Don’t limit yourself to the savings accounts or certificates of deposit at your local bank. Search the Web for high interest rate deals from financial institutions far and wide. A variety of active, regularly updated websites list the best interest rates for many different kinds of savings accounts, including CDs, high-yield savings, money-market accounts.
Make sure any CD, checking, or savings accounts are FDIC-insured before you park your hard-earned cash there.
Use these constantly updated websites to find the best savings rates.
Sites for Savings and CD Interest Rates
Bankrate.com: The granddaddy of financial rate information sites, Bankrate.com compiles rate information for financial products, including mortgages, credit cards, new and used automobile loans, money market accounts, CDs, checking and ATM fees, home equity loans, and online banking fees. Cool feature: Park your money safely by using Bankrate.com’s
“Safe and Sound” star rating system, which assesses the financial condition of banks, thrifts, and credit unions. Five stars denote a super-sound financial institution. One-star banks are the lowest rated by Bankrate.com.
Bankaholic.com: This site offers certificate of deposit rates and money market and savings accounts rates from banks across the U.S. as well as insurance quotes and credit card information. Cool feature: Customers can review banks that offer online accounts. In this section of the site, customers rail against poor customer service or praise efficient banks with high savings yields.
MoneyAisle.com: Sit back and watch banks bid against each other to give you the best rate on their certificates of deposit or high-yield savings accounts. Users must sign up for the free site to start an auction. Once signed in, approximately 87 FDIC-insured banks in the MoneyAisle.com system will bid against each other until one bank is left offering the highest return. Accept the rate, and a representative from the bank will contact you to open an account. Cool feature: Since the auction is live, users watch the bidding rounds in real time on their computer, seeing the savings rate driven higher as the auction progresses.
Fatwallet.com: The power of the people runs this participatory site with regularly updated information on high-yield interest and certificate of deposit rates. On the Fatwallet.com finance forum, check out the “Best Nationally Available High APY Liquid Accounts” and the “CD Thread, Post the Best Rates You Can Find Here!” threads. Fatwallet members post their savings finds and links to the financial institutions that offer them. Cool feature: On the “High APY Liquid Accounts” thread, most of the banks listed also include a link to a forum thread discussing the pros and cons of each bank.
Bank Safely
With any of these services, be sure to do your research on each institution before you invest there. Bauer Financial, like Bankrate.com provides star-rankings of financial institutions and credit unions in an easy-to-use search engine.
Judith Zwolak - Judy is a mother of two and a freelance writer living in South Dakota. Raised by notoriously frugal parents, she comes by her family ...
