[Deanna926]

Where would be the most logical place to invest approximately $20,000? The most I have found is a minimum 2%, 10 years, guaranteed to not lose any of the original investment but depending on the economy, it could go up. There's an automatic 6% added at sign up. I could withdraw 10% each year after the first year but I would lose the 6%. Thank you!

[morgaine300]

What exactly is this "investment" you refer to? Is this some sort of annuity or something? I tend not to trust things that guarantee me no losses. (Except for cash and cash equivalents.)

Where the most logical place to put it depends on certain factors. When do you need it? Could you possibly need it sooner? Is this your life's savings? How much risk do you want to take? There is no one answer to where to stash your money without knowing the circumstances around it.

[Deanna926]

The company that I'm considering investing in (annuity) is called Forethought Financial Group & no, this isn't my life's savings. Other than what I mentioned in my original posting, I don't know what else to add. 2% doesn't sound like much but right now the money is in the bank earning less than 1%.

[morgaine300]

I'm not an expert in annuities - and in fact know about nothing about them. The one thing I do know is that many of them suck and that you have to be very careful with them.

So you don't know when you need the money? You can't decide how to invest without a time line. If you can need it at any moment, then you keep it in something super safe. I can't really imagine needing to keep $20K all in one place, to have available at any time. Having an emergency fund is good, but that's a lot. Does it need to all go in one place? Maybe some in a safe place that you can get at it, and some for longer term that could be put into a mutual fund or something.

But no one can tell you that without knowing what this money is for, and what kind of time line you may have on it, how risky you can get, etc. Even your age. (When it's long-term money, you can be riskier when you're younger. If it's short-term age doesn't really matter.)

If you need readily available cash, you need to keep in mind that interest rates totally suck right now and you're going to have a hard time finding anything that is safe for short-term, but also really pays any decent return. If you look hard enough you might find a CD paying 2%. (Perhaps a special someone's running, or perhaps only an online account.)

But really, you haven't given enough information for anyone to help you. Someone might be familiar with that type of annuity and be able to tell you if that's OK, but I don't know annuities. Personally I don't mess with them.