Why a $10,000 long-term CD makes sense this April

CBS News

09-04-2025

In today's unique economic atmosphere, in which
inflation
is still a concern,
interest rates
are still high, and, now,
stock market
uncertainty is elevated, there are few secure ways to both grow and protect your money. Some options can offer protection but result in limited growth opportunities. Others, however, could cause your money to grow, but they could also wipe out a healthy portion of your bottom line should market conditions change unexpectedly. Against this backdrop, then, and with limited attractive alternatives, a
certificate of deposit (CD) account
makes sense to open now.
CDs come with
fixed interest rates
, meaning the rate you open the account with now will be the same one the account
matures
with in the future. And
rates on CD accounts
are still relatively high, even if they're not quite as elevated as they were in 2023 and early 2024. Plus, with a
long-term CD
(one with a
term
of a year or more), you can earn that high rate for 18 months or even longer. But those aren't the only reasons why it could be worth putting $10,000 into a long-term CD this April. Below, we'll expand on three others.
See how much interest you could be earning with a top CD account here
.
Here are three important reasons why a $10,000 long-term CD could be advantageous to open this April:
Stock market volatility may have caused a healthy portion of your portfolio to be wiped out in the last week. And with signs of additional uncertainty to come, losses there are unlikely to have been fully realized. But if you had put some money into a CD before that happened, or do so now ahead of the next big market swing, you can better protect your money against stock market volatility. That's because rates here are fixed (unlike savings accounts that have variable returns), allowing you to precisely determine your returns. And
CDs are also safe
, as they're FDIC-insured up to $250,000 per account, making them an extra secure spot to park your money now.
Protect your money against stock market changes today
.
Right now, you can secure a 4.16% rate on an 18-month CD, 4.15% on a 2-year CD and 4.15% on a 3-year CD. With a $10,000 deposit, that results in returns of $630.45, $847.22 and $1,297.38, respectively. While it will take some time for those returns to materialize, they're guaranteed as long as you don't withdraw the money early (at which point
penalties
are issued). And if you deposit more than $10,000 or opt for an even longer CD term, you'll earn even more.
That said, a CD is only valuable for those who can part with their money for the full term. If you don't think you can afford to, you may be better served by exploring
high-yield savings accounts
, which also have elevated rates but won't require you to forego access to your funds.
Predicting the future of interest rates is difficult to do with precision, but essentially impossible to do now amid stock market volatility and economic policy changes. Still, even before the recent market changes, the Federal Reserve had already cut
interest rates
three times in 2024. And inflation is substantially lower than the over 9% it had hit in June 2022. So the market conditions are right for another rate cut, perhaps sooner than expected (the Federal Reserve meets again in May).
Should those cuts be issued, rates on CDs will drop in response, perhaps even before a formal rate cut is announced. So it makes sense to get ahead of those changes by locking a five-figure amount of your money in a high-rate CD account now.
A $10,000 long-term CD isn't right for every saver, especially if you need to maintain steady access to your funds. For others, however, particularly those seeking protection against stock market volatility, a substantial return on their money and a reliable way to protect against rate cuts later this year, it could still make sense to pursue this unique deposit amount and savings vehicle. Just be sure to shop around online to compare rates and lenders to improve your chances of finding an account with the highest rates and most attractive terms.
Get started with a long-term CD here today
.