i just inherited a small sum of money...about 15k?

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I concur with opening a Roth IRA with $5000 of the money (if you have earned income over $5000). You can put the rest of the money into a liquid money market account and still get close to the current CD rate without locking up your money for a period of time. You can then use another $5000 of that money next year to fund your Roth and the rest of it in 2011....Show more

Depending on your age, I would put it into a ROTH IRA. It promises tax free income as opposed to tax deferred as with traditional IRAs. Your contributions aren't tax deductible, but as long as the ROTH has been open for at least 5 years and your withdrawal is made after the age of 59 1/2, following death, disability, or first-time home purchase, the earnings are 100% free of income tax. Additionally, ROTH CONTRIBUTIONS can be withdrawn at any time without tax or penalty.

There are some stipulations about who can qualify to contribute into a ROTH... you can read more at rothira.com.

The only catch is you can only contribute $5,000/yr for yourself (and an additional $5,000 if you have a spouse) as of 2009, so you could either put the rest in a simple savings account and continue making contributions each year (the contribution limits typically increase each year.... they didn't between 2008 and 2009 though).

You can invest your ROTH money in stocks, bonds, whatever you so choose. Since you're looking for a low-risk investment, I would just stick with investing in ROTH CD's....Show more

CD's are as safe as you will get - maybe 2% annual return right now

stock market is more likely to go up than down in the next few years - mutual funds can spread your risk, get you a lot better return on your investment...Show more

CDs are safe....Show more

10k in bank 5k in stocks their cheap atm and if u get ther right ones theres $$$ to be made...Show more