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I am currently attending college. I am working internships while not in school and making good money compared to a typical minimum wage job while at college. I am going for my bachelor's in electrical engineering.

I will make enough to pay for the next semester so I do not have to take out a loan for that.

What is the best way to go about getting the most out of the money I am making?

I have a savings account and checking account though JP Morgan Chase. However, the savings account has an interest of 0.05 %. I know some about the stock market and some about other financial options but I don't know what's best.

I have considered opening an online savings account because they tend to have higher interests and I have considered going into the stock market but I don't know how well I would do.

I have also considered moving my checking account to my schools federal credit union because I think they would offer more benefits to students and I could possibly get a loan from them with less interest (maybe) as opposed to going with Sallie Mae. I will need to take out more loans eventually because the money I am making will run out.

What things can I do and where can I put my money to make the most out of it the quickest and safest? Online banks, college owned federal credit union, stock market, or anything else?

I am just trying to pay for college and come out with a good money cushion because I am going to have loans to pay.

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  • Where are you located geographically? That can affect the set of possible answers. Also, I wouldn't suggest putting money you need to pay for school into the stock market, especially not over the relatively short time frame of undergrad.
    – John Bensin
    Jul 11, 2013 at 18:34
  • I tagged your question as US, then, since there are users here from Canada, the US, Europe, Asia, etc. and the banking/investing options are different everywhere.
    – John Bensin
    Jul 11, 2013 at 18:51

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I wouldn't recommend trying to chase a good return on this money. I'd just put it into a savings account of some sort. If you can get a better interest rate with an online account, then feel free to do that. I'd recommend using this money to pay for as much of college out of pocket as you can. The more student loans you can avoid, the better.

As @John Bensin said, trying to make money in the stock market in such a short time is too risky. For this money, you want to preserve the principal to pay for school, or to pay down your loans when you get out.

If you find you have more money than you need to finish paying for school, then I'd suggest setting some aside for an emergency fund, setting aside enough to pay your loans off when you're out of school, saving for future purchases (house, car, etc), and then start investing (maybe for retirement in a Roth IRA or something like that).

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