My partner and I currently have enough savings we could comfortably live off of for over two years, if we had no source of income. This amount is also enough to easily get a mortgage — we’ve been looking to buy for over a year now, but the housing market is awful.

All those savings are just sitting in our bank account and everyone we’ve talked to says that’s stupid with inflation eating it away. That is true, however we don’t know what to do with it in the meantime. Several people suggested investing in ETFs, but neither of us knows much about it. On the surface level, to me it sounds like one needs to invest a lot to see any benefit. It also looks suspiciously like gambling, which makes me uncomfortable. On the other hand, there doesn’t seem to be any alternative, except leave the money to slowly rot while we’re waiting for a good housing opportunity.

Any thoughts, suggestions?

  • dhork@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    5 days ago

    In your position, if you feel you have enough for your down payment, maybe “the market” isn’t the best place for it after all. There is risk to it, and in your position, the risk of it all going down 10% suddenly is not worth the reward of higher returns five or ten years down the road – you will need it before then. (And if the US tanks the global economy, but your nest egg is not exposed, then that may put you in a better position.)

    However, there are probably better places to put that money than a bank account, which will bring a better return while you decide what to do. There are money market funds whose objective is to invest in safe short-term debt. Technically, it has risk, but a fund manager would have to screw up badly to get a money market fund to lose money. OTOH, it will never dramatically increase in value overnight, because that’s not what it does.

    There are a lot of options now for self-directed Investing that you can even just try it and see what happens. Sign up for an online brokerage in the EU and see what options they give you. Funds are normally described simply with scores for risk and return. Try to find a low-risk fund that gives better returns than your bank account, and put the minimum in. If it works for you, increase your holdings. Read the fine print to make sure you can get out at anytime with no additional fees.

    This type of Investing in short term debt is distinct from gambling. Large companies and governments put out bond offerings as a way to borrow money, and these funds simply invest in things like that. They are seen as very low risk, because these entities normally have other good revenue streams and are unlikely to default. But, it can be very complicated to do effectively, which is why these money market funds exist. The fund managers do all the legwork to find good, low-risk opportunities (and, yes, take a bit off the top for their trouble), but in exchange you get a better deal.