July FOMC meeting: How the Fed's decision impacts your money
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Well, the FOMC's policy meeting kicks off next Tuesday with its interest rate decision coming Wednesday at 2:00 p.m.. The Fed is expected to hold rates steady, but it could still impact your financial decisions. Yahoo Finance personal finance editor, Casey Bond, is still with me. So, Casey, with rates where they are, is now a good time to sign up for a new high-yield savings account or a CD? What should people keep in mind?
Yeah, so even though rates have been falling a bit over the last year and a half, um, they're still quite competitive by historical standards. And you can find a high-yield savings account or CD that pays as much as 4% APY or more. Um, so even if the Fed decides to hold its rate steady, um, that means you can still take advantage of these good rates today. Uh, high-yield savings is great for flexibility. Um, you can access your money whenever you need it. But if you want to put some money away for a little bit longer term, say, six months to a year or two, um, locking in a CD will allow you to keep earning today's rates even if the Fed does decide to lower rates later this year.
And like you were saying, interest rates still pretty competitive and still elevated out there. What advice do you have for people carrying credit card debt or considering a personal loan?
Yeah, so getting rid of that high interest debt is super important in a high interest rate environment. Um, definitely prioritize revolving debt, um, particularly credit cards because those are going to have the highest rates right now. Um, and even if that means you do need to take a step back on your savings goals, um, the interest rate you earn on savings or investments is probably not going to keep pace with the amount of interest you're paying on that debt. So definitely prioritize getting rid of the debt, and then you can ramp up your savings again.
And for those just getting started, maybe recent grads, or folks at their first job, what's the smartest place to park your savings right now?
Well, like I mentioned, high-yield savings accounts are very flexible. Uh, there's usually few to no fees, um, very low minimum balance requirements, and that's particularly at online banks. So if you're looking for, you know, your first account where you want to set aside some cash and earn a great rate, take a look at some of those online banks, um, and check out what types of high-yield savings accounts they have. That's probably going to be your best option.
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