3 Sep
what is the best way to save money and watch it grow?
Posted in Investing by admin 48 Comments
babysteaks3 asked:
I am having a baby soon so I want to start saving up money for his college, money for a house and just extra emergency money. What would be the best way to do this? I don’t want alot of restrictions, I just want to be able to throw money in, and let it grow.
I am having a baby soon so I want to start saving up money for his college, money for a house and just extra emergency money. What would be the best way to do this? I don’t want alot of restrictions, I just want to be able to throw money in, and let it grow.
$so fresh so clean$
on September 4 2008
Well, for college, a 529 college savings plan would be a good start. A Coverdell savings account would be good too. For emergency money, look into money market mutual funds and money market accounts. Very liquid and easily accessible. Good luck.
Makaveli
on September 5 2008
Pick some kind of stock plan or mutual fund investment. If you can get a good return on your money like 15% interest you will be amazed at how fast it grows. For instance if you only invest 1,000.00 and get a rate of 24% interest in 35 yrs that thousand dollars will be worth over 1.5 million. The higher the interest the better as long as your risk is still fairly low.
sierraisacharmedone101
on September 8 2008
Have two bank accounts. Take half your paycheck and split it between the two bank accounts. Use one bank account for food, clothes, and fun things. The other one can be for emergencys, and college, and anything that will take a lot.
daisy gamwich
on September 11 2008
Get a savings account. Their really helpful and you could put your own restristions on it and then you couldn’t be tempted to get some out and only put money in.
♥Ashley♥
on September 13 2008
piggy banks r good choices.
=D
i have 1 too
lol
gregory_dittman
on September 14 2008
There are very little investment choices. The main problems are inflation and taxes. This leaves stocks (and stock options) and commodities (resource contracts such as gold, oil and foreign money) as the two types of investments that are not only beating inflation and taxes, they also can increase your worth. Since commodities are probably to high of a risk for you and stock options can be complicated, that leaves straight stocks (including ETFs, indexes and mutual funds). First go to and brush up on the terms and then call a mutual fund company and tell them you are interested in investing some money.
stangwd2002
on September 15 2008
think about i.r.a or cd a good way to save a little or a lot in the long run.
b.douglaswyatt
on September 18 2008
Plant a money tree?
George G
on September 19 2008
Try to plant a few dimes in the ground!!! they will grow almost overnight into money trees!!
Seriously though i would invest in a few penny stocks. Some of them have grown so fast it seems like they did grow overnight.
BananaRamma3
on September 22 2008
Well First of all, CONGRATULATIONS! i would invest money in the bank and create your future sons “saving bond”
he can invest money when he is older, and you can invest money right now!
fmf72000
on September 22 2008
well the best way to see your money grow is putting in the bank and watching it grow and if u work u can put some of that in their too and any etra money u have laying around your home conois work too then u nead to learn how to buget your money make it statch for a little while and when u go to tany store look for the on sale itams and the grate deals belave me they are out thare you just have to look around at any supper market or retai store i do the same thing some of my friends call me cheep
if u have any more qustions about this topic please fill free to email me anytime @
thanks
Mik,e
Guy_with_lots_of_questions
on September 24 2008
stocks would probably be the best…
tpwine69
on September 28 2008
Just for college go with the 529. Go to
for a great list and what is available in your state as far as tax advantages.
Also, be sure to vote Republican early and often or any savings plan will just be taxed, taxed taxed!
Frank Castle
on September 29 2008
Open a brokerage account at Zecco and buy at least one share of Altria each week.
chee
on September 30 2008
put a large sum of money into a CD account, gain interest on it =)
noelaciriaca
on October 2 2008
saving money for children is good but you have to be very specific on what you want, saving for education is one plan,
the other will be saving to be spend for clothing and all the things children want, 401k at work will do the job.
killaWill
on October 3 2008
get a bank CD you give them any amount of money and they give you a paper and in five years your money will double
icpooreman
on October 3 2008
It really depends on your situation. For example if you really don’t have a lot of money to invest and never know when you may need to pull it out to use I’d suggest a high interest savings account or CD’s or the like you can make 5-10% a year your money’s fairly safe and somewhat liquid… although cd’s will have like a 6 month waiting period.
Although if you’ve got more money than that your options open up. But once again it depends how much money you have to save and your timeframe. Really the best investment for someone who’s smart about it has good credit and moderate income and willing to put up with all sorts of time consuming crap is Real Estate. If you’re rich you prob want to invest in stocks but if you were rich you wouldn’t be asking this question. Stocks can be a good choice for you as well but once again it’s time consuming doing the research and if you don’t have a lot to invest it may just be easier to invest in CD’s and the like. But for a midrange family who really want to sure up there finances I reccommend researching real estate and when I say that I don’t mean get rich quick house flipping real estate. Do your homework and get info from credible sources many people out there will take advantage of naivety.
sport girl
on October 6 2008
Put some savings every month into CD’s. Bank of America offers 5% compounded for a 4 month CD! Check with your bank. It is simple. Usually there is a minimum balance req’d.
