AboutPaul Henneman Expertise I can answer any questions on investment strategies. Specifically, my expertise lies in long term investment strategies designed to beat market performance while reducing risk. Not get rich quick schemes, but solid investing strategies.
Experience
Past/Present clients CBSMarketWatch, Hoovers, Multex, Yahoo Finance, Zacks, Earthlink Finance, several large institutions and hedge funds, over 30,000 subscribers to www.ValuEngine.com
Expert: Paul Henneman Date: 5/1/2008 Subject: Investing money for college
Question Hello, I am a student at a junior college right now. I am planning on transferring to a university and I realize it is going to cost me a fortune. I put my savings($3,000) to a one year CD of 3% interest rate at a local bank. I was told I'm going to earn around 96 dollars in one year. I was wondering if there is any better i can invest my money for better rate. I thought about stock market, but I'm afraid that I would lose money on it.
Answer Eva,
Thank you for your question!
I think that you are doing the right thing. There are many different types of investments that could earn you more, but they are more risky. As you noted, there is a signficant chance that you could lose money. If you were investing for a long period of time, this is of less concern because any loss in your investment would eventually turn around and become a gain. However, it sounds like you will likely be needing these funds in the next few years. A CD or money market account is really the safest thing to do for this.
There are CD's out there with slightly higher rates of returns, for example www.INGDirect.com offers 3.3% return on their CD's currently. However, this is a very small difference, perhaps not worth your time to move everything over, and there is an advantage to working with a local bank as you have access to a branch.
I am sorry I could not be of more help, but I do think that you are doing the right thing for now. After you get your university degree, your income will certainly rise substantially, and you should be able to begin to save and invest for your future. At that time you should begin thinking about learning more, and talking to an expert to organize your finances.
I hope this helps! Please do not hesitate to follow up with me if I could be of any additional help,
Sincerely,
Paul Henneman
President
ValuEngine Inc
www.ValuEngine.com
