6 Month CD Rates - Finding the Best Rates in Your Area

If you're like most people, you know you need to save and invest more of your money, and a 6 month CD with a high rate is a great way to start. Many people prefer 6 month CD rates to others such as a 3 month CD or a 12 month CD for a variety of reasons. A year may be too long for most people to have their money tied up, and you usually can't earn a great rate with a 3 month CD. So if you know that you want a 6 month CD rate, we'll show you how to find the best CD rates in your area.

Searching for CDs locally before we show you how to find the best CD rate deals, we want to take a second and consider why people may want to search for CDs locally. There are 2 answers to this in general:

1.) Convenience. Finding a local bank or credit union that offers a great rate on a certificate of deposit means that you don't have to travel very far, and the bank is essentially a neighbor in the local banking community. You may already be banking with them as well.

2.) Best rates. Local banking institutions also generally offer the best CD rates deals as compared to national banks. That's because local institutions are much smaller, have lower operating costs and are more likely to be aggressive in earning local business. Due to this, the CD rates they advertise will usually be higher to gain local support and business.

Finding the Best Rate - Now that you know why people may want to search for CD rates locally, here's how you should approach actually finding your 6 month CD rate. The secret is actually very simple. There are a number of online rates comparison tools that gather data on CD rates across all banks, and then break down that information so that you are able to view the best rates in your area. There's no trick to it, as you can actually go and visit bank websites via these tools to verify the rates. Here's a hint: Look for online rates comparison charts that have a zip code field that will yield local search results.

Additional Research - Once you locate the rate you want, you simply have to do some additional research on the CD account and sign up. Some things you may want to consider before signing up with any bank are:

Bank fees. Any hidden fees on the account may reduce the amount of interest you earn in total when the CD matures.

Funding methods. You'll want to look for accounts that can be funded using easy means such as ACH transfer or by routing number.

Access. In case an emergency arises, how long will it take you to withdraw from the CD account? In general, you do not want to be restricted from your funds for more than 2 days.

Now that you understand how to find the best 6 month CD rates in your local area, you should start investing immediately. There's no better way to earn interest risk-free on an investment than with a high CD account rate.

Phi Vo is a personal finance writer for a number of finance and insurance blogs dedicated to helping people save as much money as possible.

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