Stocks Or High Yield savings accounts .....

samsserver said: "what one can u make more money over time. i would say High Yield savings accounts, because you never lose money It just builds and builds..."

Pb3190 said: "Someone else will chime in, but I believe I have read that over the historical long term, stocks have been the best investment. Miss out on only a few of the top days however, and your returns can fall quickly. So, if you have many years between now and when you will need the money, investing and holding long term would be a better option than a savings account. For those adverse to risk, some bank accounts offer north of 5.00% yield, in my mind a great return considering the lack of risk. Just make sure the account is FDIC insured."

AlfredSokol said: "It's like comparing apples and oranges. But if you exceed the 5% figure yearly, then the stocks are worth more."

LongArm said: "[QUOTE=samsserver]what one can u make more money over time. i would say High Yield savings accounts, because you never lose money It just builds and builds...[/QUOTE] You'd be wrong (:)). The stock market averages around 10% per year. Case closed. High yield savings accounts are great options for parking your money short-term though."

sax1 said: "I wanted to show charts for BIDU, RIMM, and GRMN, but they did not display correctly for some reason. Be willing to take some risk with stocks and you might be richly rewarded. Of course, you need to have some skill, patience and plain luck to find great stocks and buy them at the right time."

newinvestor123 said: "Yep - Money parked in stocks, historically speaking, has returned twice what the highest yielding money market account currently gives... And that's if you just invest in the market as a whole, without even attempting to pick any stocks yourself. I bet many people here probably get 15% or better by picking their own stocks, and I'm fairly certain at least half beat the market. A MM account is good for short term cash (i.e. an emergency fund), but long term, the market is the place to be."

sax1 said: "One more case for stocks. [url]http://www.kiplinger.com/magazine/archives/2007/09/mystory.html[/url]"

sport302 said: "A 5% average return over 25 five years on a $10,000 dollar initial investment will get you about: $33,000 However, if you could get a 10% average return on the same $10,000 initial investment with stocks over the same 25 years you would earn about: $108,000 So it really comes down to finding the right stocks or funds to get you that 10% a year."

LongArm said: "[QUOTE=sport302]So it really comes down to finding the right stocks or funds to get you that 10% a year.[/QUOTE] Or just invest in an index fund or ETF that tracks the stock market (S&P 500 or Wilshire 5000) itself ."

Pb3190 said: "Very true LongArm. If you are just looking to follow the market in belief that the long term average will continue, that can be done with ease. Pick an index fund, and just hold onto it. There would be no need to pick specific stocks worry about the future performance of a mutual fund."

AlfredSokol said: "Don't forget there were plenty of stocks that lost 100% of their capital during the last 10 years. Those figures are for the stock market, in general. You can still get crushed investing in stocks."

sax1 said: "Very true. That's why one needs to cut losses quickly."

Pb3190 said: "Or just go with an index fund, and not worry about specific stocks."

lil dickie said: "Or a mutual fund because its supposedly "managed"."

Spoudazo said: "So you never lose money in a high-yield saving account? Please tell that to the customers of Carolina Investors, some of their customers were my friends, and they lost their child's college money. [url]http://greenvilleonline.com/news/specialreport/carolina_investors/[/url]"

Pb3190 said: "Were the accounts FDIC insured? If so, they should have gotten up to I believe $100,000 back from their losses. If the accounts were not FDIC insured, you are right, you can lose money. Considering the other options for keeping your money safe, I would not put my money into an uninsured bank account. With today's banking though it should be simple to find some online high yield, low/no minimum savings accounts. I know ING and Emigrant both have them and last time I looked into them, they were both insured."

Rbreb13 said: "I agree, Pb. I wouldn't consider the Carolina Investors a high yield savings account. When I think of a savings account, it's with a FDIC insured bank or credit union."

Pb3190 said: "Same thinking I had. If it isn't insured, is it really a savings account, or just a scheme made up to look like one? That is a shame for your friends Spoudazo, but it sounds like they either got tricked or didn't read the fine print. My idea of a savings account involves a well known and reputable bank."

LongArm said: "Apparently, Carolina Investors clients invested in high yield BONDS (a.k.a. junk bonds), not savings accounts. Bonds, of course, are not FDIC insured like savings accounts are. Just looking at the advertised returns on the sign in that picture (in Spoudazo's link) should be a clue that it's not a savings account: 6.5% to 7.5%? If it's paying 1.5% to 2.5% higher than the highest savings account rates in the country, odds are great that it's something other than a savings account. :th_coolio: Not saying I don't feel sorry for the folks who lost their money. Sounds like they were lied to, and perhaps they were scammed into thinking they were investing in something that they weren't, as well."

scottlarock said: "obviously it wasn't a savings account. The HIGHEST FDIC insured savings account I think I've seen in the past year or so was with countrywide at like 5.3% and you had to have 50 or 100k with'em. [url]http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/news_checking_home.asp[/url] you can find other ones there, it'll tell you if they are FDIC or not, plus they should have the logo. (CDs have slightly better returns than savings accounts) I personally wouldn't be jumping in the stock market right now to go "long term.""

