Best ways to save money right now?

casualtrucker7 said:Maybe casualtrucker7 gets it, but maybe pomoć1 doesn't quite grasp that using a deduction now means getting a refund now and paying later—tomorrow or the day after. Basically, the government lets you skip the deduction if you decide it's not worth it.

To me, getting a tax refund of $X twenty years from now just means paying that same $X back later (minus interest), whereas as an entrepreneur, I could have invested that money and turned it into ($X + N) by then. You didn't mention that—though you probably could have—but I think we both get what I mean.

The same logic applies to fertility treatment refunds; you could honestly call that interest-free financing.
Even if we aren't actively chasing a refund, we might end up paying it back anyway. It mostly depends on how much income we're making when the payout happens, so it’s possible we could end up stuck with a 45% tax rate.

crimsonseal13 said:Just tell me, what kind of interest rates are we seeing on CDs in the European Union?

Let me tell you something... This is actually part of the problem—interest rates stay unnaturally low, which leaves people who actually want to save with no choice but to dive into much riskier waters—think stocks or real estate. And, as we’ve seen, that tends to have some pretty unpleasant consequences. 😁

crimsonseal13 said:Just tell me, what kind of interest rates are we seeing on CDs in the European Union?

Look, guys—honestly, anything you see being blasted in big advertisements isn't going to make you much money (in fact, you'll probably just be lagging behind everyone else). Real, actionable intel always moves through quiet channels. For instance, someone knew the West Gate development was happening near Newark—they kept their mouth shut, bought up the land beforehand, and didn't advertise a single thing about it.
(I'm just using that as a bit of an exaggerated example—there are thousands of cases like it)

You won't find that kind of inside track from places like State Farm or JP Morgan Chase. They aren't going to say, "Hey there, lovely people, come grab a loan at a 6% interest rate, buy some land, and wait a few years for West to arrive or for a Formula 1 owner to build a racetrack nearby."

Ashley Phillips98 said:Look, guys—honestly, anything you see being blasted in big advertisements isn't going to make you much money (in fact, you'll probably just be lagging behind everyone else). Real, actionable intel always moves through quiet channels. For instance, someone knew the West Gate development was happening near Newark—they kept their mouth shut, bought up the land beforehand, and didn't advertise a single thing about it.
(I'm just using that as a bit of an exaggerated example—there are thousands of cases like it)

You won't find that kind of inside track from places like State Farm or JP Morgan Chase. They aren't going to say, "Hey there, lovely people, come grab a loan at a 6% interest rate, buy some land, and wait a few years for West to arrive or for a Formula 1 owner to build a racetrack nearby."

It’s always been this way; a small group of insiders holds all the privileged information. In the US, if you could actually prove you used inside info like that (which wouldn't be hard, since nobody is stupid enough not to see I just took out a loan to buy worthless dirt only to flip it for a massive profit in five years), you'd go to prison and they'd seize everything you made from it.

Ashley Phillips98 said:Look, guys—honestly, anything you see being blasted in big advertisements isn't going to make you much money (in fact, you'll probably just be lagging behind everyone else). Real, actionable intel always moves through quiet channels. For instance, someone knew the West Gate development was happening near Newark—they kept their mouth shut, bought up the land beforehand, and didn't advertise a single thing about it.
(I'm just using that as a bit of an exaggerated example—there are thousands of cases like it)

You won't find that kind of inside track from places like State Farm or JP Morgan Chase. They aren't going to say, "Hey there, lovely people, come grab a loan at a 6% interest rate, buy some land, and wait a few years for West to arrive or for a Formula 1 owner to build a racetrack nearby."

It’s not all insider trading... Some people simply bought land speculatively years ago and sold once the prices spiked. That’s just how the market works, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
In fact, if you own a foreign corporation and want to build something here in the States, you’ll go to great lengths to keep things under wraps so you can pick up property for pennies on the dollar. I mean, why would you overpay for land, right?

crimsonseal13 said:Wow, someone discovered money market funds and suddenly thinks they've unlocked the secrets of the universe. By the way, feel free to mention that returns are actually closer to 2-8% and there's absolutely zero guarantee on those yields—no government backing included. Plus, having instant access to your cash whenever you feel like spending it isn't always the smartest move.

