4

My main concern is making the $20,000 that I currently have saved, substantially grow. - I currently am able to put roughly $500 into my savings at a bi-weekly period due to my part time job. - I am a college student but have earned scholarships to pay for my schooling, so I do not need to worry about grants or loans. - I have no credit card bills, and when I do use my credit card I make sure that it is paid off at a bi-weekly rate also. - I do not pay rent.

I'd like to keep my money in the bank and continue saving, but I know that keeping it in a low interest account will deplete its value due to inflation. What are my options here?

Improve this question
6
  • "High"-interest savings (1%) might be an option, but I'm hoping for a better answer too so I won't post this one.
    – user541686
    Commented Mar 20, 2016 at 21:27
  • 2
    What country are you in?
    – JTP - Apologise to Monica ♦
    Commented Mar 20, 2016 at 23:24
  • I think something along the lines of a certificate of deposit (CD) or a "Money Market" will start earning at higher rates, so long as you acknowledge that you will have somewhat limited (not instant) access to these funds should you need them. As a general rule, I find Credit Unions to have superior rate structures.
    – BrownRedHawk
    Commented Mar 21, 2016 at 12:11
  • Definitely related, possible duplicate: Tips for a 21 year old on looking to invest
    – user
    Commented Mar 21, 2016 at 16:22
  • And, great work on having saved up so much so early. You're way ahead of most; keep it up!
    – user
    Commented Mar 21, 2016 at 16:23

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
3

May I suggest putting it in a Roth IRA ($5,500 per year. Right now you can contribute to both 2015 and 2016 so that's $11K.)? Based on your description it sounds like your tax rate is very low, so it is awesome to put it away now and avoid taxes later on any gains you make on it. You can use Roth IRA money to pay for college, a home, or retirement.

Within your Roth IRA, any of the investment options mentioned here will work. For example, CD's or money market accounts if you just want it to grow in a pretty much savings-account-like manner. You could also buy diversified mutual funds or have some fun buying individual stocks with some of it.

I'm sorry to say that in the current market conditions you are not going to find a completely safe, cash-like investment or account that makes your money grow substantially. To do that you have to bear risk by buying risky stuff like stocks.

Improve this answer
3
  • Definitely a Roth IRA. If you can leave the money in it long term all future gains are tax free. Do it now while your tax bracket is low. The hardest part will be not touching it until retirement.
    – Ex Umbris
    Commented Mar 22, 2016 at 4:42
  • And OP never offered a country. The name Linda ranks 613 in the US, but 43 in the Czech Republic. The world is a big place.
    – JTP - Apologise to Monica ♦
    Commented Mar 25, 2016 at 0:19
  • @JoeTaxpayer True, but the number Lindas using the internet in the US is much higher than in the Czech Republic. Also, US citizens tend to not mention their country in their question and always provide wealth in dollars. I think US is a safe bet. If not, it's the OP's bad. I don't believe in withholding answers until a country is provided
    – farnsy
    Commented Mar 25, 2016 at 21:43

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .