Anonymous wrote:You can also put it in a muni bond fund. It is still basically liquid but a much better return. We did that and it worked really well. Talk to your financial planner.

Any type of bond fund can lose significant value if interest rates rise a few points. But, the Fed has recently indicated that interests will be held extremely low over the next few years so you're probably safe. Savings account is best. Don't worry about the rate as you're not going to grow your money significantly over the next year or so at any rate of return.

ING DIRECT CHECKING current interest rate is .85% for 100k+

Anonymous wrote:You can also put it in a muni bond fund. It is still basically liquid but a much better return. We did that and it worked really well. Talk to your financial planner.

Aren't muni bonds risky with state and local gov'ts in such fragile financial shape?

Anonymous wrote:savings is probably the best place, but you should compare to a CD.

Yeah, if you're CERTAIN you won't need it for 6-12 months, a short term CD might give you a better return. Might not be enough to justify the hassle, though.

savings is probably the best place, but you should compare to a CD.

You can also put it in a muni bond fund. It is still basically liquid but a much better return. We did that and it worked really well. Talk to your financial planner.

Agree that you should just keep it in savings. A good rule of thumb is if you may need the money in five years you should keep it liquid.

OP here. Thanks, PP. The money is in a BB&T savings account, easily transferable to our BB&T checking account, and it also shows up on our account overview. So no need to transfer it months ahead.

I'd just keep it in online savings. Ally or Amex is offering a little higher. Keep in mind that many online savings accounts don't offer wire transfers so you'll need to transfer the money to a regular account a few months ahead of time or provide a paper trail to show where the money came from (not a big deal).

We plan to buy a house either in 2013 or 2014 and want to save up around $ 200k until then. We are currently at $ 100k. The money is currently in a savings account for future home buyers (interest rate: 0.60%). Are you aware of a better option with a higher return that is still safe?
Thanks much in advance.