Spoudazo said: "Not sure what it was, because at the time, I hadn't really learned anything about the stock market yet, but my friend who lost a good bit, said in the end he got about a quarter on the dollar after the whole thing went down. Many older people lost their retirement also."

Pb3190 said: "FDIC only covers $100,000 per person unless you have a joint account. Is it at all possible to increase this amount?"

LongArm said: "[QUOTE=Pb3190]FDIC only covers $100,000 per person unless you have a joint account. Is it at all possible to increase this amount?[/QUOTE] Not without opening multiple accounts. But in case you're still referring to the Carolina Investors thing, FDIC has nothing to do with that anyway. [quote=Spoudazo]Not sure what it was, because at the time, I hadn't really learned anything about the stock market yet...[/quote] As I said, they were junk bonds. Not the best place to stick one's retirement money. Not much of it, anyway."

Pb3190 said: "Thanks LongArm, I had thought the rule was per person, not per account. So if I ever hit it big and want to stay in cash, I'll just open a bunch of accounts... :laugh:"

LongArm said: "Well, it's per person, per institution. So yeah, just open 20 accounts at 20 different banks and you'll be covered for $2 million. :D"

newinvestor123 said: "[QUOTE=LongArm]Well, it's per person, per institution. So yeah, just open 20 accounts at 20 different banks and you'll be covered for $2 million. :D[/QUOTE] Sweet - I'll have to remember that for when I have $2 million that I need to keep safe. :D"

j4wz said: "[QUOTE=scottlarock]obviously it wasn't a savings account. The HIGHEST FDIC insured savings account I think I've seen in the past year or so was with countrywide at like 5.3% and you had to have 50 or 100k with'em. [url]http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/news_checking_home.asp[/url] you can find other ones there, it'll tell you if they are FDIC or not, plus they should have the logo. (CDs have slightly better returns than savings accounts) I personally wouldn't be jumping in the stock market right now to go "long term."[/quote] I found these two through a different website a few weeks ago: FNBO Direct at 6.00% 1$ to open with checking no fee AmTrust at 5.31% 1$ to open no fee [QUOTE=newinvestor123]Sweet - I'll have to remember that for when I have $2 million that I need to keep safe. :D[/QUOTE] Put it in a tin can and dig a hole in the backyard :)"

scottlarock said: "[QUOTE=j4wz]I found these two through a different website a few weeks ago: FNBO Direct at 6.00% 1$ to open with checking no fee AmTrust at 5.31% 1$ to open no fee Put it in a tin can and dig a hole in the backyard :)[/QUOTE] I just checked out FNBO, looks like they will be changing rates sept. 28th. I'll check back after that ;) Also the way you get higher than 100k as someone pointed out is just to open multiple accounts with different banks. The other way to be covered up to 200k is if the money is in a retirement account."

LongArm said: "[QUOTE=scottlarock]Also the way you get higher than 100k as someone pointed out is just to open multiple accounts with different banks.[/quote] Oh, so now I'm just a "someone." That hurts. ;) [quote]The other way to be covered up to 200k is if the money is in a retirement account.[/QUOTE] Actually, it's $250k for retirement accounts with banks & other FDIC-insured institutions."

JAP said: "Just an FYI... Since the mortgage market has dryed up, many of the larger banks are doing their best to get business by offfering higher interest rates on CDs and some savings accounts. If you have your emergency cash fund (everyone should have one) sitting idle in a savings account paying a crummy 1.0%, BAC is offering 4.85% on a 11 month CD that allows early withdrawls without penalty or loss of any earned interest. You might be able to find something with a higher rate if you shop around."

LongArm said: "There are several high-yield savings accounts paying over 5%. And, of course, those have no withdrawal issues to begin with."

newinvestor123 said: "FYI - My Paypal account, which is automatically invested in a money market sweep (but is NOT FDIC insured), is paying 5.23% right now. I'll add that it's very easy to set one up, add and withdraw money, etc, etc. Of course, you can use the money to buy stuff on Ebay, and they have debit cards for easy access to funds."

Pb3190 said: "I have used Paypal many times, but I always clear out my account when I am done buying stuff. I just don't like the idea of having my money in an online bank that's not FDIC insured, but they do have a good interest rate."

Rbreb13 said: "[QUOTE=Pb3190]I have used Paypal many times, but I always clear out my account when I am done buying stuff. I just don't like the idea of having my money in an online bank that's not FDIC insured, but they do have a good interest rate.[/QUOTE]Ditto on that. I might leave some chump change in my account but never anything substantial. I've read to many horror stories to do that."