If the question is "what's the best place to park cash right now?" then yeah, it's money market funds. It's not rocket science, it's just facts. Zero fees, total liquidity, and yields around 8%. That beats a basic savings account any day. Most importantly, it's all documented; the money is secure. Even if the US dollar starts sliding, you can bail whenever you want.
And that bit about the government guarantee 😵? Like, if the government actually owed me money, I doubt my grandkids would ever see a dime. The government is broke. But hey, they've got big banks, so just keep saving and investing for the future and everything will be just fine. 🙂

Sure, we should capitalize on the trend, though I must point out some potential flaws with a product like that.

Larry Rivera2 says: ...returns are about 8 percent...

If money market fund returns were actually sitting at 8%, that’s just a short-term spike—it isn't the norm. Usually, those returns hover somewhere much lower, though last year was an outlier. If it stayed that high consistently, banks would be dumping massive amounts of capital into these funds without a second thought...

Just look at this one example from JP Morgan Chase

Money Market Fund

1 month* 7.99%
3 months* 8.46%
6 months* 8.54%
Year-to-date return 7.50%
Last 365 days return 9.02%
Average annual return since inception 6.64% (since 1999)

Euro Money Market Fund

1 month* 4.97%
3 months* 5.23%
6 months* 5.12%
Year-to-date return 4.10%
Last 365 days return 5.51%
Average annual return since inception 4.44% (since 2002)

That’s just JP Morgan Chase, I should probably check out some others, but let's not make it look like I'm running an ad here.
What I'm getting at is that money market funds are pretty much the best way to save right now if you're comparing them to anything else on the market.

Also, don't bother looking at returns since inception. It’s all about how long you actually have skin in the game. Like, if I dropped cash into a fund on January 1st, 2008, and kept it there for a year, I only care about what it did during that specific stretch. That's how you calculate actual profit, right? You look at the return for the period the money was actually sitting there, not some lifetime average.

It doesn't really matter if it's JPMorgan Chase or anyone else—they've all been around the block. I looked at the averages since they started, and honestly, money market funds aren't exactly high-profit plays in the long run. They tend to look decent during a recession, sure, but they aren't where you stash cash for the long haul. They're more for "parking" extra liquidity—money you want accessible enough to grab whenever, then toss back in when you're done.

The point is, if you held your money in a fund like that for, say, five years, you’d probably walk away with less than if you’d just put it in a standard CD at a bank. That said, I'll give you this: as far as "on-demand savings" goes, they're top-tier.

casualtrucker7 said:It doesn't really matter if it's JPMorgan Chase or anyone else—they've all been around the block. I looked at the averages since they started, and honestly, money market funds aren't exactly high-profit plays in the long run. They tend to look decent during a recession, sure, but they aren't where you stash cash for the long haul. They're more for "parking" extra liquidity—money you want accessible enough to grab whenever, then toss back in when you're done.

The point is, if you held your money in a fund like that for, say, five years, you’d probably walk away with less than if you’d just put it in a standard CD at a bank. That said, I'll give you this: as far as "on-demand savings" goes, they're top-tier.

Exactly. The whole point is that they aren't high-yield; they're for the savers who play it safe. Compared to a CD, they're easier—no contracts to babysit, and you don't get hit with those nasty penalties if you need to pull your money out early. So...
You work in banking or something? Or are you also losing sleep over this?😲🙂

I used to be working, but now I'm just sitting on some savings in a high-yield account.

And yeah, watching those absolute clowns run for president—it definitely messed with my sleep, you're right about that.

casualtrucker7 said:I used to be working, but now I'm just sitting on some savings in a high-yield account.

