3 safe investment ideas.
Given the shaky financial markets across the world today and the extreme ups and downs that are being seen from one day to the next in the US market, you might be wondering what are safe investments, and how can I be sure I won’t lose all the money I invest? The short answer is that there are few investments that are entirely safe—there’s at least a little risk involved in almost all of them. But there are a few investments that are generally considered safe, even though you might not get much of a return when you put your money into these types of investments. One big benefit of the higher risk investments like stocks, after all, is the opportunity to see huge gains—you’ll sacrifice that when choosing these safe investments.
Treasury Bills or T-Bills are low-risk, safe investments.
You can purchase them to mature in 3, 6 or 12 months, so they’re short-term investments so fluctuations of interest rates over a long-period of time won’t effect these investments very much. You pay less than the face value of the bill and once it matures it can be cashed in at face value. While these are guaranteed by the government and very low-risk, they also usually don’t show much of a return on your investment. Bonds are a similar safe investment like a T-Bill, but are a longer-term investment that won’t mature for a set number of years.
CDs (certificates of deposit) are also safe investments.
You purchase the CD with a locked in interest rate and when the CD matures in 3, 6 or 12 months, you can withdraw the cash you paid plus the interest. The return on CDs is generally quite small, but still more than you would earn if you’d put that same amount of cash in a savings account. And unlike T-Bills, your CD is insured by the government for up to $100,000 so you can’t lose your money. You will, however, pay a penalty if you need to withdraw the cash before the CD has matured.
The third type of these safe investments is the money market.
Money market investments are considered short-term investments because they typically mature in six months or less. A money market account typically requires an initial deposit, sometimes $1000 is the minimum, and that minimum amount must be held in that account for a set amount of time. The money in your account draws interest, but it’s ideal for those who might need to tap into that money over a few months time. Money market accounts will give you a checkbook so that you can use that money if needed, but if you slip below the minimum balance you will be charged a penalty.
These safe investments will earn you interest over a short or long period of time, depending on the investment you choose, with all of them paying more than interest-bearing checking or savings accounts.
Photo Credits: 1
Originally posted 2008-12-25 05:48:20. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Related Articles -
8 Tips for College Student Budgets [/caption] Below are eight tips for college students about money and finances. 1. Track your Expenses If you track your spending for a few weeks, you will be better able to figure out where your money is going. Are you spending an exorbitant amount of money on Starbucks? You may...... -
Child Savings and Investment /caption] Having children is not a cheap proposition these days, especially when you consider long term costs. The older your children become, the more they are going to end up costing in the long run. High education prices, for example, continue to soar making it nearly impossible for you to...... -
Prepare for Your Retirement Now /caption] If you are young and just beginning a career, then the concept of retirement planning may seem so far away that it is the last thing that you put any consideration into. However if you are on the opposite end of the fence and retirement is just around the...... -
The Best Small Investments /caption] Wall Street's recent cataclysmic events are still unfolding and the entire planet is feeling their aftershocks. For this reason, interest in what is going on in the stock market is rising quickly, even for those who do not normally understand what the stock market is all about, or what...... -
Do You Need a Money Manager? /caption] If your idea of organizing your finances is throwing a receipt in a big pile, you may want to consider the benefits of hiring a money manager. There is a new trend in the financial world where daily money managers are becoming very popular, and for many consumers, they......
Related Sites -
Beauty Holding: Investing in Models? Buying Shares of Models Gives Your Portfolio's "Asset Allocation" a Whole New Meaning Each week, 5-10 companies write me to ask if I would review their site. 99% of the time, I take a quick and little that I would like to feature as a story. This past weekend,...... - Is a Brokered CD Worth the Bother? A brokered CD is about as easy to understand as a regular, fixed certificate of deposit, as the difference between each on is just what the name implies: you buy it through a broker. Immediately you'll think this is a colossal waste of money, as you'll either be charged a......
-
Is Cash Still King? Here lately our markets have been in a tailspin with little reason to "pull up" and get us out of this dive. It seems like there has been one negative bit of financial news after the other for weeks. Many economists and politicians are fearing a recession, or worse. In......
-
Different Types of Short Term Investments Short term investments are the most ideal form of investing if you want to invest over a period that is relatively short. Cash manager accounts make it possible to access your money whenever you need to. Fixed term deposit investments secure your money for the entire length of the term....... - How The Carry Trade Really Works Here's a really, really good video on how the carry trade works and what implications it has on global asset prices and the global financial stability.I think the carry trade will have to reverse at some point in the near future. Trees do not grow to the skies and financial......
Tags: 12 months, certificates of deposit, extreme ups, face value, financial markets, fluctuations, investment bonds, market money, money market investments, risk investments, savings account, short answer, short term investments, t bills, t effect, term investment, treasury bills, ups, ups and downs, world today