What is a legitimate and worthwhile investment of $15,000 for 2-3 weeks?

We sold one house and we have exactly 3 weeks before the next closing. We will need that money for the next closing, but wanted to do something to make a little more money instead of just letting it sit for 3 weeks.

We have thought about just applying it to our current mortgage, but that won't gain us more than about $50.

Does anyone know of something we are not thinking of to increase that $15,000 without losing any of it?

Thank you.

There are not too many investments that will pay much for 2-3 weeks of investment that are going to protect your investment.

A mutual fund can easily go down in that amount of time. Besides, any gain you would have from that would be subject to capital gains. The same goes for stocks. Those are for long term investing. Some use them for short term gains but they also experience some pretty good losses.

A money market account can go down but I doubt that it would. Your money is not guaranteed in there. However, the risk is very low and they usually pay better than normal savings interest.

A bank savings account is protected by FDIC and you will not lose your money. However, you will gain very little.

Something else to think about with putting your money into savings and money market accounts, what are the fees involved and what are the restrictions. You may put your money into an account and then discover that there is an annual fee on it or that you have to pay a fee if you withdraw the money before a certain amount of time.

I think that since you need the money in a short amount of time then you should not get fancy with it. Use an existing account of yours (whichever will pay a better rate of interest) and leave it alone for the next 2-3 weeks. That will have the least amount of risk but it will make you very little. However, in that amount of time even an astounding annual rate of 20% will get you about $150 or so. Not that great of a gain to risk losing a portion of the money when you have a need for it in the very near future.

invest it in a mutual fund?

To be honest, I would just let it sit in a money market account. You can't take much risk with that money if you need it in the near future, so your return will be lower as a result.

For no risk - put it in a savings account or money market account at your local bank. The money market will pay higher interest, but the bank may have minimums you may need to meet. The bank or a credit union (if you are a member) is your best bet.

2-3 wks, not a whole lot to be gained,
leave it in the bank.

Invest in a T-Bill...but I dont think you can find one for 21 days...I wouldnt invest in mutual funds, stocks or bonds because you will pay a fee to buy and another to sell, which will eat up any profit you might have made and will probably lose you money.

So look to invest in a T-Bill or other money market instrument

Can you find a CD for that time frame?

Jenny Mae account...guaranteed (as goes the US Government anyway) and double the interest of a regular savings account...check with Vanguard online

With a 2-3 week window, it isn't an investment.

Here's a couple of ideas for you, though. As long as the general stock market sounds cheerful and chipper, these exchange traded funds (ETFs) will help reflect that value: NY (the biggest 100 companies on the New York Stock Exchange); IYY is the Dow Jones representation of the Total Market; ISI will buy you into a basket of the broader Standard & Poors 1500 stocks; the famous S&P500 is SPY; and if you bought DIA, then you could follow their progress by simply listening to the first piece of business news on the TV each evening "The Dow Jones average...[went up or down so many points, dollars]."

No promises of gains, they can and do fall in value, but the above are about as safe a generic piece of advice as you will get for a place to park some money in the stock market for a time, if you have a mind to do that.

There is only one sutiable investment vehicle in which you will be assured of not losing any principal: a money market account.

IMO, I think your first choice was the best. Pay off your current mortgage. It will reduce the compound interest you pay down the road. It's almost always a good thing when you prepay your mortgage early.

No.

Short-term investments are, by definition, very risky, and if you're not willing to lose any of the principle, you should let it sit somewhere safe. 2 or 3 weeks isn't long enough to make any significant money unless you've got a hot inside tip, in which case it would be illegal anyway.

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