A big question mark for investors is "where can I put my money that is liquid yet still earns a nice return?" The answer is Certificates of Deposits (CD's). CDs are debt instruments issued by banks and credit unions to consumers. Standard CD's are insured for $250,000 by the FDIC and are available in a number of different lengths to maturity (i.e. 6 month, 1 year, 2 years, 5 years). Earning the best rate you can on a CD is possible if you do a little research.

 

1. Check out the rates at a smaller local bank. Sometimes, smaller banks are able to offer better rates.
2. Don't forget about larger banks. Although smaller banks sometimes have better rates, larger banks often offer special promotions. Visit individual bank websites for some less advertised promotional deals.
3. Talk to a broker. Brokers often can offer you good CD interest rates. However, this sometimes comes with a larger initial minimum investment. It's also important to know whether the CD purchased from a broker is FDIC insured, as sometimes they may not be. Brokerage fees can be involved with a broker purchased certificate of deposit, so make sure you know what the brokerage fee is upfront.
4. Navigate to the Bankaholic website. Bankaholic has a list generator in which you can customize your list by CD length of maturity as well as rate, lender and minimum deposit. This will make your task of finding the best rate a lot easier. You can find the CD rates by clicking on the bank rates tab at the top of the page. The banks listed have ratings as well.
5. Look at Bankrate.com. The nice thing about Bankrate is that you can compare cd rates by local area. Here, you will be able to see a comparison of the certificate of deposits rates at your local banks. Bankrate also provides a national average so you can see how your local bank measures up.
6. Consider using RateBrain.com This website also lists CD, checking and savings rates, but a nice feature of this site is that it allows you to track a particular rate from a bank that you may be interested in. You can email the rate to a friend as well as see past trends on a rate at a particular bank.

7. StarReviews Top 3 Online Banking Websites

   1) Bank of America

   2) ING DIRECT

   3) WaMu

   Compare All Online Banking Websites

   Watch maturity dates. Some CD's automatically renew at their old interest rate. If CD rates have gone up since then, you could lose profit. You may be better off taking the taking the money at maturity and reinvesting it into a new CD with a higher rate.