We all know the stock market absolutely sucks right now. In fact, it sucks so bad, that I haven't even been checking our mutual funds. When you "lose" thousands of dollars every month, it tends to make you feel a little sick inside. But...with that being said, I know the market goes through cycles and 10 to 30 years from now, when we hope to use some of that money, the market WILL be back up again. So, I'm not fretting too much about it. Now's the time to be buying right? Sell high and buy low, right? We have a CD about to become due and with the miserable CD rates out there...thanks subprime mortage mess....the rates being offered by the banks are even less than the inflation rate right now...so what is someone to do? Believe it or not, there is a very safe and legitimate investment out there that'll get you just over a 6% return...and from the government no less. Here's more on it, and if you're gonna spring for it, do it by the end of April.
I'd like to thank Clark Howard, the consumer advocate for this one. We all remember the Series EE savings bonds from our childhood. Remember getting those as Christmas gifts? At least I did...every year like clockwork...still have them.....still barely eeking out a return on them. Have you heard of Series I Bonds? I had never heard of them until listening to this podcast (download it) by Clark Howard. Please be sure to check it out below (from his site):
A lot of savers with idle cash are griping about the low rates on savings accounts and CDs from banks. Well, Clark wants to offer a possible solution. It's been a while since he's talked about Series I savings bonds, which were a fantastic deal in the 1990s up to about 2001. They're a great deal once again if you buy them before the end of April. Over the next 6 months, you'll get a return of 4.28% APY. Beginning in October, the rate will bump up to 6.06% for the following 6 months. That's a very competitive rate. Series I bonds are an unnecessarily complicated product. The "I" stands for inflation, and they're like the cousins of the original savings bonds. I bonds offers a fixed rate of interest for as long as you own them, plus a floating rate based on the rate of inflation. You can own I bonds for a minimum of 1 year and a maximum of 30 years. I bonds give you the opportunity to benefit from what's harming you. As high inflation erodes the value of your savings, I bonds give you the rate of inflation and a guaranteed return. That guaranteed return is puny, but earning anything about the rate of inflation on something that's 100% safe is great.
So, there you have it. Thanks Howard. Have you been looking at ways to bump up your portfolio? Or are you just sitting tight or something in between?
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