Savings vehicles for money you need in the next 0–5 years include high-yield savings accounts (HYSA), money market funds, certificates of deposit (CDs), Treasury bills, and I-bonds. Each has different tradeoffs between liquidity, yield, and safety.
Retirees typically keep 1–3 years of living expenses in cash to avoid selling stocks during a downturn. Where you keep that cash matters — a HYSA at 4.5% beats a traditional bank at 0.01% by $4,500/year on $100,000.
Treasury securities are debt obligations of the US federal government. T-bills mature in 1 year or less, T-notes in 2–10 years, T-bonds in 2…
A CD ladder splits your cash across multiple certificates of deposit with staggered maturities (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 years). As each CD matur…
An emergency fund is liquid cash reserved for unexpected expenses — job loss, medical bills, home repairs. The conventional guideline is 3–6…
A bond is a loan you make to a government or corporation. In exchange, the issuer pays you periodic interest (coupon) and returns your princ…