CD Rate

CD Rate

What is a CD Rate? You can read about CD Rates Definition on my other article: CD Rates. If you’re still unfamiliar with a CD, here I give you a quick cliff note version

Basically, you’ll set aside x amount of dollars. Let’s say you want to invest $10,000. Then you’ll figure out how long you’ll want to invest your money. Generally, the longer you let the bank hold it, the better the rate you’re going to get. So, let’s say as of today, you want to have your money held for 1 year at 5%. At the end of the year, you can withdrawal your money and you’ll now have $10,500.

Remember! Wait for it to mature – As long as you don’t withdrawal your money early, you’re not going to risk being penalized. By the time the CD matures you’ll earn a reasonable and secured rate of interest.

Generally, investment in certificate of deposits (CD) and money market mutual funds (MMMF) are helpful to people for short-term objectives such as buying a car, a house, etc. These types of investments will not provide any quick incentives but will provide highly secured income

Money market mutual funds offer you a lower interest rate than CDs. However if you know you’re going to need that money, it’s probably wise that you apply for a money market account, where you won’t have your money locked in for a long period. Instead, you’re still earned interest on your money.

CD rates generally are higher online than they are in a brick and mortar bank. The reason bank’s online are able to keep rates so high are because they don’t need to maintain thousands of branches, employees, etc. Of course you’ll love to invest your money in online bank. But, be sure to check if the bank is FDIC insured.

Most banks online are FDIC insured. If you don’t know if they are FDIC insured, you can simply check for the logo on the webpage, check the FDIC main website (fdic.gov), or simply contact the bank.

An article by Deliyami Yeo you may be interested in reading: Small loans and Citifinancial

CD Rates

By Deliyami Yeo

CD Rates

If you want an investment that maintains your principal, Certificates of Deposit (CDs) are a great way to go. The best feature of a certificate of deposit is lack of market risk because the rate is guaranteed for the life of the deposit and you don’t have to lose sleep over night thinking you’re going to lose 50% over a few months.

Certificates of deposits (CD) are short to medium-term debt instruments issued generally by commercial banks and other financial institutions to investors. Investors will lend money to the institutions for a certain amount of time in which investors cannot withdraw the amount. In exchange, the banks will pay a predetermined rate of interest to the investors called Certificate Of Deposit Rate (CD Rate).

buying a CD during the times when interest rates are at their highest can give an investor higher returns. Given this, investors who’re planning to cash in on CD?s would do well to research on the history and the trends of CD rates, as this can help them plan on when would be the best time to get in on the action

Doing the research

With the Internet and technology today, it’s so easy to find the best rate. Start using services online where you can find the best rates. Never ever just sign up for the first CD rate you see because you’re just asking for trouble. Your typical brick and mortar stores usually have the worst rates. This is why I would recommend you bank online.

Look at the fees:

There are so many banks out there and each of them varies. You’ll find that some want you to invest $25,000 at the beginning while others will only want you to invest $5,000. Make sure you know what you can afford to invest and what you can’t because generally the more you invest, the more you can get in terms of your rate.

The amount of interest that you can get on a CD can be determined with the help of Certificate of Deposit Calculator which requires you to feed up some details regarding the amount of deposit, required rate of return etc.

Verify the bank is federally insured on the FDIC

CDs in the U.S. are protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) if they are issued through a bank. You must verify the bank is federally insured on the FDIC. I assuming that they are, look at the size of the bank (assets), their capital (or equity), the Equity/Asset ratio (look for 7% or greater), their profit (or loss), age of the bank (new banks usually carry an operating loss for about 3-years), and finally their total risk-based capital (should be 10% or higher and this means the bank is considered to be well capitalized)

You can also try Bank Savings and Home Refinancing for more information