And yeah, watching those absolute clowns run for president—it definitely messed with my sleep, you're right about that.

Watched them too. Same exact mess. But hey, maybe it's finally time for 🙂

Alright, let's move—looks like it's just us left in the finance section, acting like a bunch of lunatics. I guess I'll wish you all sweet dreams...

Larry Rivera2 said:Exactly. The whole point is that they aren't high-yield; they're for the savers who play it safe. Compared to a CD, they're easier—no contracts to babysit, and you don't get hit with those nasty penalties if you need to pull your money out early. So...
You work in banking or something? Or are you also losing sleep over this?😲🙂

How can you claim those funds are for "safe players" when even the S&P 500 doesn't guarantee your dollars?
Regarding CDs: What kind of CD are we talking about here? A Chase account? What's the term? And it isn't true that you lose all your interest—I personally have a contract stating I receive interest based on the duration the funds were held. I just want to say—it's not all black and white; there is plenty of gray area in between. 🙂

Nicholas Turner said:How can you claim those funds are for "safe players" when even the S&P 500 doesn't guarantee your dollars?
Regarding CDs: What kind of CD are we talking about here? A Chase account? What's the term? And it isn't true that you lose all your interest—I personally have a contract stating I receive interest based on the duration the funds were held. I just want to say—it's not all black and white; there is plenty of gray area in between. 🙂

By "safe," I mean being able to pull your cash out quickly if the market starts acting crazy, without getting hit by fees or penalties like you would with other investments.
About the CDs—if you lock money away for 12 months but need it after 6, you aren't getting that 12-month rate; you get the 6-month rate. Unless, of course, you signed a fixed-rate deal where the rate stays the same regardless.
The bottom line? If you put $3333 into money market funds for 6 months versus a standard CD for the same period, the funds are going to net you more.

Larry Rivera2 said:By "safe," I mean being able to pull your cash out quickly if the market starts acting crazy, without getting hit by fees or penalties like you would with other investments.
About the CDs—if you lock money away for 12 months but need it after 6, you aren't getting that 12-month rate; you get the 6-month rate. Unless, of course, you signed a fixed-rate deal where the rate stays the same regardless.
The bottom line? If you put $3333 into money market funds for 6 months versus a standard CD for the same period, the funds are going to net you more.

Don't get me wrong, I definitely keep cash in my money market fund too! I just don't see eye to eye with you regarding these predictions about volatility... Nobody can predict those swings, period. It’s like claiming you know exactly which numbers will hit on the Wednesday Powerball drawing. No one has a crystal ball! And honestly, what does "volatility" even mean to you? A dip in the fund's NAV, a market correction, a specific sector slump, or just a certain percentage drop?

Look, man, coffee? Saving money? Nah, you gotta spend it. What am I supposed to do, just grind my life away saving up for some big "someday" that might never even happen if things go sideways... I'd much rather live it up while I can than sit around later kicking myself because I missed out. Money comes and goes, but those missed moments? They're gone for good.

crimsonseal13 said:Don't get me wrong, I definitely keep cash in my money market fund too! I just don't see eye to eye with you regarding these predictions about volatility... Nobody can predict those swings, period. It’s like claiming you know exactly which numbers will hit on the Wednesday Powerball drawing. No one has a crystal ball! And honestly, what does "volatility" even mean to you? A dip in the fund's NAV, a market correction, a specific sector slump, or just a certain percentage drop?

Nobody’s guaranteeing or predicting future fund values. But let's say they start tanking. Or life happens and you suddenly need cash. That's where the difference lies: you get your money instantly without extra fees. That's what security looks like. Compare that to savings accounts where you're getting hit with exit fees—not to mention entry fees when you open them—or certain funds that charge you just to get in or out.
We drifted off topic, but to wrap it up: if you're risk-averse, want decent interest, need security, and want access to your cash whenever, money market funds are the move. That pretty much answers the original question: Which type of savings pays off best?