Open a high-interest savings account If you put money into a high-interest savings account and leave it for six months or a year, it will earn interest. Interest is extra money on top of the money you put in. Find out how to set up a savings account.
It's not the most exciting way to spend your money, but it is the wisest. When you have more money at your disposal, the best way to use it is to pay off your debt so that you can stop paying interest. Prioritize high-interest debt first, such as credit card debt.
Go ahead and treat yourself
A good strategy is to put the money into a savings account and take some time to consider how you want to spend it. You may decide to treat yourself with a small part of it, but use the rest to pay down debt, invest or simply keep saving.
For most investors, we'd recommend a broad mutual fund or ETF that tracks an index of stocks such as the S&P 500. Index funds offer some of the easiest and most reliable options to build wealth, minimizing the time needed to pick between investments and allowing an individual to own small bits of hundreds of stocks.
If you want to save a lump sum longer term, statistics suggest you're generally better off investing in stocks and shares – rather than putting it into a savings account. The easiest way to do this is via an investment fund that holds a number of shares chosen by the fund manager and his or her team.
How much is too much cash in savings? An amount exceeding $250,000 could be considered too much cash to have in a savings account. That's because $250,000 is the limit for standard deposit insurance coverage per depositor, per FDIC-insured bank, per ownership category.
In fact, a good 51% of Americans say $100,000 is the savings amount needed to be financially healthy, according to the 2022 Personal Capital Wealth and Wellness Index. But that's a lot of money to keep locked away in savings.
Is $20,000 a Good Amount of Savings? Having $20,000 in a savings account is a good starting point if you want to create a sizable emergency fund. When the occasional rainy day comes along, you'll be financially prepared for it. Of course, $20,000 may only go so far if you find yourself in an extreme situation.
Interest on $100,000
Investing this amount in a low-risk investment like a savings account with a rate between 2% to 2.50% of interest each year would return $2,000 to $2,500. Investing in stocks, which may earn up to 8% per year, would generate $8,000 in interest.
Many seasoned investors will argue that the best investment for 100K is in real estate. Instead of putting your money into intangible assets such as stocks or retirement accounts, investing in real estate allows you to invest in real property.
While the recommended retirement plan savings amount is up to four times your annual salary, this is not realistic for many Americans in their 40s. The average income for those in their 40s is just above $50,000, but the median retirement savings amount for this age group is $63,000.
High net worth individuals put money into different classifications of financial and real assets, including stocks, mutual funds, retirement accounts and real estate. Most of the 20.27 million millionaires in the U.S. did not inherit their money; only about 20% inherited their money.
U.S. government securities–such as Treasury notes, bills, and bonds–have historically been considered extremely safe because the U.S. government has never defaulted on its debt. Like CDs, Treasury securities typically pay interest at higher rates than savings accounts do, although it depends on the security's duration.
By age 30, you should have saved close to $47,000, assuming you're earning a relatively average salary. This target number is based on the rule of thumb you should aim to have about one year's salary saved by the time you're entering your fourth decade.