Best place to grow $3000 over 6 months?

What state do you live in?

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Suggest you check out the Vanguard Mass. long term federal and state tax free fund VMATX: https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/snapshot?FundId=0168&FundIntExt=INT

You need $3000 for a minimum investment. For six months however, don’t expect much.

2% yield x $3000 = $60 per annum and $30 for six months.

Fidelity MA. similar bond fund has a slightly higher yield. FDMMX https://fundresearch.fidelity.com/mutual-funds/summary/315902205

If it were me I would tuck it away in the highest interest savings or money market I could find, which won’t be much, I just opened an account at PNC for 1.5%) and make my few dollars and not risk losing any money.

I am risk aversive though, especially for short term, so if you are willing to take on more risk go for it. Look up a few funds that are trending well. You can go on fidelity.com or vanguard.com and get some info. If you have a stock app on your phone you can easily get info there.

I’m with JLeslie here.

Since you need the money for school and I assume can assume no risk I would stick it in a savings account. All the time you spend dealing with this crap would be better spent doing odd jobs for friends and family. You will make more.

If you have to ask, go with a savings account. It pays out next-to-nothing, but at least it won’t leave a lump under your mattress, like a wad of cash would. If you want to make big returns with it, you’re going to have to be willing to risk big losses.

You cannot plan to grow $3000 risk-free in any appreciable way in such a short term, especially when the money is “necessary” to your plans at the end of that period and the avoidance of risk is paramount. If you had an unexpected $3000 windfall and you wanted to take a flier – which would include some risk of losing money, too! – then there are speculative investments that might give a moderate return – if you could even get into them with so little capital. But there are no sure things; even the safe-as-houses banking advised above has some risk. (Remember how safe houses were a few years ago? Yeah, we need a new metaphor.)

There’s no way to really make significant money these days in that short a time. You could go to the track but you would probably lose it. You might look for a bank that is giving a bonus for opening an account. I’ve been offered $450. by Chase to open a checking account but you’d have to read the terms.