Welcome to Ask Clark, a column designed to answer your financial questions, by money expert Clark Howard.
Where Should I Put the Money I Made From Selling My House?
Leslie from North Carolina asks: “I just sold my house for a nice profit. Where’s the best and safest place to park this money until I’m ready to use it to purchase or build my next home? We want to move from North Carolina to Virginia in the next year and will likely build due to the low availability of homes.”
Clark’s Take on Where To Park Your Money Right Now
Clark says: Although the interest rate is not great right now, an online savings account is your best bet for a temporary holding place.
“The only thing you can do with money that’s going to sit for a relatively short period of time like next year, when you move to Virginia, is to put it in an online savings account where — at best — you’re going to earn only half a percent on your money,” Clark says.
Here are the best online banks with savings accounts.
Clark also has a warning: “Don’t put more than a quarter-million into any one of these online banks,” he says. “If you really made a lot of money on your home, you might need more than one online bank account.” That’s because the FDIC insures deposits only up to $250,000.
As you know, Clark is a big fan of online banks because of the minimal fees. “You won’t have to worry about any loss of your funds and you’ll earn more than you would otherwise.”
To hear Clark’s full take on this question, listen to the segment:
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