$5k to invest - whats the best option

[wadistance]

So my in-laws in Germany send over a bit of money every now and then - the banks over there have 0% interest so there is zero reason to keep money in term deposits over there. They are fairly conservative - dont have credit cards etc, but when the dollar is high here they pass on a bit of cash to take advantage of a good exchange rate and better interest.

My question is, what to do with it. I feel that my three options are probably

a)Term deposit at around 3.2% for 5 years (safe option)
b)Start investing in derivatives (don't know a whole lot, my good mate does it and it seems to do well)
c)Chuck it on some blue chip stocks and either re-invest the dividends or put them in a savings account and hope interest goes up

Wouldnt mind hearing some thoughts from the more experienced section out there (everyone has more experience than me)

 

[Lyyynnnchy]

In my opinion it depends on your own financial situation and what the plans are for the short term. Is $5,000 a lot of money to you? It sounds like it might be a decent amount so maybe conservative is the way to go.

Are you looking at buying a house soon? If it will be your first house then put the $5,000 plus other savings and regular contributions in the first home buyers saver account (not entirely sure on the exact terminology)

A 5 year term deposit is a long time to lock away $5,000 for what $800 odd?

Have you got any credit card or other debts? Good chance to pay them down.

How old are you? If you're young, have no debt and no plans to buy a house any time soon, with such low interest rates on term deposits and the fragility in most financial markets, might simply be worth going on a nice holiday.

 

[wadistance]

Lynchy, the money isn't actually mine, so it has no bearing on my finance - I am investing it for my in-laws who just want to get a good deal out of the EURO->AUD conversion and then build on it for a bit. They come over every few years so they use it as their spending money, but could be used by us if we want to buy a house.

Can't see myself buying a house in Sydney until this crazy cycle dies down, whenever that may be. Will probably be living overseas by then and looking at a house there.

So in short, not a lot of money to me as its not mine, but yeah, $5k would be a decent ripple to lose for anyone on a teachers salary I guess if it was mine

 

[George Washington]

Lynchy, the money isn't actually mine,

High interest savings account. uBank, ING etc.

Anything else would just be playing with fire. Nobody wants to tell someone else you've just lost all their money.

Not worth locking it up in a term deposit either imo, I doubt Aussie rates are going to zero.

 

[Lyyynnnchy]

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Lol. Perhaps a more grammaticaly correct post would have better results