HYSA
BondBloxx USD High Yield Bond Sector Rotation ETF
stock NYSE ETF

Don't rush into HUSA or any single stock. At 45, you need safer bets. max out that Roth IRA first. it's tax-free growth. then split the rest between index funds and a HYSA for emergencies. Single stocks are gambling, index funds are investing. Keep it simple.

You’re in a good position, but the real question is how much of that $80K you need to be liquid for true emergencies or major opportunities. If you have no big purchases planned for at least a year and already have a 6-month+ emergency fund carved out, you’re sitting on a lot of underperforming cash.
Consider a split approach:
• Keep 6–12 months of living expenses in the HYSA for peace of mind.
• Move the rest into a brokerage account, but keep it in low-volatility, income-generating assets like short-term bond ETFs or money market funds if you’re worried about needing it in under 2 years.
• If your timeline extends past 2–3 years, you could get more aggressive with index funds like VOO or QQQ and let compound interest work.
Inflation is quietly eating your HYSA balance. The key is balancing mental comfort with financial optimization. Ask yourself: ‘If the market dipped 20% tomorrow, would I panic or stay the course?’ Your answer tells you exactly how much to move.

If you're working and saving for retirement open a Roth IRA. The limit is $7000. $8000 if you're over 50. Put a portion of your money in SP500 index ETF. Put a portion in a HYSA. Put a portion in a Total Market ETF. Put a portion in an International ETF.
Do some research and read up on what ETFs gear towards your interests.

*HYSA

Then do that. Or hold it all in a HYSA and wait for the crash if that’s your thesis. Play your game.
You could also just dump it all in and sell a covered call to reduce your cost basis. Or sell a short put.
You could also just dump it in and trust in capitalism. Come back in a few years and you’ll be fine.

I guess the question is, over those 40 months, what are the odds that the return is less than the 4% from a HYSA?

First you open a HYSA, as high % as you can find. Put your 60k in there while you figure out what you want to invest in. Then I'd say start investing $1000-2000 a week. You said you were thinking about the S&P, I think that's a smart idea at least to start with.

Yeah that makes sense. Just with all the uncertainty right now (correct me if I’m wrong but I feel like it’s more so than usual), I’m terrified of lump summing it and then there’s immediately a recession or a 1929 stock market crash. I’d feel more comfortable keeping most of it in a HYSA getting 4%, and slowly investing it

If your new job offers a 401K plan. then that should be your primary investment vehicle. I think you can invest up to $23,000 per year into that. If you reach that maximum and you still have more money to invest, then you can open up a Roth IRA. and invest I think up to $7000 per year in that account.
These two accounts allow you to buy and sell stocks and bonds within them without having to pay any taxes on any gains you make. And this is a huge advantage over time compared with a standard taxable brokerage account.
As far as what to invest in, when you're starting out you should buy a broad market index fund, such as VOO which is the S P 500 fund run by Vanguard or VT which is a world stock market fund composed of mostly US stocks, but around 30 to 40 percent foreign stocks run also run by Vanguard. Warren Buffet recommends that his wife and family invest in VOO 90% and 10% in Tbills - SGOV, after he dies, and he is probably the smartest investor ever.
For Emergency Fund, which is your cash savings, you need as much as you need to feel comfortable. just remember that dollar bills/cash, are just US Treasury notes that do not pay you any interest, so you should try never to have any. Instead, remove that cash from your bank checking account and buy SGOV which pays a current annual yield of 4.2%. This is US Tbills and will almost always pay more than any HYSA in a bank or any money market account.
Read The Four Pillars of Investing by Dr Willaim Bernstein, or the Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins, both very easy to read. I would read them 2-3 times until the ideas sink in deep.
never hire another human to manage your money
best not to buy individual stocks as you and I have no idea what's going on behind the curtain at any company. Think, Enron/WorldCom/Tyco/WeWork etc. United Health Care this last month

kinda depends on your full situation but a good rule of thumb is keeping at least 6 months of expenses in the HYSA in case something unexpected comes up. after that, putting extra toward maxing out retirement accounts usually makes sense. the rest depends on your risk tolerance and whether the money’s for short-term plans or meant to grow long-term.

