I Just Discovered This Unwanted Surprise in My Bank Account. Here’s How I Could’ve Avoided It

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One bank account change is working to my disadvantage. Read on to see how I could’ve prevented it in the first place. [[{“value”:”

It’s hard to complain about the interest rates savings accounts are paying today. For virtually no risk, you can easily score upward of 4.00% in a high-yield savings account if you shop around. And last year, when I had a bit of extra money on my hands, that’s what I did.

I do most of my banking at a certain institution where I also hold a checking account. And while my bank’s rates aren’t the best ones out there, they’re pretty competitive. So I’m sometimes willing to accept a tiny bit less interest for the convenience of using a bank I’m familiar with and whose platform I find easy to navigate.

But last year, I was truly on a mission to find the best savings account rate. And sure enough, after digging around, I found a savings account that would pay me over 5.00% on the funds I was looking to deposit.

Recently, though, I checked up on that account and saw that my savings account’s APY had fallen. And while I’m still earning a nice amount of interest, I’m no longer over the 5.00% mark. Not only am I frustrated by this change, but I’m sort of mad at myself, because it’s a situation I easily could’ve avoided.

The surefire way to guarantee yourself the interest rate you want

The reality is that the interest rate I’m getting on my savings now is still very competitive, so I really shouldn’t complain. But it bugs me that banks can simply change your APY without warning.

It also bugs me that I didn’t just put the money I had available last year into a CD. The reason I didn’t was because CDs require you to keep your money in the bank for a preset period of time. And cashing out a CD before it comes due can result in a costly penalty, the exact amount of which will depend on the bank you use.

Because I wanted the flexibility to withdraw these funds without risking a penalty, I opted for a savings account over a CD. In reality, here we are, one year later, with that deposit fully intact.

Had I opened a 12-month CD, I would’ve locked in a rate at over 5.00% just like the rate on my savings I started out with. Only that rate would’ve been guaranteed, and I’d still be earning over 5.00% on my money instead of less.

Consider a CD — but only under the right circumstances

The only way to lock in a guaranteed interest rate on your money is to choose a CD. The reason I didn’t do so last year was because I wasn’t sure if I’d be using the cash for a big trip this year versus postponing that itinerary.

But it’s not a good time to take a longer trip, so I won’t be needing the money this summer. And to be fair, I didn’t know that last year, which is why I didn’t open a CD in the first place. I guess I also shouldn’t be kicking myself too much for choosing a savings account, since there was a possibility of me needing the money.

But if you have a situation where you’re sure you won’t need access to the money for the duration of your CD’s term and you have a separate emergency fund with enough money to cover at least three months of bills, then opening a CD could make a lot of sense right now, what with rates being so strong.

In fact, it’s an especially good time to lock in a CD because there are talks of interest rate cuts happening at some point this year. If you get ahead of those, you can set yourself up with not only a guaranteed return on your money, but a stronger one than what you might lock in six months down the line.

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