Mohtalim

There's a good short article on money market vs. bond investment in the August issue of Money on page 35. Talks about not chasing the yield and gives recommendations on what to do.

Jason wrote:There's a good short article on money market vs. bond investment in the August issue of Money on page 35. Talks about not chasing the yield and gives recommendations on what to do.

Since I don't have access to Money, want to post short summary?

I've got a 2-3 hour meeting in Maryland soon. I'll see if I can get to it when I get back.

Jason wrote:I've got a 2-3 hour meeting in Maryland soon. I'll see if I can get to it when I get back.

I am still interest in this if you have time.

I haven't been back in my office since then. I'll see if I can write it on monday if the magazine is still in the office.

I suck at writing summaries.

"The best piece of advice ... right now is what not to do: Do not chase yield. Simply pouring money into the highest-yielding investment you can find is inviting disaster. That's because bond prices fall when interest rates rise - and long-term investments, which offer the highest yields, are hit hardest."

"if you're dealing with $25,000 or less and you want the money to be available at a moment's notice, leave it in a bank or money-market fund. Shop around for the best rate, but don't knock yourself out; your time may be worth more than the money you gain." check online banks: http://www.bankofinternet.com, http://www.virtualbank.com
notable opportunity: I Bonds http://www.savingsbonds.gov

duration is important, especially with bond funds. it has an example about vanguard and interest rates that would take too long to write now, mostly it says if you're going to do a fund "to aviod being slammed by a big drop in value, don't put in a large sum all at once; rather, invest a set amount each month. That way if rates start climbing, you won't take as big a hit ..."

a better approach they say is to by bonds directly which is tough with corporate bonds, but easy with treasuries. http://www.treasurydirect.gov Do a laddering scheme with something like 1-5 or 1-8 years.

That didn't really help my problem of bond vs CD. (The article not your summary skill unless you suck that bad)

Thanks anyway.

Also ING direct is offering $50 for opening an account, no minimum, 2% interest. You have to look around to find a referral link.

NetBank (through links from bankrate.com) is offerring $75 for new account but you need to maintain $1500 for 30 days. After that minimum is $50 for checking, $100 for money market. I think you need to have direct deposit setup as well. rates are 1.4%, 2% respectively.

I find putting all my money in my pants is the best option. Sure, its a tad bit uncomfortable in the morning especially after wetting the bed, but its the safest place it can be!

Dave wrote:I find putting all my money in my pants is the best option. Sure, its a tad bit uncomfortable in the morning especially after wetting the bed, but its the safest place it can be!

Safer than up the ass?