I've been considering what I want to do with my money lately. Right now I am in the enviable position of making more than I really want to spend. This is a good place to be, but I have felt that I'm not making the most of it. Money is just piling up in my checking account which, as many know, is not a good place for it to pile. No interest means I'm slowly losing money to inflation.
I've considered my options for a while. A standard saving account is a waste. You are looking at 0.2% interest. More than checking but much much much less than inflation. ING Direct has a savings option that earns about 3% interest. Still not beating inflation, but at least its in the right order of magnitude.
In the end I realize that I have a car loan sitting there earning 5% or so. My current plan is to vastly accelerate my car payments. I'm in the 26th month of a 60 month loan. I think I may be able to pay it off by month 30. Then I will own my car outright and be able to pour that monthly payment money into an ING account and eventually some longer term stuff as well. At some point this will turn into housing downpayment money.
I'm considering the housing market right now and I don't really like what I see. It is a great time to own a house or sell a house. I don't think that it is a good time to buy a house, prices seem incredibly inflated because of interest rates. I'd much rather save and maybe rent at this point. If the housing market has a correction, then being a guy with real money is great. If it doesn't and prices simply plateau (as expected) I'm still not out much money.
If anyone has any thoughts, feel free to express them in the comments.
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