Ready to save but where to put it besides under the matress!

[newnikki]

Hey there everyone....I am in a financial mess at the moment and seriously taking strides to pull out. It will be a few months before I will have any savings at all but my question is...when i am ready where should i put it? See I want to buy a home in about 3 yrs and dont have too much to save but I dont want to go into buying a home with NO down at all so where can I put it that it will grow and I will not have a ton of penalties to take it out for a down on a home. I know some accounts let you borrow for a home purchase, perhaps you can shed some light on that.

[BAGAGT1]

Since you have nothing saved at the moment, you will probably want to start with a high yield saving account like that at EmigrantDirect.com which is currently paying 4% APY. If you know you won't be looking for a home until 3 years, once you have some savings, you can move it into a money market account or a 1 yr. CD. I would not invest that money in a mutual fund or other investment account, as the timeline for using that money is too short, and you wouldn't have enough time to bounce back from a loss.

[Tree0164]

You want to put it in a savings account.

An account like ING or Emmigrant is perfect. You don't to use mutual funds for savings under 5 yrs.

[dealsaver]

Check your local credit union. Many of them have rates much better than you see posted on Bankrate and other places.