
Have Extra Cash?
BY: Kate Hennessy, CFP®
Having extra cash on hand may be rare with the holidays around the corner and the rise in inflation. However, if you
If your emergency fund is in place AND you have extra cash on hand,
- CDs - consider purchasing a CD in your brokerage account. A certificate of deposit is a fixed income investment that pays a set rate of interest over a specific time period. The rate of interest earned from a CD is typically higher than the interest you would earn in a savings account. On average the five biggest banks paid 0.4% on consumer deposits in savings accounts and money-market accounts during the past quarter, according to S&P Global. You’ll want to hold your CD until maturity, so you aren’t penalized.
CD rates will fluctuate but on average the current CD rates are:
- 3 month CD @ 4.25%
- 6 month CD @ 4.65%
- 9 month CD @ 4.75%
- 12 month CD @ 4.80%
- Treasuries – consider a Treasury bond this holiday season. Treasuries, like
CDs, are easy to purchase in your investment account and will provide more yield thanyou would receive in your bank savings account.My husband and I had a CD maturing and at the time Treasuries were yielding more than CDs, so we made the decision to buy a Treasury bond. Treasury bonds on average are yielding:
- 3 month @ 4.40%
- 6 month @ 4.64%
- 9 month @ 4.66%
- 12 month @ 4.71%
As noted above the average yield on a CD is very close to the average yield for a Treasury bond. Both need to be held until maturity to receive the full par value, plus any interest earned.
- Series I Savings Bonds – at this point last year we shared with our clients how to purchase Series I Savings Bonds “I Bonds” through the treasurydirect.gov website. I Bonds are purchased through the US Treasury and pay the full inflation amount, but there is a limit of $10,000 per person per year that can be invested in I Bonds. If you cash in the I Bond in less than 5 years, you lose the last 3 months of interest. I Bonds are an attractive investment due to the jump in inflation, as it can be difficult to find an investment that pays a risk-free rate of return of more than 7%.
While the above three options can be used individually in your investment portfolio, I like to look at