Cate
on October 9 2008
You have asked a vague ?. Breath and put your priorities in line.
Extra emergency fund is a must and I’m glad you are thinking of that.
Money for a house………saving to get the downpayment and finding one that you can afford is the key to buying your first house. Don’t overbuy but don’t skimp a dump that will cost you major $$ down the road.
A savings plan for your child. when you can afford to live comfortably, I suggest starting with something simple…..like a savings bond. They double in 7 yrs. Then once your child is tween age, I’d see a financial advisor to weigh your options. There are several diff money market accounts that you can invest in. They will range from being risky to no risk. Course more the risk, the more money you will gain or lose.
To save money, I’ve gotten in the habit of throwing all my change into a jar. At the end of the year, I cash it in and put what I get into savings. Its usually around $300. That is a good start for a savings account.
Also, try cutting back the little things that you can live without. If you eat out 3 times a week, cut it back to 1. Browse garage sales, thrift stores and discount stores to buy new things. Any little bit will add up over time…….its just a matter how much you are willing to give up.
good luck
acforni
on October 12 2008
Set up an automatic withdrawal plan that will place funds into a fund like Vanguard’s Star fund or another mutual fund with low expense ratios.
chickadee
on October 12 2008
real estate real estate and oh yeah real estate.
it’s not going to decrease. depends on how long you want to make money. you can look at too. it’s a great web sight i highly recommend checking out.
even with bad credit or no credit you can get a 0money down loan on a home. you may only be able to work with one, thus living in it, while adding and improving small tasks as you are able. in 2 years my home has over 40k profit for me with no repairs included.
Eric C
on October 13 2008
What to do is dependent on your situation.
If you have credit card debt pay that off first – Where else can you get 19% Return On Investment (ROI).
For the college money I would think an agressively placed Growth mutual fund (American Funds: New Perspective Funds NPFBX, Growth Fund of America AGRBX etc). You will be able to connect these funds to you checking account and Auto Transfer a set amount each month into any number of funds. Class B Funds must be held for years or you get a penelty for pulling them – after 5 years you have access to the money once the shares have auto converted to Class A shares.
For the house money I would also look at Mutual Funds – But with an eye to Growth/Income Funds. Also consider Class C Shares as they have only a 1% charge for funds pulled out after less than a year.
For Emergancy Money look into Money Markets. Americanfunds (and others who sell Mutual Funds) can offer a single place to manage you money. Money Markets are good for their liqudity and relitivly high ROI.
You should also look into a ROTH IRA. If you ar not doing this now you should – Do not count on Social Security you need to save for the future and a ROTH IRA IS THE BEST WAY TO DO THAT (unless your employer does matching 401K and even then the ROTH IRA is a close second – and even if the 401K is better you should do the ROTH also).
I would start out opening Four Accounts: 2 Mutual Funds in Growth and/or Growth and income (one for collage and one for the house), a Money Market account (emergancy reserve) and a ROTH IRA Mutual Fund (for retirment and some other things that you will learn about when you open the account).
Link these accounts to your checking account and set up monthly transfers into each of them. if the emergancy fund gets to big (larger than three months worth of your bills) sweep it into the ROTH IRA till it is full for the year, then into the house fund. Once you have bought a house you need to re agrange your finances a bit but saving is the first step to wealth.
Pay yourself first – the first dollar of every paycheck NEEDS to go to your future – not a car, RV, new clothes but rather put the dollars to work for you.
<3
on October 16 2008
get a large water dispenser jug and cut a slot in it that coins can fit into. Put all of your spare change and whatever money you want in it. It is hard to access the money without cutting open the top of the bottle so you won’t cheat and take money from it and you can visually see how much you have. My dad saved over $2000 in just spare change doing this over about 7 years. And I saved about $800 dollars in only 4 years, enough for my laptop.
Jonathan
on October 19 2008
One way is; to purchase an endowment policy but get it to your name not the child’s. When the child reaches 21 years he can have the funds for education.
One way to save money is; don’t spend it, don’t purchase anything you can do without.
Stay out of court and away from lawyers.
Buy a 401k retirement fund for your husband.
This that you want to do is extremely difficult but not impossible.
I save my money in a credit union at 5.1 and a half compounded interest. You can throw in money at GE investments @ 4.5 % – where you can add or withdraw any amount any time you want – without withdrawing penalty.Join a credit union somewhere and get a credit & debit card there.
