saving for house

[amarowsky]

Hello, im trying to save up for a house. I dont have a lot of money saved right now but i have excellent credit and i make decent money for my age. i just moved back into my mom's house and work is really slow currently, so i been going back to school. I have and old cadillac that i can probably sell for around 8-12 K and im starting to put away a significant amount of my checks (roughly 30-50%) for the next year or so. And what i wanted were some Suggestions or Advice for some significant growth over a 1 to 2 year period for my money, or if you have a different plan let me know what u think, because i just wanna get on the stick for my house, and if i could get that money cruising i'd be happy. Thank u folks

[skydivingchic]

Since you are only looking at a 1-2 year time frame, this money should go into either an high yield online savings account or CDs. 1-2 years is not enough time to ride out any market swings. Savings accounts are only paying around 3-3.5% right now, but you will be guaranteed not to loose the money you put in.

[maat55]

provident direct has 3.5% on high yield savings and 4% on 18 month cd. These type investments as stated above, are of the best for a 1 to 2 year period.

[disneysteve]

I agree with skydivingchic. 1-2 years is very short-term. Go for the MMA and/or CD.

[Daylily]

My concern is that you state that work is really slow right now. Does that mean you aren't fully employed or don't get enough hours? I think it's great that you are saving for a house but I also wonder what you are doing so that when you do have a house you'll have a steady paycheck.

[Seeker]

My concern is that you state that work is really slow right now. Does that mean you aren't fully employed or don't get enough hours? I think it's great that you are saving for a house but I also wonder what you are doing so that when you do have a house you'll have a steady paycheck.

Sounds like he's hourly and they've cut back on the hours; so he's going to school right now too.

Going to college and getting a degree could lead to a more stable position; so he's pretty much doing the "right thing." Living leanly, working and gaining income/savings, going to school, goal of saving for a house, etc.

[jimstolz76]

provident direct has 3.5% on high yield savings and 4% on 18 month cd. These type investments as stated above, are of the best for a 1 to 2 year period.

That's awesome! I've used Provident for years and had no idea they had this!

Since I'm an existing customer, it took about 5 minutes and my new account is already opened and shows up with my other account in their online banking.

provident-direct.com

[amarowsky]

Yea Currently I work on the railroad. So they are paying for my school, but because i only have 1.5 yrs of seniority i cannot hold a 5 day a week job and have to work on the extra board (i get work when people are on vacation/off stick/ off for any reason). So In a year i should be holding a regular 5-day a week job and will have a much more steady income. I'm almost wondering if i should just save a ton of money cuz im living at home and just start putting it away into high yield-aggressive mutual funds that are more of a risk. Because the potential gain could put me in a really good position, several years down the road. Im still just thinking, but thank u folks for the 1-2 year advice using the CD or savings.

[zetta]

I'm almost wondering if i should just save a ton of money cuz im living at home and just start putting it away into high yield-aggressive mutual funds that are more of a risk. Because the potential gain could put me in a really good position, several years down the road. Im still just thinking, but thank u folks for the 1-2 year advice using the CD or savings.

The problem is that a potential loss could put you in a really bad position, where you have to wait 5-10 years to recoup enough money to buy the house.

The rest of your plan is great -- figure out how much it would cost you to live on your own, and how much your expenses are by living at home. Save all of the difference. This both builds up your house down payment, and gets you used to living within your means.

[cptacek]

If you aren't working 5 days a week, can you get a second part time job to help supplement your income?

[amarowsky]

its all seniority based at my work, and it'll probably be another year before im 5 days a week. Dont get me wrong sometimes i work every day in a week, but it all depends until i can hold a regular job at work. Because i work in detroit it's especially slow right now because of the hurting auto industry. and if i work less and 10 i can draw unemployment but at most it will only guarentee $60 for every day i dont work and if i make less than 1500 in total month (tho that is very rare even on extraboard). im kinda using my spare time and **** now for school that i just started to go to again. And i have lived on my own before but it was when i was out of state, i afforded my own apartment and all my bills so i kinda know what its like to live on my own. Im just trying to see what would benefit me more, living at home and letting my money grow though some mixture of stocks and funds, or to just save with my money securly slowly growing in a CD or Savings fund.

[Slug]

I'm recommending you do what everyone is telling you. Look for high-yielding CD's for this timeframe. The last thing you wanna do is put cash for a house in this market which is whipsawing it's way downward. You could spend years waiting for it to come back up. The CD's aren't fancy, but they'll get you there. You're on the right track.

[amarowsky]

yea i just checked out some bonds too, but for how long of a comitment they require, i dont think they will be what im looking for.