Ask Terry Questions If I sell my stocks, what to do with the cash?

If I sell my stocks, what to do with the cash?

By Terry Savage on October 12, 2018 | Chicken Money

Thank you for your email newsletter today about what to consider doing, given today’s market decline. Since I’m at retirement age, I will probably sell some of my stocks, just in case. That will give me cash just sitting in my accounts, earning no interest. What are some options to do with that cash? I was wondering about buying bonds or CDs. Do those options preserve my money until things settle down and I decide what to do next? I love seeing you on the WGN morning show. Thanks so much!

Terry Says

These days it’s easy to earn more than “nothing” on cash. A few months ago I wrote a column about how to buy U.S. Treasury bills — IOUs directly from the U.S. government, therefore the highest safety. Here’s a link to that article.
You can buy Treasury bills of 3 and 6 month maturities with as little as $100. The money is automatically taken from your bank account when you sign up to make the purchase through TreasuryDirect.gov. Instructions are in the article, which I linked above.

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