Good Luck
Eric S
on October 21 2008
plant it out back in a jar and hope a money tree grows
BAYAREA
on October 25 2008
give ur money too me
te144
on October 25 2008
SAFE investing is one way: CDs etc, but if you want to be in the market, PARTIALLY, go to the Vanguard site and check out their composite mutual funds some of which cover ‘whole’ markets. Judging that you’re still young, 80% stock mutual funds and 20% CDs might be about right. Your bank has advisors that, of course, are biased toward themselves, but other than going to an expensive advisor, the banks financial advisors could also discuss such things as oil trusts, which, if bought when oil isn’t going crazy and held for the long haul, pay excellent dividends and due to the inflation of the dollar, hold their value and even grow. The symbol GLD allows you to have maybe 5 to 8% in that metal which is inflation-protection. Don’t pay too much attention to Cramer (CNBC) if you’re inexperienced in doing your own good research. Keep in mind that the dollar loses value almost every day, and a day of reckoning may not be too far off. I think your approach to investing (contributing on a monthly basis through thick and thin) would be recommended by most advisors as you would be buying during low stock prices as well as high. I hope this is of some help. If anybody can contradict me, jump in as I’m still learning, too. I just looked at some of the other responses. REAL ESTATE! Particularly, the house you live in. Rather. than frivolous appointments, GOOD UPKEEP and LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION, pay off. Good hunting and gathering to you!
cpocollins
on October 26 2008
In your case, for money not needed for at least 5 years, I would recommend a mutual fund. AARP has some good index funds which only require an initial investment of $25 and subsequent automatic monthly investments of $25. No other mutual fund that I know of is as investor friendly. You can check them out at aarpfunds.com.
zyberianwarrior
on October 27 2008
the easiest and best way is an online savings bank such as ING pays decent enough and you can quickly get the money out of it ususally within 3 days. Just make sure it is FDIC insured and you’ll be fine.
also people she said LITTLE or no restrictions for the market you have the option to put it in the kids name (but he can’t techinally touch it until 18), roth IRA is NOT for kids, CD’s tie up money for x months-years pending on CD and she said save for emergencies, the 529 plan is for kids but kids ONLY! Read evertything before you start spouting off ideas.
The online bank IS your best and safest bet. Weekly deposits into it and you’ll have a ton of money in 18 or so years.
kat
on November 1 2008
Real Estate.
beg for help
on November 2 2008
Never spend your pocket change. Instead, put it in a jar at the end of each day. DO NOT TOUCH THIS MONEY!!! In the 6,570 days from the birth of your child, you can guarantee him at least $6,570.00 cash!! Remember, never spend change. Just break a bill when you by something. That amount could even triple or more! And the best thing, you won’t even feel it.
As for the emergency money, it will depend on what type of insurance you carry. Even then, however, you may still need ready cash. I have found saving up to $1,000.00 cash in a fireproof safe, has always been sufficient for my needs. If you do use some of this savings, replace it ASAP.
Now to buy a house. Saving 20% of your total income for 5 years, should be enough to put a reasonable down payment on a home of your choice. Get that home loan going as soon as financialy possible. In general, you are paying more in rent, than it would cost for a homeloan, and there is where your real saving will start.
I wish you the best, and as one of the first things our son learned in kindergarten; ” Give it your best. Don’t let anyone tell you you can’t do it. Give it your best! If you do, you can conquere the world!! “
pumpk713
on November 2 2008
you could open a savings account where you just put so much in each month and don’t touch it. Honestly, you will want to put in lots of money, but if you have expenses like everyone normally does, it will be very hard for you to do it. You could put something as small as 20.00 a month or every other week and just don’t take any out once you do. Or you could put one large sum into a cd bond and the bank won’t allow you to touch it at all, or at least for so many years. I think it would be a good idea to start saving now too, but putting it in a bond would make it easier for you to save.
Jordan D
on November 5 2008
It sounds like you want a CD. a CD not as in compact disk CD, but a CD is something in mutual terms where you give the bank a certain amount of money and you are asking them to hold it for you over a certain amount of time. I find it very fascinating because it grows or gains money a lot faster than your average bank account. the catch is that when you tell them how long you want them to hold it for you, you cant remove even a MILLIONTH of penny or else YOU will have to PAY THEM. I don’t know for sure if you can add money but i would ask a banker that. some banks have almost classes really where you can learn a lot more bout banking related stuff. I haven’t taken these classes but i would recommend them.
P.S: If you want a job where you can make good money par-time and still spend plenty of time with your soon to be son and/or daughter. for info on starting your own home business go to for a success kit on starting your own home business. =)
Cowboy C
on November 5 2008
Buy stock in a company that has a very low stock price now, but will have a high stock price in 18 years.
babychael
on November 5 2008
I got pretty rich for a college student by picking up and change i see off the ground and saving it…not going into the jar for change and trying to see how many jars i could fill up then i would exchange my daddy 10 pennies for a dime to make more room in the bank
Me
on November 6 2008
Savings accounts
CD’s
Stocks (as long as they are good companys that are know to make money)
Lucky Me
on November 7 2008
Set up an automatic investment program where deductions are automatically taken from your checking into a savings account 1x per month in regular intervals.
