HYSA

__redruM

It could be argued that stretching the truth about the state of the economy serves the purpose of getting liberal and centrist voters to the polls for the midterm elections. This includes the last two years. But past that point it’s too late for the rhetoric to be useful. And it’s not like a bunch of republican voter go to reddit for investing advice. It’s young liberals hoping to learn investing. Telling those people that 2007 is going to happen any moment now and they should sell everything and move their funds into a HYSA is very much friendly fire. It’s gross, but luckily there are other subreddits the political operatives have not yet found.

Brilliant-Rise3097

if the hold is only a month, a one‑month fixed‑rate or short‑term gilt‑edged security is basically the same as a HYSA but with a guaranteed rate; just bump the issuer’s credit score on the picker

agusus

That's not really true, the Fed funds rate indirectly affects banking consumers for sure. It sets the interbank lending rate range, so it sets a floor on the rate banks can earn off of the money consumers lend them. The OP is right to think that the greater the delta, the more their bank is short-changing them. It's worth picking a bank with the most competitive rate \*and\* most consistently prompt updates when the Fed funds rate changes (in both directions, not only prompt on the downwards). I'm not sure there's a list of which banks have the best track record on that. I deal with it by only giving my checking/HYSA account the minimum (just the current month's bills basically, sometimes 2 months worth) and keep the rest in Vanguard MM.

agusus

People with a lot of money in MM care. A 0.25% delta on $60k is about $150/yr. That may or may not be worth your time. But some people's HYSA's under deliver by 0.75% (3x that) or more. 60k or more in cash is reasonable for many people's \~6 month emergency funds, or retirees. And if you're holding a lot of cash you don't want to underperform the Fed rate by a lot because then you have a negative real yield - literally losing money.

RingoFreakingStarr

I have a HYSA with American Express and within the last month or so I've been notified that my % has gone up twice.

SnS2500

She could just put $6000 more in the Roth in SGOV, and then not pay taxes on the interest she would in the HYSA. No need to invest it now... small benefit of interest income in the Roth instead of the HYSA... she can take it out if she needs it... but in future years she may want to invest more in the Roth, so it would make sense to max it each yearly contribution now when you can, even if for time being you just have it in zero risk SGOV or something similar.

rvanasty

Are you planning to combine finances after marriage? She should keep 3-6 mo of bills in cash (HYSA) "emergency fund" and the rest should be invested.

EfficientExit4422

Fixed rate 5% HYSA

Straight-Annual8687

Auction going to be a nothing burger........the rates are not impacting the market, and are far too low to impact the market. Seriously, who's going to dump out of the market for \~5-6%? You can just about get that in a HYSA. Those that are in the market will remain in the market.

DONNIENARC0

If you actually think it's going to crash, then probably just hold cash, bonds, or throw it in a HYSA.

AcrobaticTurnip171

HYSA is solid for preservation, but the rates today are usually less than 0.5% p.a., so you barely beat a normal savings account. If you want a few extra pennies you could try a 1‑month Treasury bill—it's also risk‑free and the yield is a touch higher. Just make sure the account has no exit fees in a month.

mspe1960

You have never needed to send money via an EFT? How about you want some cash from an ATM*?* I am retired and the way I fund my entire life is by automatic monthly transfers from my HYSA to my checking account. As needed, a few times a year, I transfer accumulated dividends and/or capital gains to the HYSA to keep it funded for that purpose. And yes, some of those are SGOV. But I cannot use SGOV for cash flow. It does generate cashflow but I have to sell it and wait for funds to clear before I can use it,.

Medium-Pollution2643

Sympathize with the anxiety, everyone holding cash right now has run this exact math. But the signals you listed, overbuilt housing, the dollar, people cutting back on fun spending, are all things you can only really name after the fact, and 4% in a HYSA is taxed as ordinary income so your real return is thinner than it looks. If the money is truly untouched for 10 years I'd still put it in, maybe spread over 6-12 months if that helps you sleep, and if it's 5 years and you might actually need it, the savings account is a perfectly reasonable place to park it.

