Pete the Planner on the best places to stash your cash

On Sept. 18, we will learn whether or not the Federal Reserve will lower its federal funds interest rate for the first time in four years. It could be one of the biggest financial events of the year, leading to lower interest rates for lending and quite possibly a big bump in spending in the U.S. economy. In this episode of the podcast, our concern lies in its effect on the interest rates banks pay consumers for parking their money in savings. That interest rate also would go down.

For the podcast, we’re defining savings as money you want to be able to get your hands on fairly quickly without disrupting your long-term investment strategy. But it’s not necessarily the money you keep in your checking account either. It’s relatively liquid—some people still call it “cash”. But you want to be able to watch it grow—at least a little bit. There are lots of options for savers, such as passbook savings accounts, high-yield-savings accounts, certificates of deposit and money market accounts. And you almost certainly know someone who wants to punt their savings to tangible assets like gold. Each option has advantages and drawbacks, depending on how quickly you want to access your money, how much interest you can get and the amount of exposure to risk. IBJ Podcast host Mason King always has been a money-under-the-mattress kind of guy, but he realizes now that this is tantamount to hiding your head in the sand while the dessert cart rolls by. This week, IBJ columnist Pete the Planner fills us in on the Fed’s impending interest rate decision and the best places to stash your cash.

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