I have a comprehensive financial plan and look to have up to 48k in about one years time saved. With 16k on hand after paying off my student loans this October which will likely start the one year plan.
I want to use the money to put 20% down on a house (plus have an emergency fund)
Outside of say a high interest savings account such as Ally, is there anything else I can do with the money I have on hand now, or is that the best option?
You have lots of options:
Each of those are very liquid and low risk, though ibonds have a 1-year minimum holding period and most CDs have penalties for early redemption (doesn’t apply to brokered CDs).
But the simplest option is to stick with a high yield savings account like Ally offers, or maybe a money market account (Ally offers one, many other banks do as well) or money market fund (pretty much any brokerage offers these). Those will keep your money very liquid, are dead simple, and you’ll probably get like 80% of the interest compared to other options.