AlternativeKick5225

I totally hear your point about the short horizon – the extra few basis points from a 3‑6‑9 month T‑bill ladder are usually dwarfed by the hassle of setting it up and the risk of the office shutting down. For a 9‑12 month purchase I’d keep most of the $75k in a 4.5% HYSA and maybe keep the $15k SGOV as a quick‑access safety net, but otherwise skip the ladder.

mspe1960

They are saying they use SGOV as a replacement for a HYSA. I am saying, correctly so, that it is not a one for one replacement.

unpluggedcord

You got downvoted because nobody said it was as an HYSA

B_P_G

A HYSA account doesn’t have same day liquidity either.

NobodyOk1556

yeah, banks aren’t required to pass fed hikes straight through; they weigh depositor inflow against loan demand, funding costs and competition. feds bump the base rate, but your bank’s 3.4% is still around the market average for a while. i see most big online banks (Marcus, E\*Trade, SoFi, Capital One) raise their HYSA to 3.5‑3.75 around a week or two after a fed move. if you’re comfortable switching, moving a chunk to one of them will give you a few extra bps. or keep whatever you need in a brokerage money‑market or Treasury‑bill fund (SGOV, IIQA) if you don’t need instant ATM access. in short, the fed sets the tone, but each bank decides how fast to echo it.

Over-Computer-6464

HYSA and CD rates take a month or two to adjust to rate changes. That is why in 2020 I sold a lot of treasuries and bought CDs. The CDs remained at higher interest rates for a month or two after treasury rates dropped in March/April 2020.

mspe1960

SGOV is a good place to park cash, but it is not equivalent to a HYSA or MM fund. It is not as liquid. You cannot do an EFT from it, and you cannot write a check. If you don't need same day liquidity, it will not be an issue. But many people do.

__redruM

Index funds give next day liquidity, including SGOV which returns as much as a HYSA and lets you skip state taxes. But imagine you had your emergency fund in VOO for the last year. It’d be up 15% and could handle most normal dips without losing money, and after 5 you’d be approaching almost double your principal. This is a real risk, but would accelerate someone who started retirement savings late, and once you’re well into 6 figures, the market would have to really dip for you to sell at a loss. I still keep $20k on hand, but can’t leave much more out of the market.

Insulaner

I agree, I have my emergency fund in a HYSA for the immediate liquidity. I'd only use a money market fund/Treasury bills for cash I know I won't need right away.

redhill_qik

Both Marcus and ETrade have increased their HYSA interest rates 

sharp315

1. set aside emergency funds in a CD or HYSA 2. open a taxable brokerage account and invest what you can in VOO 3. later, once you have income, you can open an IRA account and sell down your taxable positions to contribute to the IRA. try to maximize your IRA contributions each year.

SarlaccJohansson

Well no, equities (say S&P500) outpace inflation in the long run. HYSAs do not. Inflationary risk dominates assets returning near the risk-free funds rate. HYSAs carry no price volatility or credit risk. You're right that they are good for liquidity and are certainly better than standard banks. I'm getting into "ackshually" territory lol but my opinion is we shouldn't describe HYSA as "zero risk," it costs nothing to be particular about the risks they do absorb.

Imaginary_Tie4218

I’m 23, nearing 24. Same boat background wise, Just decided to buy my first ever stocks (just some S&P 500 and similar). I’ve been working for years just keeping money in the bank making pretty much nothing (not even a HYSA). After working my first full time job this past summer and having more money than I’ve ever had before, I decided to invest and also open a HYSA. Feel like I’m taking baby steps. Also just got my first credit card so I can start building credit and make some cash back on purchases I would be making anyways. I used to use apps to scan receipts for gift cards and etc. feel like there is so much to this money game and I will never catch up or wrap my head around it all. Don’t even want to think about all the trading terms and tax terms that I’ll never understand. Baby steps

bam2350

SGOV or treasury direct or HYSA

SpookyKG

HYSA.

