available later.
The best place to keep a rainy-day fund is in an account where your money will be safe and liquid (easy to access quickly, without fees or surrender charges), like a savings account at a bank.
Saving and investing for your goals
It's also important to decide what your financial goals are and to prioritize them. Then you’ll be ready to make decisions about how to save and invest for each goal.
There are different types of investments to choose from, including:
Cash equivalents - bank savings accounts, short-term certificates of deposit, U.S. Treasury bills and money market funds
Fixed income investments - bonds, bond funds and guaranteed insurance products like fixed annuities
Equities - stocks and stock funds
You can choose a mix of investments based on your goals, your time horizon for achieving them, the level of return you'd like to try to get and your tolerance for risk.
You also have options when it comes to savings and investment plans and accounts — many can offer significant tax advantages. Workplace savings plans and Traditional and Roth IRAs can be great vehicles for retirement savings beyond any pay you contribute to a plan at work. You may also want to consider how a 529 plan can be a tax-effective way to save and invest for your child's college education.
Credit: TIAA-CREF Financial Services