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Earn a Great Return on Cash Yo🌄u Can Withdraw at Any Time With a High-Yield Savings Account

If you'll soon be collecting gift cash and checks to congratulate you for a high school or college graduation and you don't need the money right away, you're in luck. That's because today's savings accounts are paying historically high returns, with rates not far below a 20-year high.

Stashing your gift money in a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:high-yield savings account can make it grow into something bigger—a gift your future self will appreciate. At the same time, a savings account leaves you the option to withdraw some or a✱ll of your money wheneveꦉr you need it.

So how much can you earn? Right now, the top nationwide savings account is paying an 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:annual percentage yield (APY) of 5.00%. Our daily ranking of the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:best high-yield savings accounts also includes 18 more options that pay at least 4.35%. If you snag a rate of 5.00%, here's what your earnings would look like for different dollar amounts 🗹and durations.

Just note that what you can earn on a savings account today isn't guaranteed into the future. You may be lucky and earn the same high yield for months or even a year. But your bank could also lower your rate soon after you deposit your money. Banks and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:credit unions are free to change savings account rates at any time, and they do𝄹n't have to warn you.

They base their rates in part on the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:federal funds rate, the interest rate commercial banks use when they lend to each other overnight. That benchmark rate that is set by the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Federal Reserve. When the Fed changes the fed funds rate your savings rate often changes as well.𒈔ꦓ

Right now, the Federal Reserve is holding the feꦑd funds rate steady, so savings accounts are expected to continue offering roughly the same rates as they have been. But in the coming months, the Fed could announce some rate cuts, which will trigger rate reductions for savings accounts.

Boost Your Earnings Over Time W🐭ith a Top-Paying CD

Savings accounts are great for paying interest on your cash, rather than letting it sit in a checking account likely earning nothing. But since you never know if your current savings rate will drop next month or the month after that, there's another option that's great if you don't need your savings for a while: a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:certificate of deposit (CD).

CDs are just another type of bank or credit union account, but they involve an agreement between you and the financial institution. In exchange for you agreeing to keep your deposit untouched in the CD until its maturity date, which could be months or years away, the bank or credit union agrees to pay you its advertised rate for the full duration o💦f the CD.

This means that if interest rates come down this year or next—or both—due to changes from the Fed, any existing CD you own will keep earning its guaranteed interest rate. No futur🐲e moves by the Fed can change your locked-in CD rate.

Right now, the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:best nationwide CDs a🍌re paying 4.50%, on terms ranging from a short 3 months to an 18-month option that promises its r🙈ate until late 2026.

The trade-off with a CD is that if you find you need to cash it out before it reaches its 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:maturity date, you'll be hit with an 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:early withdrawal penalty. Some of these are very harsh, while others are quite mild. So even if you've recently graduated, this is an area where it's still important to do your homework♈ and learn what the early wit🌟hdrawal penalty is on different CDs you're considering.

A Savings-Plus-CD Strategy Is a Smart Option

For many savers, a hybrid strategy of combining a high-yield savings account and a CD is the best choice of all. By splitting your money into two pools, you can put some of 🌠it in a CD, where it can earn high, guaranteed interest rates. Then you can keep the other portion of your money in a high-yield savings account, where you can access it anytime you need it.

How We Find the Best Savings and CD Rates

Every business day, Investopedia tracks the rate data of more than 200 banks and credit unions that offer CDs and savings accounts to customers nationwide and determines daily rankings of the top-paying accounts. To qualify for our lists, the institution must be federally insured (FDIC for banks, NCUA for credit unions), and the account's minimum initial deposit must not exceed $25,000. It also cannot specify a maximum deposit amount that's below $5,000.

Banks must be available in at least 40 states to qualify as nationally available. And while some credit unions require you to donate to a specific charity or association to become a member if you don't meet other eligibility criteria (e.g., you don't live in a certain area or work in a certain kind of job), we exclude credit unions whose donation requirement is $40 or more. For more about how we choose the best rates, 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:read our full methodology.