SarlaccJohansson

Sure, but price volatility is not the only kind of risk. Even for their "security," HYSA carry inflationary risk.

Active-List6373

Thank you! The same day I posted this I ended up opening a regular Roth, connected it to the HYSA, and transferee $7.5k to max annual contributions. Invested it into various S&P stocks. 

cheezweiner

So … not CDs, not Bonds, not treasuries, and not HYSA then?

Informal-Lime6396

Whatever you do, make sure it's in some interest bearing vehicle while idle e.g. in your broker's default money market cash position, HYSA, or bonds.

VolSurfer18

You should flip the numbers on your HYSA and IRA. No need to have that much in an HYSA when you can invest in the S&P and average between 8-12% per year versus HYSA yields which underperform inflation.

cheezweiner

So … not CDs, not Bonds, not treasuries, and not HYSA then?

boredinbabylon

HYSA exists as a liquid way to hold money instead of through a traditional bank account which is like 0.05%.

PeteDub

Plenty of HYSA are 4% right now. My CIT Bank is paying 4.1%.

spinz89

$170k in a HYSA with a 3.7% return will get you $6k a year with zero risk.

koalaification

i just turned 30, been in grad school for all my 20s, so the money ive invested is all my savings (before i had most of it in my brokerage in VT, but now most of it is in my HYSA (~100k) and ~50k in brokerage, and around ~23k in my roth ira (just started maxing that out 3 years ago). i was really scared to see it go down a lot during that feb 2026 dip, so thats why i pulled out and went towards the HYSA, though im sure it would have grown much more if i just hadnt touched it. lesson learned i guess but i grew up poor, my parents filed for bakruptcy during the great recession and lost our house, so im a bit more risk averse than most. i have no safety net so i didnt wanna see the one i built start to diminish.

koalaification

i sold my nvda from my roth ira at 222 last week, then it spiked up to the current price u see today (234). i regret it a bit but i did think the price was gonna come down again to the 199s/low 200s figured ill buy in when it goes low again. (cost basis at the time was 210 which i felt was too high) i did the same w my VT back in march, sold everything at the bottom and the stock skyrocketed the next day. i didnt buy back in, thinking itd crash again. foolish foolish foolish. i was scared id lose what i started out with, i couldnt bare to see it go negative so i sold but if i had just stayed it would have been an incredible run. i put all the money from that VT sell in my brokerage into my HYSA (it was getting 4.25% at the time, now it's 3.6%) the roth ira money from nvda i placed into SGOV. i figured the low gains would be preferabld to a negative year or stagnation but i was wrong, things can really turn around and u dont wanna regret missing the gains bc u pulled out

kurai-tsuki

HYSA doesn't adjust for inflation though, just moves somewhat in the same direction of interest rates. I stopped using my HYSA because it only was giving 3.3-3.5, nowhere near enough to cover inflation today

Sensitive-Exam649

fidelity money market funds do qualified for FDIC insurance. HYSA and Money market funds are essentially the same thing so they are FDIC insured. With ETF, mutual funds, and CEF don't qualify for FDIC insurance but eh brokerage do have insurance so this if they make a mistake or there systems get hacked and stock is sold the insurance will replace the shares at the current market price. The only catch with a Hack sells your funds you may have a hard time convincing the brokerage that the Hack occurred on there systems and not your laptop.

hammock62

The only ETF’s I own are in my separate 401k. My portfolio has 24 individual stocks. Over 33 years I’ve grown it for nothing at 17 to $4M and an additional $264k in HYSA earning close to $900/month

KaleidoscopeOnly2699

Exactly, but while you’re still in school and not getting earned income, the only tax‑advantaged vehicle you can tap is a Roth if you’re under 50 but need earned income—so you’ll still have to wait. In the meantime a taxable account (VOO or VT) is the next best thing, especially if you keep a solid emergency fund in a HYSA. That way you get in the habit and start compounding early.

