Are savings bonds a good investment?

I've got some money in a savings account (about $3200) and it's just sitting there earning whatever piddly interest the bank gives me. I don't need the money right away, and I want it to earn something for me since I'm not using it at the moment.

Would a savings bond investment be a good idea? It seems like it's a great interest rate and it's a guaranteed earning situation.

What should I do with my money?

 

[minendo]

Would a savings bond investment be a good idea? It seems like it's a great interest rate and it's a guaranteed earning situation.

Are you sure you want to wait 18+ years for your money?

 

[GTaudiophile]

How about a Roth IRA?

 

[stockjock]

Savings bonds are good investment if your gonna be ultra conservative....but you have to realize that the interest rate on those things really stinks!!!
There are plenty of other investments that will probably give you a better return and better liquidity as well. I would call a professional advisor and ask some ideas...

My disclaimer...I'm an advisor...I can't be held liable for any information I just gave you...lol

 

[Aceshigh]

You can buy savings bonds on the U.S treasury website using a rewards credit card to add a few percentage points to your return. See the thread at chubby wallet for details.

 

[freebee]

There is no more bond flipping anymore (at least not the 6 month thing people were doing before). But the principle is guarenteed, the interests rates are fairly good for a risk-free investment and you don't really have to worry about inflation. Only bad thing is, you can't sell the bond before 1 year, so if you need the cash you might as well put it in a CD.

 

[Toasthead]

not really.

 

[Hoober]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
How about a Roth IRA?

Then he's stuck with the money in there until he's what... 65? Unless he wants to pay a big penalty to withdraw the funds at a later date.

 

[Zebo]

For each of us, really good investment opportunities aren't going to come along too often and won't last too long, so you've got to be ready to act and have a prepared mind. Go and learn about markets, stocks, options, dirivatives etc over at the fool or somepace else. In the meantime I think it's a fine investment for first timer with low funds. Or just get a CD which offers better intrest than a savings account.

 

[spiridion]

you can always get a money market account. my fiancee has one that pays 4% over $1000...it's always on hand...

 

[Ciber]

I invested 3k into TD cdn bond and TD real return bond, made 20 bucks in the last 2 months .

Go to morningstar.com and check out the 5 star funds etc. Both of mine are 5 star funds.

 

[Turkey22]

I like CD's as long as you dont think you will need the money. I moved my bonds to CD and switched banks when the rates were still high. At the time savings bonds had a worse interest rate than my savings account. My cd was twice the rate of my savings so In the end I've come out far ahead of where I would be. Of course I'm not talking alot of money but if I were I'd be pretty well off.

 

[nn2000]

I series bond and ee series bond is not bad

 

[jamesave]

ingdirect.com Currently @2.10% APY. The highest return for Savings.

 

[Banana]

You can now buy US savings bonds direct from the gov't! Go to US Treasury. The site also has a lot of information that you'd be interested in.

 

[imported_Mike]

wOOt <<< 1600

my dad had a $25 one from the 1950's, he only got like $50 or something like that from it.

 

[Night201]

Originally posted by: jamesave
ingdirect.com Currently @2.10% APY. The highest return for Savings.

I would do this, or even put it into an ING Direct CD and get a little more interest. Let me know if you want a referral to get $25 if you open an account with them.

 

[Hector13]

Originally posted by: spiridion
you can always get a money market account. my fiancee has one that pays 4% over $1000...it's always on hand...

Is this a US account? If so, do you know where?

 

[dartworth]

INGDirect is great, and I got $50 for just opening an account...free money is always a good deal

 

[gotsmack]

savings bond only if you're like 10 years or less away from retirement. Even then, I'd rather put the money in a AAA rated bond.

Have you considered a S&P 500 index fund?

 

[Orsorum]

Go to Morningstar.com, and look at the Investing Classroom links on the right. There are about 50 or 60+ short segments on various aspects of investing. One of the most complete sources of information I've ever seen, and valuable for a new investor to look through.

I wouldn't recommend savings bonds right now, unless you're saving them for your kids when they'll use them in twenty or thirty years. There are some good ultra-short term bond funds out there, as well as savings accounts.

Good luck, whichever course of action you choose.

 

[Spac3d]

Head over to heavy wallet and take a look in their finance part of their forums. It is much more informed than ATOT.