where are stashing your "safe" money?

[mistymoney]

hearing grumbles about bonds. where to put the money you want safe?

[Tasse]

HYSA (including one where we get 7% as long as we promise to use it to buy a house) and money market (for the emergency fund we don't want to promise to spend on a house). This is also money I want quick-ish access to, though, which may not be exactly what you are asking.

[Kapyarn]

I bought some TIPS, good yield.  Not worried about default because I will stop paying my taxes if my TIPS default.

[waltworks]

VMFXX.

[StapleSauce]

I have most in a HYSA. I also put some recently in a short term international bond ETF to hedge against a hypothetical dollar devaluation. But the vast majority is in a HYSA.

[aasdfadsf]

VMFXX.

Same. I switched about 50-75% of my stocks to this, depending on the portfolio, back in Feb. for defensive reasons, and I'm glad I did. (With hindsight 100% would have been better.)

I'm currently seeking an even more defensive move if it turns out that a debt default, or simply talk of a debt default, is in our future. I think it is unlikely, but then again betting that no one could be that stupid keeps turning out to be a bad bet. 

[VanillaGorilla]

VMFXX.

^^

[reeshau]

For those truly feeling paranoia, a reminder that money market funds are not insured against loss of value. (They are insured against broker shenanigans by the SIPC)  In times of financial crisis, they can break the buck. Money market accounts are insured by the FDIC, up to $250k.

This differential was essentially meaningless, until 2008.  The government then did step in to provide a temporary backstop.

[AuspiciousEight]

Personally - High yield savings account and real property.

For the truly paranoid if you don't believe the government will pay their debts, and/or see hyper inflation in the future, I would honestly consider things like real property, farmland, consumables, tools, and buying things for the future today also.

Of course, I don't believe it's healthy to have that level of paranoia. One has to have a certain amount of faith in society and government and the economy to even bother trying to retire early, imo.

[firemane]

Personally - High yield savings account and real property.

For the truly paranoid if you don't believe the government will pay their debts, and/or see hyper inflation in the future, I would honestly consider things like real property, farmland, consumables, tools, and buying things for the future today also.

Of course, I don't believe it's healthy to have that level of paranoia. One has to have a certain amount of faith in society and government and the economy to even bother trying to retire early, imo.

I feel Real property is necessary to be safe due to cybersecurity attacks. However, I don’t have the ambition to start a rental or farmland empire.

[ATtiny85]

A couple million dollars in BND as part of our appropriately chosen asset allocation. I don’t have to worry, there are plenty of others doing enough hand wringing.

We have maybe low six figures in a TIPS index fund also.

It’s been part of our plan to buy a few individual treasury bonds before long. Probably in the next month I will at least buy a couple in my tIRA. A TIPS and a nominal just to get experience with the process at Vanguard.

I bought some TIPS, good yield.  Not worried about default because I will stop paying my taxes if my TIPS default.

LOL, love this point of view! Well said.

[moustachebar]

I bought some TIPS, good yield.  Not worried about default because I will stop paying my taxes if my TIPS default.

LOL, love this point of view! Well said.

So do I. Fantastic. Thanks for the smile.

Wonder what form to file when that happens?

[aasdfadsf]

Personally - High yield savings account and real property.

For the truly paranoid if you don't believe the government will pay their debts, and/or see hyper inflation in the future, I would honestly consider things like real property, farmland, consumables, tools, and buying things for the future today also.

Of course, I don't believe it's healthy to have that level of paranoia. One has to have a certain amount of faith in society and government and the economy to even bother trying to retire early, imo.

I feel Real property is necessary to be safe due to cybersecurity attacks. However, I don’t have the ambition to start a rental or farmland empire.

I'd guess that over half of our net worth is already in real estate. And like a lot of people on this forum, I am becoming increasingly exasperated at having to be a landlord. It's a job unto itself (I spent 2.5 hours on Friday fixing a door that a handyman couldn't get right). My goal is to totally divest it when fully retired so I no longer have to think about it.

If the real estate market crashes like it did in '08/'09, I'll probably try to swoop in and pick up some deals. Right now I think it's overvalued, at least where I live (and no, I'm not buying something in a far away town I'll never visit hoping that someone else can manage it for me without ripping me off). That will of course need to happen after the shit hits the fan. 

