I feel like I’m low on cash right now, even though my investments say otherwise.
I have $200K in a taxable brokerage account in VOO and $50K in a 5-month CD. Other than that, I’ve got just $2-3K in checking.
I’m planning to buy a house sometime in the next 3 years. I have $150K in equity in my current home, but I’d prefer to buy the new place first and sell my existing home afterward.
If I found a house today, I’d need to sell about $50K from my taxable account. That’s fine as long as the market is up, but I’m wondering if I should take some out now while it’s at record highs (already up 4% this year) and put it in a high-yield savings account for some flexibility.
Or should I just leave everything where it is and build my cash reserves through income? I should be able to save another $50K this year if I don’t invest more, plus my CD unlocks in June with another $50K.
Your mix of investments and cash reserves looks solid. It might make sense to pull $50K now and put it in a high-yield savings account so you have some flexibility. What’s your outlook on the market in the coming months?
@mercy
I think the market will stay strong under Trump. But I don’t want to be too greedy. If I sell now, I lock in my 4% gains and can earn another 4% in a high-yield savings account—same as the market average but with no risk.
If it were me, I’d sell some VOO and move it into a money market fund or sweep account (currently earning over 4%). I actually did this today just as a defensive move.