Doesn’t have to be a lot. Even $100 a month with the proper compounded interest will do your heart good.
Even Sharebuilder.com has a good investment program. Easy to manage. Great interest rates.
JX
on November 8 2008
i think you should throw some money into the bank(a reasonable amount, but not to much) If you put enough in it will grow pretty fast
Summer
on November 10 2008
First off, congrats. Secondly, the best thing anyone can do is invest in their work’s 401(K) program. Most places price match up to a certain percentage. For example, my job price matches 100% up to 5% of my wages I put into my 401(k) account. I put 5% of my paycheck into my 401(k) account before tax and my employer puts 5% in also.
It sounds stupid, but I read in COSMO of all magazines, that if you invest about 10-20% of your earnings (approx $300 a month depending on your salary) you will have earned a cool mil in thirty years. A MILLION DOLLARS! That right there sells itself.
See what your job offers for 401(k). If you’re hesitant, don’t be. There are many routes to take for your 401(k) investments. Some companies (like mine) also offers free advice on what to invest in. I can’t stress enough the importance of investing in your future. It’s basically a retirement fund, but you can borrow against it for things like remodeling, college, bills, etc, for yourself, spouse, or dependant.
Best of luck to you! I really hope this helps. It’s probably the wisest decision I’ve made to date.
larry l
on November 11 2008
The best way I found is to pay yourself first because you have worked for it. Then pay your other bills at the beginning it might only be a small part but that’s how I bought a car for my wife car and pay cash for it.
michael m
on November 13 2008
more later. terrific question
mountaindesertminer
on November 16 2008
The method I use is to establish a budget to monitor my spending, put the same amount for each heading of your budget each monthin your checking account. For example, clothing,entertainment, food, etc if you can save or not spend all the money in any particular area of your budget don’t think of it as extra money and spend it, it will act as an immediate emergency fund in case of shortfalls or emergencies. Leave this money alone until the quarter year occurs. For example, Jan,Mar,June,Sept. then establish a savings account for major purchases, emergencies, etc. Deposit the excess funds from your budget savings. Ask your bank if they offer a program called purchase rounding for your checking account. It rounds the total of your purchases and puts the change in your savings account, minimizes the amount of change you recieve and handle. Check with a local college about courses related to financial management, this will supply the education for tax issues and establish a better understanding of complex investment issues. The savings account will be a step toward further investments, such as CD’s, mutual funds, stocks. Let me know if it works as well for you.
VIVEK S
on November 18 2008
THE BEST AND MOST SIMPLE STRATEGY TO SAVE MONEY IS “PAY YOURSELF FIRST”. THAT MEANS, AS SOON AS YOU GET PAID, THE PAYMENT SHOULD GO INTO YOUR SAVINGS ACCOUNT. THIS IS THE BEST POSSIBLE STRATEGY TO SAVE MONEY. BECAUSE IF YOU WON’T PAY TO YOURSELF FIRST THEN THE WORLDLY TEMPTATIONS WILL NOT ALLOW IT TO HAPPEN.
OPEN A HIGH INTEREST SAVINGS ACCOUNT IN A RELIABLE BANK AND SET UP A AUTOMATIC RECURRING DEPOSIT FROM YOUR CHEQUING ACCOUNT INTO YOUR SAVINGS ACCOUNT. IT WILL ENSURE THAT YOU ARE CONSTANTLY SAVING AND ARE MEETING TARGET.
FOR AN EXAMPLE, IF YOU MAKE $1,000 A MONTH, YOU SHOULD SAVE AT LEAST 200-300 DOLLARS OUT OF IT.
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A FINANCIAL STRATEGIST OR PARTICIPATE IN DONALD TRUMP’S OR WARREN BUFFET’S SEMINARS TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF “PAY YOURSELF FIRST”.
BUT ONE THING YOU SHOULD ALWAYS CONSIDER IS THAT SAVINGS ARE THERE FOR YOU TO USE IN THE FUTURE. IT IS EASIER TO START SAVING IN YOUR YOUTH AGE THEN AT 50 YEARS OLD.
I HOPE THAT I AM ABLE TO CONVEY MY POINT IN BRIEF TO YOU.
HAPPY SAVING
Kelly Chen
on November 19 2008
Maybe a saving’s plan or get a job while ur in collage or something like that.
dinesh k
on November 21 2008
You Take a Safety Box, and Lock it, After you Put the money in that Box
Elisika
on November 24 2008
buy all the things that you need…not the unimportant ones
nakedmanhk
on November 25 2008
the best way is not to spend more money on the waste things and stay home after work buy the food and make dinner or lunch at home any good price in sale let it go on,