Since this is the second post in a row that mentions the acronym "HYSA" I would look really carefully at what that means. These days, short term treasury bills, the utmost -ish in conservative holdings, yield around 4%. If your "HYSA" is worse than that, then get out of it. Take some time to look at companies, for example, scan down the whole list of 500 S&P 500 companies .. the first few, you'll know, of course, but then #10 - #100, what do you think of them? Maybe invest in some?

My understanding is that you can go all in on the mortgage and keep same monthly payment, you could be finished within 5 years. If you have extra capacity to pay more back per month on top maybe you can even share 1 extra year.
And then you would save on stocks again and aggressively because you have no more mortgage. Just property tax / HOA / home inssurance.
Now if you keep the stocks, you have 13-15 years remaining to pay. If you refinance, you'd be able to lower the rate to 6% and go for 15 years term and a bit lower monthly payment. So basically your guaranteed rate of return is not 7% but 6%.
So either play safe, maybe put a bit more extra in HYSA for home improvement, preparing the crisis or just a roof repair, new car, whatever and go all in in the mortgage and then go all in on stocks when you don't have a mortgage anymore.
Or do in between, keep your stock and refinance to 15 years at 6% with slightly lower monthly payment.

He wants to put $100K in a brokerage type account (e.g. a rollover IRA) and to invest that in something like a HYSA. Only to withdraw if “everything goes south.”

Assuming taxable, I'd leave it as is. It isn't worth selling and incurring any capital gains. As the other person recommended, keep any cash that you may need within the next 5 years into something stable like a CD, money market, or HYSA.

My general take in priorities. 1 & 2 should be done in tandem and then possibly 3&4 in tandem.
1. Get max 401k match, if offered. Free money.
2. Get 1-3m EF minimum.
3. Max 401k/Ira/etc
4. Expand EF to what you are comfortable with 3-6m or whatever
5. Planned big expenses (house, car, kid, etc) in low risk (HYSA, SGOV, etc)
6. Other investing.
7. Expand EF to max comfort level which is 1yr in my case.

If you live in an area with state/local taxes at the very least move your HYSA to a treasury ETF or money market
USFR/TFLO are state tax free and 30 day yield is ~4.3%
All the brokerages have treasury only money markets. Fidelity’s is FDLXX and pays 3.91%

I totally disagree with everyone's advice.
You have $34k in accessible funds. Keep it accessible. An HYSA earning 4% is totally fine.
You have to make it through 3-5 years of residency, and potentially large life moments / purchases like buying a car or house, starting a family, dealing with any emergencies, etc.
Keep the money in a HYSA until you are making an attending salary and have a ton of money saved up and invested.
If you put it into a Roth IRA or other committed fund, you will lose a lot of flexibility and a big safety net.

Seeking advice from folks here, especially people who have had experience shifting behavioral patterns around saving vs investing.
My situation:
- Mid 20s tech worker making ~$150k with additional RSUs/bonus
- Currently saving $1,100 to HYSA every month, 3.8% APY
- Currently investing $500 monthly in brokerage
- Currently maxing 401k, Roth IRA, and HSA
Assets:
- ~$115k in 401k
- ~$45k in Roth IRA (VT/VXUS split)
- ~$7k in brokerage (VT/VXUS split)
- ~$36k in HYSA
- ~$2-3k in HSA, not sure the exact amount
- ~$2k in I-Bonds
- all RSUs are meaningless until IPO so not including here
Liabilities:
- -$26,000 in student loan debt - paying $1400 monthly at 2.4% interest. Estimated payoff date of March 2027
My HYSA technically has enough for 8-10 months of expenses - if I pause my student loan payment in the event of job loss, I could stretch that money much further.
I’m struggling with knowing that I should probably reallocate more of my monthly savings deposit to my brokerage, but feeling a sense of anxiety knowing I’m increasing risk. On paper, I can handle the risk - but my brain is holding me back.
I have time on my side and know I need to be investing more to see larger gains in the future.
Anyone else been here and could speak to their experience?

Yup. I used SGOV to have ready when I decide to invest in stocks again. I used an HYSA to have money to fund another investment outside the market. Both can be handy depending on future plans for it.

Yeah there's a lot of variables involved. I put 100k into a taxable brokerage account last year because my living situation changed and I moved my down payment HYSA fund to index/mutual funds with minimal tax drag and also to Berkshire Hathaway which has no dividends. So yeah there's a ways to optimize, but if the option is available Roth accounts are generally better than taxable accounts for growth.