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Anyone buying i bonds? I need to buy some today. I realized i believe with feds cutting rates the 0.5% fixed is the best I'll do. I did $10k last year for DH and I. I was hoping they would raise rates and raise the fixed component. UGH!
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I've got them on hold for now... In fact, I'm actually selling my current stock of I-Bonds, in preparation for our upcoming move & home purchase in April. No major loss, as most of them were 0%-0.2% fixed component. But yeah, with them back to cutting rates, I don't see how the November rate change will do anything but push the fixed component downward. -
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Alot of reasons...I sold largely because savings accounts were earning as much/more than the I-Bonds, and as I said, because we're prepping to buy a new house when we move. The plan is to do a >50% DP, and pay it off within a few years. We had $30k as an emergency fund, and decided that's more than I want tied up in there, and ~$18k more that was just sitting around. Lastly, and it's trivial, but I wanted to eliminate the EF "Linked Account" & just have everything sitting in one pile in the main account, but apparently the only way to do that is too close the accounts entirely. So I'm gonna do that.Originally posted by LivingAlmostLarge View Post
I do still like I-Bonds, I just want more flexibility/liquidity with the money, and we're at a point that we need to use the money. They're almost all past the 5 year point (except ~$10k), so no penalty for cashing in. I fully expect I'll get back into them in a few years, but for now, we're focusing our money at clearing the house.Comment
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I just sold ours (small amount). We're also past the 5 year point, so no interest penalty. Why? Lower federal income tax rate this year (income tax on the interest was deferred until we sold).Comment
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the fixed rate just dropped nov 1st to 0.2% from 0.5% Gosh I was hoping for it to keep going to 1%. Ugh. Composite is 2.22%Comment
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Well, it seems that I'll be leaving the last $5k in the I-Bond for a little while longer... I bought it a year ago (.5% fixed), so it's earning 2.53% right now. With Ally dropped all the way down to 1.8%, I suppose I'll leave it until I'm closer to needing it for the house. Not that it really matters (a different of ~$20 interest?), but hey, why not.Comment
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And that will be dropping any day now that the Fed lowered rates again last week. I'm sure it'll be 1.6% within the next couple of weeks.Originally posted by kork13 View PostSteve
* Despite the high cost of living, it remains very popular.
* Why should I pay for my daughter's education when she already knows everything?
* There are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going.Comment
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Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised. They're normally pretty quick about cutting the rates (and of course, slow to bring them back up)Originally posted by disneysteve View PostComment
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My MM fund FZDXX has dropped to 1.71%. It was at 2.26% 6 months ago. After tax it's only 1.08%. Better than 2014, though.Comment
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Haven't looked but I was thinking of leaving ibonds as our ef fund. I have $40k in there right now past 2 years. I have another $200k in ally and capital one. I'm trying to figure out best cash management strategy. I really am hoping for some movement on real estate is the bigger problem.. I hate having left all that cash but if I don't it won't be liquid for us to capitalize on buying investment property.Comment
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In spite of currently getting out of I-Bonds, I still think they're a very appropriate place for an EF. They're liquid enough (after you've held them a year) to fit the bill for an EF, but they're totally isolated & unlikely to be "accidentally" dipped into, and they tend to earn similar or slightly better returns than a standard high-yield savings account. My recommendation would be to leave it sit, unless you have a specific plan to do something else with it.
As for the $200k for RE investment... I'd be one to just say start looking now, and just don't be in a rush. And put feelers out with property managers or RE agents that you know, to let them know you're interested in any opportunities they may come across for a good value investment property. If they're someone you know & trust, they can be a great resource to point you at already-successful investment properties with an owner looking to cash out, or potentially properties that are getting made ready for the market but haven't been listed yet. Plus, you'd be looking at a good time -- most RE markets slow down in the winter, which means properties sit longer, and sellers discount their properties a little more. Yes, there will be fewer options on the market, but if you find something that's a good deal, you can pounce on it while most people aren't looking.
While property values have definitely increased over the last number of years, I don't think the RE market in many/most places is over-inflated. We haven't seen a run-up like we did in the 2004-2008 RE bubble. Would property values go down in a recession? Probably a bit. Will values tank 2008-style? Doubtful. So my advice is to just start looking, dip your toes in the water, see what comes up, and be ready to buy if you find a good, solid property with good prospects.Comment
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I want to buy a multi family property non-residential possibly. I don't want to buy SFH. I used to think like that guy Phil who used to do it on here. Refi constantly his SFH to 80% and buy more. Too much work.I'd like a multi family with good cap rate.Comment
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