lil_1_2002

pros?
cons?
better then regular savings?
which one to use?

im holding some money for my parents in an hsbc account, but the rate keeps dropping, its not money that will be withdrawn anytime soon so something low yielding works fine... advise?

Mkazm83

Higher interest than a regular savings (May not apply to online savings acct)
Possible limit on withdraws/transfers, higher minimum balance
Yes, if you can deal with the cons
MM if you're ok with the cons

RB

Money market is a glorified savings account. Might have withdrawal/transfer limits, might not. Not a lot to them. Typically 2-3.5% interest.

I'm using an ING account right now that I'm perfectly fine with.

white_n_slow

I've been using one for about 8 years... it's a savings account. I honestly see no difference.

Pete

Honestly the rates for CD's are pretty bad right now so you should just hold off on buying any CD's or bonds at the moment and just keep your money in savings or maybe buy some income type stocks till the market improves.

Money Market account for me yields like 1% more interest than my savings account but I am limited to 6 withdrawls a month.

Dweezel

With ING or HSBC's online savings account, the Bank is paying you a static rate of return on your money. The interest rate that these banks pay is less than their cost to borrow from other banks, which is why the interest rate will change when the Fed raises / lowers their target rate. With a Money Market account you are getting a true market rate of return on your deposit, which is why minimum balances may be higher than the online saving accounts. Because your deposit is invested in slightly less liquid financial instruments (municipal bonds, corporate bonds, etc) withdrawals are limited because of the transactional costs associated with liquidating those investments.

ISP James

if your MMA is online, that is probably reg D ... all savings vehicles are limited to 6 electronic/automatic withdrawals per month.

this does not include ATM or teller withdrawals.

KirkLS

I think the MM that BofA offers has no limits on deposits/withdrawals. I was thinking of opening one up instead of my regular savings. I believe the minimum balance is 2,000 but I'm not positive

lil_1_2002

ahh i see i found countrywide that has a 4.05% rate on their online savings. https://bank.countrywide.com/

But with a 10k minimum, the minimum withdrawals are not a problem as that money isnt really touched at all usually. im just sketchy about country wide didnt they go bankrupt?

RB

As long as it's FDIC insured, you're okay. Countrywide was bought out by BofA.