Salty_Professor007

A HYSA is no safer. Who do think is insuring it up to $250,000?

MarkTheShark89

41k in a HYSA is excellent for your age.

InclinationCompass

Openbank HYSA is 3.8%

astrawberryandakiwi

It’s HYSA rn

enigman83

Depends on your goals. In your situation, consider these points 1)have yoru emergency fund available separately in HYSA. You may need it in time of surprise. 2) brokerage account will serve you where tax advantage will not, such as house, car or any big spends before retirement. 3 start investing early, even in boring setup, will get you to familiarise with investment, both good and bad. Hopefully you will not loss sleep over potential drops, but learning early is always good

Shadowrunner138

If you don't have access to a tax advantaged account, what other option do you have? You're not in to risk, so keep money in an emergency find somewhere. A HYSA, a money market fund, short term treasury ETF's, etc. Sounds like you might be a teenager who hasn't hit 18 in order to get a job yet. Build the emergency fund so you have the option of not depending on your family when things go wrong. Then open a tax advantaged account when you can.

Appropriate_Walk3862

I think if I was still in college only a couple years away from a taxable income job I’d stick to a HYSA until then. Not to make assumptions on your age but if there’s a chance you’re still claimed as a dependent? Also I’m pretty sure student owned investment accounts affect FAFSA.

GatorBo69

And you’re not “dumb stupid poor”, they actually say some of the most wealthy people make smart and conscientious decisions when it comes to being frugal and not wasting money. We have a strict monthly budget, so that 90% of what I take home is invested, I have 15% of my portfolio in physical precious metals (actually had to just get a second safe in the floor of my basement installed for such a reason) and yes we do take two 4 week long vacations every year so that we enjoy life. While always keeping $100k in a HYSA, and live in a very nice home in a gated community at the end of the cul de sac but it’s not super pretentious. We live well below our means, and I think that’s the key to a happy and successful life. Many ppl you see driving around in expensive cars are in massive debt sometimes and can’t hardly keep up with their payments. Bc most people don’t see people’s bank accounts but they can always see their car! 🤦‍♂️

URMomPaysFirMyCalls

Buy more Tbills and collect 5.2% or sell the DRAM January 2028 40p for 10% and collect 3.5% in HYSA at same time. Greed is a powerful thing.

OddDescription4523

I've been drawing back to cash in bits and pieces since the first of the year. The drop has definitely taken longer than I expected (it always takes longer than you expect, even when you account for the fact that it always takes longer than you expect), so I've definitely missed out on some gains, but I'm now sitting with 70% of my portfolio in a HYSA ready to gobble up on the cheap when these insane valuations finally snap back to reality. Pretty much all I've got left in securities are dividend yielders and a few holdings that I decided to just ride through the choppy waters.

Flokithedog

etfs and stocks are all down since mid summer. get into a HYSA until its settled

twnbay76

Take your money and start investing. HYSA torching you rn

ireallylikewatches

You're doing great. You've got a good cushion in the HYSA. Put your savings into the SEP and start a Roth. If you're worried about needing access to more than the hysa start a regular brokerage account also. Having access to both tax deferred and tax free assets in the future will be very valuable

br_k_nt_eth

Truly and sincerely, you’ll be amazed at what you can catch up on once you hit your highest earning years. I went from where you are right now to $100k in savings in 3 years just from regular contributions to IRAs, HYSA emergency fund, and some basic ETFs.  Have you considered how much you want in your HYSA emergency fund? 6 months of expenses is a good cushion. You could even go to 9 months since you’re contracting, just to be totally safe. Once you hit that (or before), you can increase your IRA and ETF contributions comfortably. You’ll see a big change. Remember, it snowballs. 

