Investment Options For Short Term Goals You Might Not Have Thought Of
When creating your financial plans, the first thing to do is to identify both your short term and long term goals.
When creating your financial plans, the first thing to do is to identify both your short term and long term goals. These goals lie at the foundation upon which your investment is laid. By identifying your goals and mapping out your plans to achieve them, you can rest assured on having bright investments in future. If your goals involve keeping your hard-earned money safe until you need them in a near future, then chances are that your investment goals are short-termed.
These goals are the ones you can aim to achieve in one or two to three years; typically, they help you put your finances in order by allowing you to meet challenges as they arise. Consequently, they are highly liquid and can be easily accessed when needed. Each financial goal has a time space, so if yours fall within one to three years then you have a short term goal. While we are used to treasury bills and regular bank savings accounts, here is a list of some investment options you could also consider for your short term goals:
Online savings account:
If you're looking for where to save money periodically, while earning some interest overtime, then an online savings account is what you need. By investing in an online savings account, you can avoid reoccurring charges. In Nigeria, some online saving platforms include Piggyvest, Cowrywise, PayDay by Arm, etc.
Bond Investment
A bond is a debt instrument created for raising capital. It is a loan-agreement between the bond issuer and investor, in which the bond issuer is charged with specific payments of money periodically across chosen future dates. As an investor, when you purchase a bond, you are borrowing your principal to the bond issuer (private or public firm). As the bond matures, the issuer repays the principal to you with interests. With FGN bonds, you know your money is backed up by the government.
Certificate of Deposit (CD)
This is form of account with a fixed interest rate that comes with an attached withdrawal date, otherwise called the maturity date. With a CD, you agree to leave your money in a bank for a specific period of time (term length), during which you are not allowed to touch your funds. Term length varies and could be as short as a couple of weeks or as long as a decade. The more the term length increases, the more money you make over a period of time.
Cash management account
This is a type of account that allows you to use a financial organization for your saving and investment purposes. With a cash management account, you can put money in different short term investments. This gives you a lot of flexibility because as your money is invested in various platforms, you have the option to liquidate your assets at any time. While this isn’t common around here, you just might want to check it out.