[Dazarath]

Don't let the bank talk you into stupid things like that again. There are online savings accounts which pay more than 4.5%, and your money is still liquid. You should check out the stickied posts at the top of this forum. Some standard advice would be to open a brokerage account (Fidelity, Vanguard, etc), and put the money in some index funds. For example, a Wilshire 5000 index fund, or one of the international index funds available. I've heard some people make the suggestion of 2/3 Wilshire 5000, 1/3 international, before, if you want to keep it simple. Any money that you would like to be more liquid, keep it in an online savings account. Check out ING Direct, Emigrant Direct, HSBC.