Otherwise-Road7137

i found the biggest shift for me was nothing fancy—just zeroing debt, locking in a 3‑month buffer, and then slamming the rest into a low‑cost total market ETF. i keep about 6k in the HYSA because the contractor side stream feels a little shaky. once that’s covered, every extra paycheck goes straight into a VTI/VOO basket and i let the comp do its thing. the fact that you’re already debt‑free means the math is on your side—just keep the 15‑30% haul and grow. at 70‑80k a year you can hit 100k in a few years if you stop treating the account as a “savings” and treat it as “investment”.

Active-List6373

OP Here, Thank you all so much for sharing your stories! It was neat to hear so many different perspectives. It has certainly helped me reframe my little self imposed crisis. As somone in a career where the whole premise is to "trust the process," it really seems I ought to take my own advice. I've gone ahead and pulled from my HYSA to max out my annual Roth IRA contributions in one go. I've invested it largely into the S&P. Additionally, I had a rollover IRA from a prior job with little bit of assets that I've gone ahead and merged into the regular roth. Finally, I will also be looking a bit more into a Self Employed 401k where I will likely begin re-allocating the $600/month that I've been sending to the HYSA. Going to make some lifestyle adjustments to try and save some money, look for expansion opportunities at work, and really start hamming up the 401k contributions to the best of my ability.

__redruM

You have 10 months of expenses in your HYSA, that’s a bit more than you really need. If you already know you’re behind, then you know some risk is needed to catch up. But you don’t have to stick the HYSA money in an IRA, drop it in a brokerage account in VT or VOO. That way it’s still available if you need it in an emergency. Keep 12-15k in lower risk like SGOV, and the rest in VT or VOO. **If you really want bold lifestyle anectdotes, /r/personalfinance has you covered better than /r/investing**

thetaFAANG

\> What's more, the SEC claims Meyer spent more than $18,000 in fund capital for his "personal entertainment" $18,000 off of $18 million that he also paid back ok. not news cmon SEC. the HYSA would have given him that

Lucifers-Reprieve

Some places there are tax advantages to sgov, but also depends on the return of your non promotional HYSA.  

rainbow658

Net: $1,360,040 $1,646,329 assets: $39,409 cash (HYSA) $629k house (Z- estimate) $9500 car (Bluebook) $967k investments 85% stock, 10% bonds 5% cash/alternate Liabilities $286,288 $11,475 credit cards (paid in full every month) $274,816 mortgage at 5%

TheMagarity

You might consider opening a non IRA investment account and keep like 6 months instead of 10 months buffer in the HYSA. The rest can be invested in ETFs in the non IRA account. This lets you potentially get higher returns but unlike an IRA can be withdrawn if you really need it. I didn't get my undergrad until 30 either and had no savings before that. Now I have a pretty big savings. It's all about controlling expenses and building savings. You're actually better than I was at 35 so by 55 I'm confident you will really be all set.

Suitable-Olive-6703

i was in a similar spot at 32: 75k contractor salary, rent 3k, 30k in HYSA, no 401(k) match. the big back‑burner was the quarterly tax pull. i started pulling a chunk of the 1099 tax payment into a self‑made IRA and used that cash to bump up my hourly rate on the portal and actually start marketing that higher rate. the extra flex got me 10k extra a year in take‑home, which i slotted into a low‑fee ETF mix. a few years later that 30k cash grew to 50k, my IRA grew past 20k, and my net worth crept up to 100k—all while staying debt‑free. the trick was treating the tax pull as "growth capital" instead of a drain.

userax

>I have this nagging urge of pulling out my money and waiting for a better time (would be a couple hundred dollars loss I believe). If you can't stomach losing money, then investing is not for you. It is exceptionally unlikely that you will buy in at the lowest point and sell at the highest point. There is a real chance of losing money, especially in the short term. But in the long term, diversified investments generally return 7-10% a year. I would recommend just pretending the account isn't there and not checking it. But if you really really don't want any chance of losing any money, then put your money into a HYSA, CDs, bonds, etc. It's not a optimal financial strategy, but for some people, peace of mind is more important.

