"You want to be greedy when others are fearful. You want to be fearful when others are greedy." It's that simple, and that's why CDs are starting to make a comeback... But which CD, is the question.
"OK, why would I open a certificate of deposit when the interest rate is so low?" You might be saying this to yourself, but the thing is you likely haven't seen the rates we are about to show you.
If you checked your local big branch bank, of course CDs are not worth it, but this is not true for some of the best online banks. Not only do these online banks offer infinitely better rates, but they also offer a couple of perks that you'd never get from the traditional brick-and-mortar banks.
We've scoured high and low to find the CD accounts in the country. With CDs, there is no one-size-fits-all option, so we've broken down the best for each term length. *All of the CDs we've included have the maximum FDIC insurance allowed by law*. So rest assured, your money is as safe as it could possibly be.
Without further adieu let's start with the best short-term options...
Best CDs For Short-Term (less than 1 year)
Head down to your local bank and ask their CD rates... we dare you. Of course it's not worth your time because we can already tell you what you're going to find—at Bank of America you'd find 0.03%, at Chase, 0.05%—do I need to keep going?
This is why online banks are so much better, in fact they are some 20-30x better than traditional banks. Why? Well, because they don't have to pay expensive rent for their storefronts, they can share all of that savings with you.
Below are the highest-paying 1 year (or less) CD rates out there, check them out if you are sick of earning nothing in your current savings account:
Best CDs For Mid-Term (1-2 years)
Rates do go up pretty significantly when comparing the short-term vs the mid-term CDs. That said, it really is a personal preference—lock up your money just a little bit longer, or earn just a little less for a little shorter term. For even just an extra six months you can be looking at an extra twenty basis points.
Regardless of what you choose, online banks shine even brighter when compared to brick-and-mortar banks, and we've found the highest earning mid-term CDs for you below:
Conclusion
With the recent rate hike from the Federal Reserve, there hasn't been a better time in the last five years to open a CD account. Regardless of how the equities market is doing, it's important to have a portion of your portfolio in safe investments.
Consider which term makes the most sense for you and open an account today, because every day your uninvested cash sits in under your mattress is a day you lost money to inflation...