(Disclaimer: I take absolutely no responsibility for your financial decisions in any way shape or form.)
- Open a high yield online Savings Account. If you're the type that usually lets spare cash sit in your bank account without spending it immediately this is a no-brainer. I have an account with ING that is a 4.5% Annual Yield and currently at Washington Mutual they're offering 5%. Basically you earn about 5% every year on your account, painfully simple and the only drawback is that after you make a deposit it takes a few days to be eligible for withdrawal and your limited to a certain number of withdrawals a month. If you decide to open an account with ING let me know before you sign up and I'll send you a referral which gives you a $25 bonus and me a $10 bonus after you have deposited $250 in your account.
- Invest in an Index Fund. This tip is straight from Warren Buffet, if you are a know nothing investor put your money in an index fund and leave it alone. An index fund is essentially a mutual fund that attempts to mimic the movement of an index such as the S&P 500 or what most would consider the stock market. In general index funds do a good job at staying even with the market, so if the S&P went up 8% in a certain year the fund should be yielding about 8% as well. The hardest part about the process is choosing an index fund thats best, I'll try to blog on that some time soon.
