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[eurobrat]

...

[gsjackson]

I think I figured it out, rent out my place after I finish one last rennovation. And I wanted to upgrade my Macbook and get an iPad then I can go take that CELTA course in either Kiev or Prague.

Do it in Kiev. I spent last summer in Prague. The women were very difficult, and my experience was confirmed by several others on this site who have spent time there.

[eurobrat]

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[momopi]

How much is the employee discount? Too bad they don't have the educational pricing on iPads.

I think it's 15%, but you might want to check if you have friends working there.

[Rock]

Put it in Roth IRA mutual fund with 50% going into an S&P 500 fund and 50% going into a Wilshire 4500 fund.

If that's not attractive to you, find a foreign bank that has CD rates above 10% and stash it there. I'm sure Ukraine has a few banks of that nature. Just remember you'd have to report the account to the US Treasury on an FBAR form, and you'd have to pay taxes on that interest. But that rate beats the long term US stock market average!

Which moderately safe foreign bank has CD rates at or above 10%? Which currency? Please tell.

"Safe" is a very relative term. If I list foreign banks, the typical American would hark, "But they only have BB credit ratings by Moody's, and S&P!" At the same time, these same Americans would put foolish amounts of money into the US Stock Market and watch their wealth melt down away like it was nothing.

I have spent months doing research and have found that these banks are more than solvent and well-capitalized and don't make bets on foolish things like sub-prime mortgages like US banks. So they are safe. It doesn't matter that the FDIC does not insure them. The FDIC doesn't insure the money you lose in the stock market either!

Most Americans are deluded into thinking that only Americans means of saving and investing are legitimate. Go ahead and keep thinking that until you are broke.

Never mind the stock market. I was asking about CDs and bank deposits. Those in the USA have so far been safe as far as USD denominated principal protection goes.

When you look to investing overseas, you are getting into a high risk game if you concentrate your assets in one market, especially with smaller countries. Cus typically, these higher yielding deposits are in local (ie non US$) currencies. Those from smaller countries can be extremely volatile.

Icelandic Kroner CDs were yielding nearly 18% just a few years ago before that currency nosedived. Go back a decade or more and consider the losses suffered by overseas investors in CDs and fixed income instruments in Argentina, Russia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, or South Africa. And some of those were not even yielding double digits.

You say you’ve researched these banks. What about the underlying currencies. Consider that the bulk of so-called finance and currency experts did not foresee any of the above mentioned crises before they commenced. What makes you feel so safe about the Ukraine?

I think best way to capture high yield income is through a decent fund – one that invests in opportunities around the world. These still involve a lot of volatility (ie high risk) but will nothing like putting all your eggs into one small country. For example, consider HYG and look at its track record during 2008-2009 crises, much less of a disaster than say being fully exposed to Iceland during same period.