Something similar can be said of gold. If you bought gold several months ago, you've made out like a bandit. Is there any more upside? Who knows. But if you bought gold in, say, 2011, when people had been flocking to it because of a safe haven, you would have waited a full decade just to break even. And gold of course generates no income.

So that's where I stand with safe havens. If there's a fund that is basically "pays a modest dividend and is totally safe if President Stable Genius destroys the world economy", then someone let me in on this. It may not be theoretically possible.

[ChpBstrd]

I just buy SGOV or BIL in my brokerage account. You get the "risk-free" rate minus a few hundredths of a percent and are essentially immune to the interest rate risk of longer-duration bonds. Plus have a couple hundred dollars in cash stashed in your piggy bank at home.

[Kapyarn]

I actually did buy some gold around 2011...actually I think it was 2013 or so.  Expensive then at about $1500 an ounce and it went nowhere as you said until now, it is $3250 an ounce suddenly.  Still a decent return, buying near the high in 2013, then 12 years later it has more than doubled.  A EE bond would not have done that.

[BicycleB]

I had gone to about 25% cash early in the year, and kick myself for not buying gold - I'd been thinking since Dec '24 about it for exactly the reasons it turned out valuable. Just the same, bought a smidge of gold (3-4% of investable assets) a few weeks ago.

Very little free cash left - spent some on expenses, invested the rest gradually in stock, with the last third of the cash going into stock on the Friday and Monday after "Liberation Day".

It feels like either the stock market will survive and stock is fine, or the dollar will go down with the US market and gold will be strong against that, so part of me feels like an 80/20 stock/gold (or 70/30) is reasonable even at today's high prices. But I haven't acted on that beyond the smidge.*

*To be fair, I estimate that 40% of my long term income is from Social Security and two tiny fixed pensions, so that's my "safe" money - except if Social Security and my pension employers, a state and local govt, have trouble. Arguably gold is a hedge against govt failure in ways that stock isn't, increasing the hedge value for me, so - we'll see (gulps nervously).

[JAYSLOL]

My safe money I keep in my safe.  But seriously I usually keep a couple grand at home tucked away for emergencies, around 45k in an online hysa, and everything else is invested in not-so-safe assets. 

[habanero]

Some in a high-yielding bank account and most in a money market fund. The latter is accessible with 2 days notice as settlement time is t+2 as with most stuff.

[trc4897]

HYSA (including one where we get 7% as long as we promise to use it to buy a house) and money market (for the emergency fund we don't want to promise to spend on a house). This is also money I want quick-ish access to, though, which may not be exactly what you are asking.

Where are you getting the 7%? I am planning to buy a house next year, and the 7% would be awesome to help my savings compound faster!

[Tasse]

HYSA (including one where we get 7% as long as we promise to use it to buy a house) and money market (for the emergency fund we don't want to promise to spend on a house). This is also money I want quick-ish access to, though, which may not be exactly what you are asking.

Where are you getting the 7%? I am planning to buy a house next year, and the 7% would be awesome to help my savings compound faster!

Unfortunately it's a state program, so if you don't live in Ohio (and plan to continue living in Ohio) I can't help you. Although I suppose it's always worth looking into whether anything similar is available where you live.

[41_swish]

Just my Ally HYSA. Could I chase the highest rate? Sure, but I don't think it is worth transferring funds around all the time.

[San Diego Girl]

In short term Treasury Bill's, 6 month and one year.

[bigfoot]

VMFXX.

Same


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[41_swish]

You can always buy three month t bills if that is your sort of thing. I have always found hunting the highest HYSA/CD rate to be tiresome for the marginal improvement. My cash reserves are there to bail me out of a sticky situation, not make me rich

[markpst]

I am mostly in treasury bills of 13 or 26 weeks, broken up over several dates. I also have some VMFXX (Roth IRA and taxable brokerage), and some in Ally Savings. Will continue to add to safe assets when possible, w/o selling stocks as I am within two years of FIRE. Vanguard dividends are set to not reinvest.