CD Rates and Savings Account News: May 6, 2009

May 6, 2009
By MoneyAisle

There have been some great articles on the Internet recently about two of MoneyAisle's favorite topics, Certficates of Deposit and High-Yield Savings accounts. Here are some highlights:

The Examiner has an article on a site you may be familiar with:

A client alerted me to a new web tool that can help you find competitive CD rates. The site is MoneyAisle and it's an on-line auction site for CDs and high-yield savings accounts. The idea is that you list the amount of cash you have to save -- and the length of time you want for a CD if that's what you want to buy -- and the site holds a bank auction for your money as you watch. All the banks are FDIC insured.

American Public Media's Marketplace has a regular q&a section on their site - a recent question involved 401k contributions.

Cut down on 401(K) contributions

It's important to have a decent cash cushion in normal times, let alone during the extraordinary period we're living through today. You'll still be saving money, just not as much in the retirement account (where you would pay a steep penalty if you tapped into that money.)

There are three keys to this strategy: First, continue to take full advantage of your employers match. The real investment kick in a retirement savings plan comes from the match. Second, shift the money into a very safe place backed by a government guarantee, such as an FDIC insured savings account. Third, remember to increase the sums going into the retirement plan when you've built up a large enough cash cushion.

  • Featured In:

  • The New York Times: Do I Hear 4%? On This Site, Banks Bid for Your Cash
  • CNN: Auction money for best rates
  • The Wall Street Journal: Want the Best CD Rates? Hold an Auction.
  • AARP Bulletin: Save a Buck: Find Highest Interest Rates Online
  • Safe CDs, checking accounts for investors scared of stocks
  • O: The Oprah Magazine
  • Boston Globe: Website lets banks bid for customers
  • CNBC: Banks Bid for Your Cash
  • MIT Technology Review
  • Money Magazine
  • Reader's Digest
  • FOX Business: Bidding for Your Money

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