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Certificate of deposit (CD) accounts are valuable savings tools that can allow you to accomplish multiple goals at once. Want to protect your money in today’s unpredictable interest rate climate? A CD can help thanks to the account’s fixed interest rate. Want to earn a rate that’s higher than many high-yield savings and money market accounts and exponentially higher than a traditional savings account? A CD with a rate over 4% now can meet that threshold. And, if you want to add another layer of financial security, a CD can help there, too, thanks to the FDIC insurance provided on accounts worth up to $250,000.
Those aren’t the only benefits savers should consider now, however, especially in today’s uncertain economic climate. CDs can also be smart ways to earn sizable returns on your money, as long as you’re able to keep the funds untouched until the account matures. There are multiple ways to earn thousands of dollars with a CD now, for example, though those tend to involve larger deposits and extended terms. For savers looking to easily earn a few hundred dollars on their money, however, there are a few ways to consider. Below, we’ll examine three ways in which savers can earn $300 with a CD by taking action now.
Start earning more interest on your money with a high-rate CD account here.
How to earn $300 with a CD account now
Want to earn around $300 with a CD account? Here are three ways to do so over the next year and a half, approximately:
Deposit $10,000 into a 9-month CD
Savers can find 9-month CDs with rates of 4% right now if they take the time to shop around online. A $10,000 deposit into an account with this rate will result in a return of $298.52 once the account matures in 2027. But the term here won’t be overly lengthy, either, allowing savers to pivot their savings strategy relatively quickly.
And giving up access to the funds will generally be easier with short-term CDs than it may be with their long-term counterparts. In the interim, savers will earn a few hundred dollars for their efforts, though tax implications should still be accounted for in order to develop a full understanding of what they stand to earn.
Learn more about your current CD account options now.
Deposit $7,300 into a 1-year CD
By adding three months onto the aforementioned CD account – and with significantly less of a deposit – savers can earn a similar return. A $7,300 deposit into a 1-year CD with a rate 4.11% will end with a return worth $300.03 by this time next June.
While it will require sacrificing access to your funds for around another 90 days, compared to the 9-month option outlined above, you also won’t have to deposit nearly as much money to earn that same amount of interest. So, if you don’t mind locking a smaller portion of your money away for the next year, this could be a viable option worth serious consideration now.
Deposit $4,800 into an 18-month CD
The smallest deposit amount on this list will require the longest freeze on your funds. But a $300 return for depositing less than $5,000 into a CD could be a worthy exchange for many savers now, especially considering the minimal returns they’re currently receiving with a traditional savings account (with an average rate of just 0.38%).
A $4,800 deposit into an 18-month CD with a rate of 4.15% will result in a return worth $301.88. But it will also protect your $4,800 for more than a year, which can be an attractive feature for savers who are looking for effective ways to weather today’s uncertain economic climate.
The bottom line
While the above three CD terms and deposit amounts will all result in $300 worth of interest earned for savers, they’re not the only ways in which savers can earn hundreds of dollars with a CD. There are also ways in which they can earn thousands of dollars with an account, too. Consider using a CD interest calculator, then, to narrow down a deposit amount and term that works for you, but don’t wait too long to act either. It will take time to earn a big return on your money, so it makes sense to get started with a high-rate CD account sooner rather than later.