NegativeConv

Not too far behind, use your existing asset mix as a “safety net” and continuing investing for the future. Cash (HYSA) will not help you catch up.

URMomPaysFirMyCalls

These brokerages are being stingy with my HYSA interest. Cough it up!

Admirable-Royal-7553

Benefit of being a shareholder: potential gains, stock growth, dividends that will pay out more than what you put into a company. Retained earnings are exactly what you said. You know you can sell your dividend stock for what the current price of the stock is? If I paid $60 into coca-cola and make my 5% dividend for 10 years, I can sell my stock and make whatever the current price is (that 5% gain would also make me a 27% profit even if the stock stayed at $60. I like having businesses grow without putting any input into the company (or starting my own, idk if that is your argument) your house argument may not be the best as home prices (in the us where I am) has gone up 81% in 10 years. So that is a pretty good asset. And with stocks you don’t need to pay for repairs or utilities. My cash flow is the gains the company has made and is returning to investors/ from others purchasing stocks and bringing up the stock price. Or dividends I am receiving from the company I agree you don’t necessarily make gains until you sell (when it becomes realized gains or losses) but you still own that stock that has value based on… well investor sentiment that hopefully is based on the value of a company and it’s projected growth (I know nvidia and Tesla don’t really hit those marks). But historically the broader market has been growing since its conception and that is what investors are banking on that it will continue to grow and create a profit for those who bought previously. Look, historically, those who invested money into the broad market has seen returns that are greater than having it stuffed inside of their mattress. You have day traders, and those trying to get a quick buck, but you also have those who are there for decades compiling compounding growth by just putting money into the market and forgetting about it. It’s how most American’s retirement works as well. It would be one thing if the whole market was a bunch of speculative bitcoin stock, but people buy into Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Walmart, uhh Tesco, and plenty of others who have value, who have grown over the past few decades, and have provided large amounts of returns that are averaging over 260% growth over the past decade. If you want to be speculative and worry that your money will disappear or you need that cash next month, don’t invest. Just get a HYSA and just get your 3% return each year. If you don’t think the world’s markets will crash and have spare money you don’t need at the moment and want to see potential growth with a bit of risk, why not put into the market where you can double your money around every 7-10 years (if trends continue)

Frequent-Hat-5260

Cash gang counting down the hours for that massive 3% interest to hit their HYSA account

Newbiewhitekicks

5-7 years is too short of a time period to be invested in equities. For this time period you’ll want SGOV, treasuries/bonds, CD, or HYSA.

Admirable-Royal-7553

Well, your money doesn’t disappear when you invest into a stock. If I bought at $90, I can sell it 2 minutes later at around $90. Every stock is different, but a broad ETF investor is probably looking to make 8%/year on growth of the market. Sometimes that comes from dividends, sometimes it comes from overall cost of stocks going up (you bought it cheaper). There is always the possibility of losing money, but higher risk can have higher rewards. I have my investments between ETFs (including retirement) and spare HYSA I can use in case of emergency. My investments are up 13% this year that would have only been like 1-2% sitting in my bank account. I have no use for the money right now as I am not ready to settle down and would rather have it doing something positive than falling behind inflation. I am in here for the long run and am trying to set myself up for retirement even with a less than median wage job with compounding growth. Most jobs in the US (where I am at) don’t provide pension so I need to work now to get a cushion of money to be able to retire without.

