Low interest rates help those that are trying to buy a home or a new car, but they hurt anyone who has money to invest. With low interest rates being the norm for so long now, anyone who has to rely on interest income is in a very bad position as it looks like nothing will change for quite some time.
Low interest rates hurt anyone who has money and doesnt need to borrow. Typically, seniors fall into this category and they are the single largest group that gets hurt at times like this. Seniors should have most or all of their money in safe investments such as CDs, money market accounts and government bonds. When interest rates are low, this means they are earning very little money and for a senior on a fixed budget, this is not a good thing. Seniors get very little media attention but it must be noted that in this down economy, seniors are suffering right along with the rest of us.
If you are looking for the best CD interest rates, you need to look in different places than your local bank. Right now many people are trying to find the absolute best rates they can find and they will have to search on the Internet to find them. No longer can you just look in your city and expect to find the best rate. A nationwide search is necessary to find the best CD and money market rates and luckily the computer and Internet allows you to do that.
By using the Internet you will be able to identify which banks have the highest rates and you may even be able to find ones that have promotions of an extra quarter point or so. Once you identify which bank you want to buy your CD from, you will be able to electronically send your money to that bank. This is routinely done now and there is little reason to worry about the safety of your money. However, it must be noted that the highest rates you will find right now are still very low compared to rates of several years ago.
If you have a bank CD that is about to mature, there is something you should be aware of. If you let it automatically renew, you will not be given the best CD interest rates for your renewed CD. The bank will never tell you this but in order to get the highest rate they offer, you will have to go in to the bank, close out the maturing CD, and then open a new one. This is very inconvenient to have to do every time one of your CD’s matures but that is the only way you will get the best interest rate. You would think that your CD would automatically be renewed at the going highest rate but with most banks, this is not the case.
Tags: banking, banks, cd, certificate of deposit, interest rates, retirement, saving, seniors, stock market, stocks, Wall Street