I'm 22. How do I go about putting money into a cd? Just stroll on over to the bank with my money?

Question

I wish I had a little elf to help me with my finances! lol. I would love to retire early but need serious help.

automatic contributions! wow! thanks!

Answer 1

Yep, it's that easy.

But you really need to set up automatic contributions. That way it just comes out without you having to pry it out of your purse.

Answer 2

A cd wont let you retire early. A cd is good for money that you KNOW you wont ever use in the next however many months because it gets a much better interest rate than does a savings/checking account. If you wanted to get some REAL money for when you retire you would want to look into a Roth IRA

now to answer your question. yes you can walk into a bank and have a cd in less than an hour. However you need to have an account with that bank so you'll have to make a savings account and put money in that and then you can make a cd. all they ask for is a check for the amount you want to put into the cd and there you have it. Only thing is you must wait for the cd to mature otherwise there is a penalty for taking your money out early. But i have had money in cd's for about 2 years now and im happy becuase i dont need that money right now.

Answer 3

As everyone agreed above, you can go to your bank, or find a better CD rate with an online bank.

My question is: if this is your retirement money, and you're only 22y.o., why wouldn't you invest in something with a higher rate of return? CD's might be safe, but they won't make you rich (after inflation).

Try a no load mutual fund instead. YES, YOU COULD LOOSE YOUR MONEY. You could also do a lot better than the %-age rates that are out there for CD's. These are also available online. Start reading up: online or on paper. There's no little elf you can trust more than yourself. :-)

Good Luck!!

Chaz

Answer 4

Yes, you can do that, but you won't make enough to retire on. Inflation and taxes (and any fees) will surely rob you of most of your gains.

Since you are wiling to lock up your money for 6 months to a few years, why not look into micro-lending? Prosper.com is one of the leading micro lending sites. I have been using it for over a year and have a 13.5% return on my money. Out of 51 loans only one has stopped paying, and one went bankrupt (each were only for $50.)

There are other places as well, just Google micro-lending for more info. It pays MUCH better than a CD.

Another option is to look into emigrantdirect.com They have a Dream savings account that pays about as much as a CD and is more liquid than locking it up in a CD. No fees, either. No trips to the bank. Available 24/7/365.

I would stay away from the CD when there are much better options out there to help you retire.

Answer 5

Your money isn't in a bank right now? Then yes, go to bankrate.com and go to the CD area and find a suitable CD (i.e. the term you want, and the best interest rate for that term). Then either go to that bank directly and open a CD, or deposit the money into your bank and transfer to the other bank for a new CD.

Not much to it.

Although you're so young with retirement at least a couple of decades away, that you might want to consider higher risk/higher reward investments like bonds or index funds.

CDs are more designed for short term, no risk capital growth.

Answer 6

Yes,... but all CD's are not created equal.
Check Your newpaper for CD Rates of Return or go online. Different Banks and other institutions that provide financial services and products offer different rates of return.

Everyone would love to retire early but the truth is retirement takes a lot of work! lol

Answer 7

An online bank would be better because they offer higher yields. Amtrust, ING Direct, and HSBC Direct all offer high yields on CDs and savingd accounts. Don't look for a CD that's for longer than 5 years though. CDs are for short term investments, not long term growth. Good luck.

Answer 8

yes in short that is it. you pick the bank the interests will very from bank to bank, and remember credit unions offer the better rates on your money.

then you put it into a CD. you pick the time , like 0 60 90 6 months etc.

I suggest you do it for 6 months if you can part with the money and not need it, but for a really rad rainy day. you pay a fee to get it out early.

Then as you learn to save, do like I do. I buy one a month and roll them over in to longer and long CD rates of time for more money.

Answer 9

call the various banks & ask what their interest rate YEILD is & the minimum to buy them.
Usually they sell them in increments of $1000 USD for 3, 6, 9, 12, 24, 36 months, depending on how long you prefer the money to be tied up.
One good thing is that banks will usually do a signature loan agains the CD's as collateral if something comes up & you find you need extra $.
You are WISE to sAVE !!!

Answer 10

Yeah. You just go to the bank and tell them you want to buy a CD. Some have upper limits (e.g. you need $10k, etc). All have time limits so be sure you can leave it in for the entire time (6 months, a year, or whatever). You can subscribe to a magazine such as "Money" and get lots of advice.

Answer 11

Best way to do it is to call the bank you plan to deal with, and explain what you would like to do, and they will make an appointment for you to speak with someone to help you do precisely that.

The Automatic Deductions you mentioned in the Additional details can be set-up at the same time (bring your chequebook to speed things along).