Hi all! I'm looking for advice on where to store $4000 for about a year, give or take some months.
I am 24 years old - relatively new to investing and the working world - and I have some cash that I'm mostly using to set up Vanguard funds. However, after setting those up, I have about $4000 "left" that I would like to set aside for buying a car when my current one conks out. I drive a 2002 Chrysler PT Cruiser with 156,000 miles on it. I take good care of it and I intend to drive it until it can't be driven anymore - I'm guessing that time might come around 200,000 miles. I bike as often as I can, but my job requires that I have a car for some assignments. Moreover, I'll be moving across the country this summer and I plan to work in a road trip doing so, racking up about 6,000 miles in the process.
I like to be prepared for worst case scenarios, so I'd like to be able to buy a new car by January 2015 at the very earliest, though again I intend to drive my current car until it totally dies. (By the way, I'm thinking the next one will be a used Subaru Forrester - I do a lot of camping/road tripping/transportation of heavy gear when I drive - looking to spend around $7K for that car.)
I was looking at CD's but the Vanguard one requires a minimum deposit of $10K. Money Market funds might be another option, or Treasury Bills, or bonds. Or should I just throw everything into the Vanguard index funds I'm setting up, to maximize my principal investment, and withdraw whatever amount I'd need when car-buying time comes?