BarryMannnilow

Just ran my calculations actually at I had no real idea. 401k with match, match on bonus, HYSA, HSA, I'm at about 34% savings rate of my total W2. I also invest more from my side business usually just max ROTH IRA so a tad more

Frequent-Hat-5260

Cash gang counting down the hours for that 3% interest to hit their HYSA account

btdawson

I pay myself, but take all of the money and stick into HYSA. I pay like $5k quarterly. Then pay a lump sum at the end and collect interest in the meantime

justaheartsurgeon

24.5 401k, 24.5 457, 403a 50k, \~8k HSA, additional 6-7k per month HYSA

Spectre75a

“Hardly any different than an HYSA”, except SGOV’s yield is higher than most non-promotional HYSAs and the tax treatment is better (if your state allows, which most do).

cheezweiner

You’re forgetting that many states don’t consider distributions from treasuries/funds taxable. HYSA: interest gained = taxed fed and state Treasury fund: distributions gained = taxed at fed, not state

kirlandwater

Not if they need the income immediately. They do need growth, but not at the expense of actively drawing down or giving up income producing holdings. I don’t want to suggest yield chasing, but they definitely want to be looking into something more aggressive of a fixed income product than HYSA/CD’s. Some junk bonds, IG corporates, buy-write funds, etc. And a bit in a broad market index fund to try to outpace the drawdowns as long as possible.

Low_Plastic363

So it acts like a HYSA basically to park money.

proverbialbunny

500k is plenty to retire off of with social security. When you're retired or near retired you're supposed to move more towards fixed income assets. You can make sure the HYSA / CDs are a high enough interest rate. I'd suggest they switch to 2 year bonds, which will probably pay better than a NYSA / CD, and the high interest rates will be fixed through a recession. It's a really bad time to suggest people who are nearly retired buy stocks. Like 2006 bad. I have a TON of evidence for this, I'm not just saying that. I'd only suggest they buy stocks after S&P starts falling and then it's been 1.5 years from the top of S&P. This is because most recessions last 1-2 years, so 1.5 is a sweet spot. Furthermore, because they're pretty much retired only a fraction of their savings should be in S&P. Something like 80% at the bottom of a recession, and then a gradual redistribution over the next 5 years to anywhere from 80-100% HYSA / CDs or bonds.

zer1223

SGOV is hardly any different than a HYSA. People who are "investing" in bonds aren't using SGOV. The bond market is extremely complex and I can't speak to it, to be honest. It may be better to buy raw bonds than bond ETFs, it may not be, idk

SecondBaseIsAnal

Just give me my money back and I promise I will put it all into a HYSA

daygo449

I’d do 6 months emergency fund and leave it in your HYSA to gain interest off it. You can take that interest and reinvest it or use it if you need to. Once you fully fund that, I’d switch to full investment mode. You said the kids have some money in a 529, and their grand parents have money for them. You could always fund more into that, but I will say this. They can take out loans for school, which is an acceptable use of debt (done wisely), but in retirement, there is no equivalent. I’d fully fund 401K match, then Roth IRA, back to 401K, and if you have something leftover, then put it in 529’s.

BlockQuantCapitalLab

Makes sense, and with commission income I'd set a hard number instead of a feeling: for example 9 months of expenses in the HYSA, then every dollar above that goes to the market automatically. That way the strong paychecks do both jobs until year end without you deciding each time. At your income a direct Roth IRA is probably phased out, but a backdoor Roth still works ($7,500 per person for 2026) as long as you don't hold pre-tax IRA money, and it's worth doing before the taxable account. If you're on a high-deductible health plan, the HSA is another pre-tax bucket people often forget.

OrchidOk1472

Maxing out 401k Lots of my work is repeat business, so the *hope* is the bottom doesn’t fall out- but I also understand that’s what an emergency fund is for. So I have a bit further to go in my HYSA, before I put it all into the market

1dirtbiker

You've got 6 months of an emergency fund, which is at the bottom of where you should be for working a comission only job. I'd probably split it 50/50 toward HYSA and investments.  Are you contributing to a 401K or IRA?

Vlisa

My none finance savvy friends excited by a 3% HYSA not aware they are losing money to inflation. :sadsuit:

Ozqi

I have $12,000 in a HYSA, maxing out my ROTH IRA annually, and contributing 15% to my 401K. I also have about $5,000 in my main portfolio. I have a mortgage that’s about 30% paid off I have a 2025 Toyota almost entirely paid off. Just got a raise to put me into 6 figures. In my mid 20’s I don’t need any help just wanted to flex on you poors.

