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The Top Four
Money Market Accountshave felt the most damage form the efforts of the Federal Reserve's efforts to keep interest rates low. Now those rates are improving. These financial tools are mostly used by investors as a better than checking account and a not-so-bad place to park money that is waiting in the wings for future investment. Money markets accounts are flexible and usually come with check writing privildges, although they may limit the amount of transactions. Low interest rates do not make these a good investment for the long term but a safe place for sudden windfalls, refinancing overflows, and as accounts that feed retirement investments using dollar cost averaging.

Money Market Accounts are usually insured through the F.D.I.C. but keep in mind, Money Market Mutual funds are not.

Best One Year Money Market Rates (03.29.06) UmbrellaBank.com Birmingham, AL as of 03.29.06, the rate is 4.551% Minimum deposit, $1,000  GMAC Bank Greenville, DE interest as of 03.29.06 is 4.55% Minimum deposit, $500 VirtualBank Palm Beach Gardens, FL interest rate as of 03.29.06 is 4.50% Minimum deposit is $100 Advanta Bank Corp. Draper, UT as of 03.29.06, interest rate is 4.50% Minimum deposit is $2500

Certificates of Deposit, once the favorite of the conservative set, has seen its interest rates underperform historical returns largely due to the current low interest rate environment that the Federal Reserve is using to accommodate the economy.

CDs come in two basic varieties, callable and non-callable. A callable CD can cause problems for the investor who wants to keep their money put and their investment decisions t a minimum. basically, a callable CD has a mandatory time frame for redemption.

Another important note about these instruments, the longer you put your money to work, the higher the interest rate you are likely to receive. The rates listed below are for one-year certificates. When investing in these, be aware of the effects of inflation on your returns. If inflation is hovering around 2% and expected to go higher. This will, when you include taxes on these gains, have an almost negative impact. In the current environment, it is better than under the mattress, but not by much.

If your need for this money is short term, early withdrawal comes with penalties.

Best One Year CD Rates (03.29.06) Corus Bank Chicago, IL as of 03.29.06, the interest rate is 5.08% Minimum deposit $10000 American United Bank Lawrenceville GA as of 03.29.06, the interest rate is 5.02% Minimum deposit $1000 Transportation Alliance Bank Ogden, UT as of 03.29.06, the interest rate is 5.02% Minumum deposit $1000 FDIC Insured UmbrellaBank.com Birmingham, AL as of 03.29.06, the interest rate is 5.02% Minimum deposit $1000

Real Estate Invest Trusts or REITs have long been a BlueCollarDollar favorite, especially when used within a mutual fund. REITs come in three basic flavors: Equity, which invest in and own properties, collecting rents; Mortgage, which act as lenders collecting interest from those loans; Hybrids, which are little of both. These companies are often traded on exchanges, and are a healthy source of income appreciation for not only pensions, but also insurance companies, bank trusts, and mutual funds.

REITs pay dividends, which not only add to their attractiveness, but also allow then to shine in their indexes, REITs paid an average of 7.3% over the last five years of the nineties, which was six times what the Russell 2000 index of small cap stock paid. And therein lies the rub. Many of these companies qualify as small capitalization concerns, and this makes it difficult for mutual funds to purchase. A company that is too tiny doesn't have the liquidity that a large mutual fund would like. But they do provide a steady stream of income, low volatility, and along with good returns, they provide stability.

Best REIT Fund Returns (3-year returns) ProFunds Ultra symbol REPIX 41.04% Morgan Stanley Inst Intl Real Estate A symbol MSUAX 45.53% JP Morgan US Real Estate symbol SUSIX 45.04% T Rowe Price Real Estate symbol TRREX 33.42% mments

The above funds are not, by any means, recommendations and have not been listed with fees or other costs in mind. Please read the prospectus before investing.