In the past I wrote about how refinancing your mortgage could make sense given that interest rates were dropping. Low-interest rates are a positive if you are borrowing money but a negative if you are trying to earn interest.
It is not uncommon to see interest rates on savings accounts as low as 0.05%. On a $50,000 savings account, you would earn about $25 per year with this interest rate. This has led many to ask, “Is there a better place for this money to be held?"
Below are a couple options that I use or have used for my emergency fund and sink fund. There are several other options available and therefore I can say pretty confidently that what I use is not the BEST option. That said, it is better than many.
The first account I use is an online savings account. I have used Synchrony High Yield Savings and Goldman Sachs Marcus. At the time of my writing this article, they were advertising 0.55% and 0.50% respectively. On a $50K savings account that is about $250 for the year. Not a significant difference from our prior example but given it only takes a few minutes to set up it isn’t a bad return on your time invested. You may be able to find a higher rate at another bank.
Another account I use is Wesleyan Investment Foundation. These accounts are NOT traditional bank deposit accounts. They are NOT FDIC insured. Therefore, you are assuming more risk in my opinion. At the time of my writing this article, they were advertising a rate from 1% - 1.5% depending on the principal invested. If you invest $50K and receive the 1.5% you will receive about $750 for the year. Given that these accounts are not traditional savings accounts I only use this account for part of my savings. From my experience, their accounts are not very intuitive but they are advertising a slightly higher rate and tend to use their deposits for Christian purposes which I like. Also, they are based in Fishers, Indiana which is a plus for me.
I was hesitant to write about this as there are so many different options and it would be difficult for me to provide the “best” solution. Feel free to look for options that are even better as I know they are out there. I would love to hear about them if you do!
Interesting Article(s) or Video(s)
The Gospel Coalition - How ‘Christian’ Should My Small Business Be
Laura Baxter provides some thoughts on the impact someone’s Christian faith should have on their business.
Eternal Perspective Ministries - Running Your Business To the Glory of God
Randy Alcorn expands on the above article and lists several examples of how business owners have used their businesses to the glory of God. He even highlights an Indianapolis based business - Defender Direct.
Thank you for reading!
(Please review the disclosures of the links provided. Neither Sycomore Financial nor its owner, provide any guarantee that you will receive this rate or that your account balance will not go down.)
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