Earlier than making a step stool or ladder, savers also needs to think about whether or not they have the time to handle certificates at completely different banks with completely different maturities, Ms. Costa mentioned. Until you might be shifting a big sum of money, she mentioned, the trouble might not be price the additional yield.

For many individuals, Ms. Costa mentioned, selecting a high-yield financial savings account could also be the most effective strategy — even when it means getting a considerably decrease return in your financial savings. The web financial institution Marcus, the buyer arm of Goldman Sachs, is providing 4.5 % on a financial savings account, for instance, and Ally Financial institution, one other online-only financial institution, is paying 4.35 %. You’ll must hyperlink the financial savings account to your common financial institution to switch cash out and in.

Listed below are some questions and solutions about C.D.s and financial savings:

Why not depart my cash in a high-yield financial savings account?

For emergency funds that you could be want on brief discover — say, for an surprising automotive restore — financial savings accounts are an excellent match. However banks can, and do, change the charges they pay on such accounts at any time, in order that choice may grow to be much less engaging if charges fall. That shouldn’t be a giant concern, nonetheless, in case your cash is supposed for emergency bills, Ms. Benz mentioned. For a rainy-day fund, she mentioned, “the objective is return of principal fairly than return on principal.”

What about money-market funds?

Many brokerage corporations have been paying round 5 percent on money-market mutual funds, low-risk funding accounts. However money-market funds usually are not federally insured. And the speed on these accounts can change at any time.

Ought to I transfer extra of my investments to money, whereas financial savings charges are nonetheless engaging?

Paul Brahim, a monetary adviser on the Wealth Enhancement Group in Pittsburgh, mentioned he heard that query from purchasers eyeing engaging yields on low-risk money automobiles. He mentioned he typically suggested purchasers to maintain cash in money primarily based on their spending wants for the following six months to 3 years, together with an affordable reserve for emergencies.

However in case you transfer an excessive amount of cash out of long-term investments, Mr. Brahim mentioned, market timing turns into extra of a danger, and you might miss out on important funding positive aspects. “Money is a good thought for everybody,” he mentioned. “But it surely’s essential to have a rational allocation.”