Thursday, August 6, 2009

Why Interest Rates Are So Low

By Stacy Tran

No matter how hard you search for the best money market rates, you are not going to find anything very high right now. This is a bad time for someone who lives off a fixed income and relies on interest income for his or her survival. Retired people usually are the first ones you think of in this category, as their only two potential income sources are Social Security and investment income.

With CD interest rates and money market interest rates so low, there is really no safe place for retirees to put their money and get a reasonable rate of return. This is why retirees are also having a tough time in this atrocious economy. They don't have to worry about losing a job like many folks do but their income has taken a big hit too.

Retirees usually have most of their money in CDs and government bonds. This is because those rates are historically higher than those you get with a money market account. Most money market accounts will let you make periodic withdrawals and you can also take your money out at any time. This means you get a lower interest rate in a money market in exchange for the ability to always have access to your money.

Money market accounts are often used in conjunction with stock portfolios so that you can buy and sell stock and have the money go in and out of your money market account. No matter how long you search the Internet, you will not find one rate you are happy with. For someone who has some money and wants to invest it safely, you should be prepared to get little in return.

There is something called social lending that will give you a higher rate of return but it does come with some risk. With social lending, you are lending money to another person rather than a banking institution. This is done through the Internet and you might be able to get a rate of return of 6% or higher. In exchange for this higher rate you will be exposed to more risk as the person you loan your money to could default on the loan. Even with the risk, if you absolutely need to find a place where you can get a higher interest rate, this type of social lending is worth looking into.

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