Surprising That So Many Americans Do Not Know How Much They Can Earn On Cash And Short-Term Deposits

I speak to lots of folks every day in my work and in my travels. These people are all very sophisticated – they are lawyers, doctors, engineers and other professionals.

It has already been four months since the interest rate environment began to change, and consumers can now easily access rates approaching 4% on savings accounts and well over 4% on short term CDs.

And, the Fed is poised to move still higher next week and possibly in February, making the opportunity to earn interest without any risk (or at least to maintain some degree of purchasing power parity) more interesting than it has been in decades (or at least since 2006). Yet, for some reason, it just isn’t apparent to all.

I am surprised when I mention that I own BestCashCow that I frequently am told with a high degree of conviction that 2% is a competitive savings rate right now (it isn’t) or that locking up money for the next 12 months at 3.50% makes good sense (it doesn’t).

As we approach year-end and the holiday season it is a good time to do a little financial “house-cleaning”. The easiest house-cleaning to do is to make sure that all of your cash is earning a competitive rate of return.

Take 5 minutes and check the leading savings rates here and short-term CD rates here. (If you want to bank locally, instead of online, then check local savings rates here and local CDs here.)