D3ATHSQUAD

ZERO. I've always said this should be dependent on how much you have but if I am sitting on six figures+ in a brokerage account why would I bother with $10-$15k sitting in an HYSA? If I need extra money for an emergency it takes two seconds to hop on your brokerage to sell a couple stock and transfer the funds to your checking account. And if you truly need it that day, charge it and two/three days later when the money from your brokerage account arrives just pay the card off.

akimus22

I aim to invest 15% of my gross income, including employer match, into Target Date Funds in my retirement accounts. Any cash I can save on top of that goes into my HYSA.

Mordeking

“- the bubble will pop, give it a year max \- the shit show after the pop will be massive” \^if you are sure of this then why not do a 1 year bond or keep it in a HYSA and then swoop in after the crash

peterpeer9

About $400,000 in a few different HYSA, treasuries, and I-Bonds. Check out sofi

nowuff

Yeah it completely depends on how fixed your monthly expenses are. If you have dependents, it’s tough to have anything less than 6-9 months. But alone, 3 months isn’t an issue. A good approach after that is to layer a bit. Example for me: \- first 3 months: straight cash, HYSA \- next 3-6 months: CDs, some short-term bonds \- everything after that: long-term investments, eg VOO, growth stocks, etc. Separately, if i know i am going to have a cash purchase coming up within a defined time horizon, eg planning to buy a house in 3 years, I will exclusively invest the cash for that in assets that match that tenor (3yr T-notes, corporate bonds, etc)

OddDescription4523

What's your investment time window? Cards on the table, I think we're in for a big drop, because AI is not going to monetize well, and the hyperscalers are going to take the hardest hit, so I predict one hell of a gut punch for Meta.... sometime between tomorrow and 2 years from now. That being said, long-term, Meta isn't going anywhere. So, if you're concerned about the next 5 years, I'd secure a good portion of your profits, maybe sell all of it that you're holding long and just keep what you're holding short, and put some of that money in ETFs and hold some back in a HYSA as dry powder for a probable crash. If your time window is 10-20+ years, I'd say it's up to you whether you want to lock in some gains now and hope to buy those shares back at a discount or just let it ride through the drop and the climb back up.

interpreterdotcourt

Should the amount in a HYSA emergency savings account be inversely proportional to the stability of a particular job? More job stability, less needed in the account, less stability, more needed in the account?

S_Jack_Frost

I am not reading all of this but hedge funds primary goal is wealth preservation not to beat the market. Beating HYSA + not losing too much in a downturn is where the magic lies. And this is not easy when portfolio sizes are hundreds of millions

RedditLeagueAccount

Income ETF's do not perform excessively better than normal etf's as a warning. SCHD is popular because it has stable companies that will likely run fine even during a recession. Most other income ETF's that do not have that defensive style will not perform especially well. There are technically funds that do **inverse** funds. So if you think QQQ is going to fail for example, there are ETF's set up to perform while its crashing. But all forms of the income funds only do well in the sideways market. They wont do amazing in the up or down. But yeah, the common options are - SCHD and CD/bond ladders. Alternatively, Keep 1-2 years of pay in some form of cash, HYSA, or a CD/bond ladder. Keep investing in normal ETF's in the mean time. I put some CC funds in a for fun account and I'm still not sure why. Normal ETF's would outperform and sell for more than the CC ETF's would pay. They will also recover better from the market down turns. It feels nice getting the cash until I realize that SPMO would have outperformed.

Negrom

It for sure still pays federal taxes as its income, but things like $SGOV *are* state tax exempt. We keep a small liquid cash pool in our HYSA, and then the bulk of our savings is in $SGOV for this reason.

_zir_

eight fucking years? dude... please just put it in an HYSA.