I always thought money market accounts were kind of a waste of my time - and money, and that my money could possibly be working harder for me in some other sort of fund or investment, but I still needed the liquidity of something like a money market - something I could “cash out on” fast if I needed to, or something that would be minimally painful to get my money out when I needed it.
Well, I was wrong about money markets. My Paypal money market fund, of all things, is performing pretty darn well for being a relatively low interest yielding fund.
It’s up to almost 5% interest earned right now, and that is not half bad for an account that would just be basically “sitting there” doing nothing and accumulating no interest virtually if it were in a regular savings bank account or a checking account.
If you’re interested in putting your money in something that yields a little more interest build up than a traditional savings or checking account, and you need your money to be available for withdrawal quickly, I recommend you look into a money market account - maybe try Paypal or Sharebuilder, the two that I have my money in. They are both performing to my pleasant surprise better than I thought they would!
I recently got a solicitation from the huge credit card lender Capital One, known for their infamous “pillaging” commercials where customers are being exploited for high APR’s on their credit cards, but not for a credit card solicitation, rather a new money market account they are offering.
What is a money market? It’s basically just like a savings account, with the money equally as liquid and easy to access, only it returns a higher interest yield than the average savings account.
If the ads are true, then this Capital One money market account offers one of the highest yields I’ve ever seen on a money market - 4.75%! The national average for money markets now is 1.41%, with many accounts yielding lower interest than that.
So, if you have some money you were considering throwing in your savings account, you may want to look at this option. It’ll make your money work harder for you - instead of you working harder for your money. Such a cliche, but I love it!
I saw an ad for a company/bank just now called Emigrant Direct, a division of a larger banking entity called Emigrant Bank, whom I’d never heard of before, which offers a seemingly good deal on a low annual fee cash back Mastercard for bank members, as well as a new 5% CD with any maturity from 6 months to 10 years.
A CD is a Certificate of Deposit, a relatively safe, but low return investment that is somewhat long term, depending on the length of time the holder decides to keep it - but the longer the holder doesn’t cash it in, the more money the holder gets in return).
They also offer what they call the “American Dream Savings Account” which is a fairly high yield savings account at up to 4.65% (I’d read the fine print though), and no annual fee.
Looks like it might be worth taking a look at if it’s something that’s up your alley, and you’re in the market for the particular financial services that this online bank (FDIC approved) offers.