Good money market alternatives?

[Gone Fishing]

I like keep some cash on hand for larger planned expenses, but the Vanguard Money Market account is paying nothing.  Right now I have my cash in a local credit union that pays 1%, but they do not allow drafts or checks off of the account, I have to physically go in and get a check (or transfer to one of their checking accounts that includes a fee), which I do not care for.  Any other options out there?  Short term bond funds an option?

[forummm]

There are online banks that have 1% savings accounts. But what does "larger" mean? I keep about $3k on hand. For anything larger than that I have credit cards, cash flow from work, VG funds, etc.

[hodedofome]

Interest rates aren't paying anything these days, unless you want to take on extra risk, just realize you won't make money from safe, interest paying accounts.


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[adamwoods137]

I like keep some cash on hand for larger planned expenses, but the Vanguard Money Market account is paying nothing.  Right now I have my cash in a local credit union that pays 1%, but they do not allow drafts or checks off of the account, I have to physically go in and get a check (or transfer to one of their checking accounts that includes a fee), which I do not care for.  Any other options out there?  Short term bond funds an option?

Consumers credit union requires some legwork but pays 3% on balances up to $10,000.

[adamwoods137]

I like keep some cash on hand for larger planned expenses, but the Vanguard Money Market account is paying nothing.  Right now I have my cash in a local credit union that pays 1%, but they do not allow drafts or checks off of the account, I have to physically go in and get a check (or transfer to one of their checking accounts that includes a fee), which I do not care for.  Any other options out there?  Short term bond funds an option?

Also, if you have a year, I really like I-Bonds.

[Scandium]

I like keep some cash on hand for larger planned expenses, but the Vanguard Money Market account is paying nothing.  Right now I have my cash in a local credit union that pays 1%, but they do not allow drafts or checks off of the account, I have to physically go in and get a check (or transfer to one of their checking accounts that includes a fee), which I do not care for.  Any other options out there?  Short term bond funds an option?

Also, if you have a year, I really like I-Bonds.

Except they currently yield 0.0% so there is literally no reason to buy at this point. New rates in November..

[Yankuba]

I put my cash in a Vanguard muni bond fund for my state. The yield is about 2 percent but you have to worry that the fund will lose value when they raise interest rates.

[hodedofome]

I've used SHY as my 'cash' component in brokerage accounts, I never look at the yield because I'm not trying to make money off of it. Reaching for yield in this environment will get you into trouble, just expect you will have lower returns than you had in the past.

[RichWard]

I guess it depends how much you're keeping on hand. If you're only keeping a few grand on hand, 1% probably is okay. Getting 3% vs 1% on $5K is $100.

I typically just accept the fact that interest rates are low so my short-term funds/emergency fund isn't going to grow. At the same time, investment growth isn't the purpose of these funds. Every bit counts, but at some point, your marginal return on is too low.