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Comment by Two9A | Hacker News Reader

Yeah, I've tried the whole stock market thing twice now. Put $1,000 in as a tracker against the market index, expected a decent return; of course, I put it in on Sep 10, 2001.

Never got that money back.

Thought I'd try again a couple of years ago, so I bought shares in Lloyds Group. On the eve of Lehman going south.

Never got that money back, either. I think I'll stick to 3% savings accounts, thanks.

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As a quick test, you might want to go back and see where that disaster investment would be today if you'd left it in? Check again in 2041 and see if it beats 3%/year. You might be surprised.

And a quick word to the wise: Never "invest" in individual stocks. That's speculation, and chances are most of the time you do it you'll lose. "Invest" in a fund that tracks the S&P 500, and don't even think about taking the money back out until you retire.

Lloyds Banking Group shares have dropped like a rock recently, but over the longer term they'll do well as the economy strengthens. The LTSB/HBOS merger has left them in a pretty dominant position for retail banking/financial services.

If you're only holding onto the shares for a short time and selling them when they fall, then you're not really doing it right.

Where's a 3% savings account?

From the mention of Lloyds I'll assume that Two9A is in the UK. The best instant access savings I know about is 2.9% from the post office [1] with better rates available for 1 year bonds or longer [2].

[1] http://www.postoffice.co.uk/portal/po/content1?catId=1930023... [2] http://www.lovemoney.com/savings/term-bond-accounts.aspx

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