by far, beat 5% interest.
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garion2003
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Post by garion2003 on Jul 28, 2017 14:30:22 GMT -5
Where are you finding a 5% savings account? There are a few options: -Insight prepaid card with a linked savings account. You get 5% APY on up to $5k per account. -Northpointe Bank checking account. You get 5% APY on up to $10k. -Mango prepaid card with a linked savings account. You get 6% interest on up to a maximum of $5k per account. There's a monthly fee though that you can't avoid. So if you have $5k in this account, the interest rate is effectively 5.28%. As of now, I have 2 Insight prepaid cards with linked savings accounts, so $10k earning 5% right now. There are reports of being able to have up to 4 accounts per SSN (so x2 if you have a spouse). I'm working on my 3rd one now. I've decided that the other 2 aren't worth it to me, personally, so as of now, I'm sticking with the Insight accounts. I'm fine with the rest of my cash in 3% checking accounts and other accounts just for bank bonuses. I've made $1275 this year in bank bonuses alone so far (just started 2 months ago actually). I have $500 more I'm waiting to receive. There are $1550 worth of bonuses I plan to go for over the next couple of months. The bonuses, by far, beat 5% interest. I've never heard of Insight so I checked them out. The 5% rate is pretty good but they have a lot of fees. I guess if you don't use the account much the interest could offset the fees.
I have a 2.25 rate through my local bank, as long as I have direct deposit and 10 debit uses each month I get the 2.25. And it's good for up to 15,000.
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SVT
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Post by SVT on Jul 28, 2017 16:12:12 GMT -5
There are a few options: -Insight prepaid card with a linked savings account. You get 5% APY on up to $5k per account. -Northpointe Bank checking account. You get 5% APY on up to $10k. -Mango prepaid card with a linked savings account. You get 6% interest on up to a maximum of $5k per account. There's a monthly fee though that you can't avoid. So if you have $5k in this account, the interest rate is effectively 5.28%. As of now, I have 2 Insight prepaid cards with linked savings accounts, so $10k earning 5% right now. There are reports of being able to have up to 4 accounts per SSN (so x2 if you have a spouse). I'm working on my 3rd one now. I've decided that the other 2 aren't worth it to me, personally, so as of now, I'm sticking with the Insight accounts. I'm fine with the rest of my cash in 3% checking accounts and other accounts just for bank bonuses. I've made $1275 this year in bank bonuses alone so far (just started 2 months ago actually). I have $500 more I'm waiting to receive. There are $1550 worth of bonuses I plan to go for over the next couple of months. The bonuses, by far, beat 5% interest. I've never heard of Insight so I checked them out. The 5% rate is pretty good but they have a lot of fees. I guess if you don't use the account much the interest could offset the fees.
I have a 2.25 rate through my local bank, as long as I have direct deposit and 10 debit uses each month I get the 2.25. And it's good for up to 15,000.
There are no fees if you use it right. There is no need to use the card. Choose the pay as you go plan. Only fees in that case are if you use the debit card or inactivity for 90 days. So, apply for card. Receive card in mail. Activate card. Link the card/checking account to your Ally or other hub account. Once linked, push $5k to the card from Ally or other hub account (I highly recommend Ally). Finally, open a linked savings account and transfer $5k into it from the card. Automate $1 from Ally or other hub account to the Insight card once every 90 days to avoid a (I think) $3.95 fee. Easy peasy. No fees and you earn 5% interest. To withdraw money, transfer the money from the savings account to the card. Initiate a pull from Ally's site from your card to your Ally account. But yeah, the fees are how they make tons of money. These accounts are for the unbanked or underbanked folks. They don't have actual bank accounts so use accounts like this for their bank and end up paying all sorts of fees every time they use their card. People like us only want to use it for the 5% savings account.
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countrygirl2
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Post by countrygirl2 on Aug 1, 2017 16:32:09 GMT -5
We don't have anything paying anything here. Checking accounts require lots of withdrawals to get the interest and we don't spend that money.
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ilovedolphins
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Post by ilovedolphins on Aug 1, 2017 18:04:35 GMT -5
We don't have anything great paying here either. When I went to the bank the other day to inquire about cd rates they were excited to tell me they were up to .90%. I think my savings at that bank is .20%.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2017 18:07:34 GMT -5
Go to a credit union or if you have nothing local at all, even online banks are better than that.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2017 18:25:10 GMT -5
Go to a credit union or if you have nothing local at all, even online banks are better than that. You know, different strokes for different folks. There are things I like about I-bonds. The interest rate isn't really one of them, but it is ok. Almost two percent is a lot better than Emigrant and CapitalOne360. I am not going to chase every online bank out there. We aren't all young investors with a 20+ year horizon. I'm not putting much into them ($600 to $1000 per year maybe), but that's fine.
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SVT
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Post by SVT on Aug 3, 2017 19:15:19 GMT -5
We don't have anything paying anything here. Checking accounts require lots of withdrawals to get the interest and we don't spend that money. You're not tied to using local banks. Most are available nationwide. And what is "lots of withdrawals"?
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SVT
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Post by SVT on Aug 3, 2017 19:19:14 GMT -5
And I know I've mentioned this a few times recently but there's a lot of money to be made from bank account bonuses (compared to interest on savings accounts). Most of them are extremely simple/quick/easy to do. Most of them require a direct deposit, however, most of the time, a simple ACH transfer from another bank counts as direct deposit.
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