Dave Ramsey generally dislikes CDs (Certificates of Deposit), calling them "certificates of depression" or "glorified savings accounts" because their low, fixed interest rates often fail to keep pace with inflation, meaning your money loses purchasing power over time, especially for long-term goals like retirement. He prefers higher-yield investments like growth stock mutual funds for long-term wealth building, though he acknowledges a CD might be okay for very short-term savings (like a few years for a down payment) if the person needs absolute safety and cannot handle risk, but even then, a high-yield savings account is often better.
CDs are never a good idea for your investments.
But even those rates are barely enough to keep up with inflation, which makes things more expensive over time (no wonder Dave Ramsey likes to call CDs “certificates of depreciation”). That's not a winning strategy for long-term investing, people!
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Though the yields tied to CDs are often more favorable than they are for more liquid bank accounts, they're lower than what you'll get for higher-risk investments such as stocks and exchange traded funds (ETFs). As such, CDs aren't great for long-term savings, such as retirement.
The "27.39 rule" (often rounded to $27.40) is a simple financial strategy to save $10,000 in one year by consistently setting aside $27.40 every single day, making it an achievable micro-saving habit to build wealth or an emergency fund. It turns the daunting goal of saving $10,000 into a manageable daily action, emphasizing consistency over large lump sums.
No, most experts predicted CD rates would not rise significantly in 2025 and would likely trend downward after peaking in late 2024, driven by anticipated Federal Reserve interest rate cuts which began in the latter half of 2025, leading to a cooling rate environment despite some inflation concerns. You could still lock in high rates in early 2025, but they were generally expected to decrease as the year progressed, making it a good time to secure higher yields before they fell further.
Right now (January 2026), good CD rates are generally above 4% APY, with top offers reaching around 4.50% APY, particularly for shorter terms like 7 months from Connexus Credit Union, or competitive rates from E*TRADE (4.10% for 1 year) and Climate First Bank (4.27% for 6 months). You can find excellent yields for various terms by checking online banks and credit unions like NerdWallet, Bankrate, and Investopedia.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
They're typically low-risk, highly liquid and offer a modest rate of return. Examples of cash and cash equivalents that a millionaire or billionaire may hold include: Bank accounts, including checking and savings accounts and CDs. U.S. Treasury bills.
The 3-6-9 rule in finance is a guideline for building an emergency fund, suggesting you save 3 months of essential expenses for stable jobs, 6 months for most people (especially those with families/mortgages), and 9 months for those with irregular income (freelancers, sole earners) or high financial risk. It's a flexible strategy to provide financial security, helping you avoid debt or panic withdrawals during unexpected job loss or emergencies, with the exact target depending on your income stability and dependents.
A diversified portfolio typically includes a mix of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, balancing growth and stability. Ramsey often recommends allocating investments into four types of mutual funds: growth, growth and income, aggressive growth, and cross-border investment strategies.
And to go one step further, we recommend dividing your mutual fund investments equally between four types of funds: growth and income, growth, aggressive growth, and international.
CDs are absolutely still worth considering in May 2025 -- but only if they fit your savings timeline. If you can afford to lock your money up for between six and 18 months, CDs paying over 4.00% could be an awesome low-risk win.
Both CDs and vinyls will release harmful chemicals if incinerated in landfills, making recycling a preferable option.
CDs are generally more clean and a little warmer sounding, meaning there's more of the midrange and lows rather than high highs, so it's just a warmer, more comfortable sound. Generally, CDs and vinyl are pretty similar. If you get a good pressed record or a good quality recording, it's going to sound very similar.
It's generally better to have several smaller CDs (a CD ladder) for flexibility and to adapt to changing interest rates, allowing periodic access to funds as they mature; a single large CD offers simplicity but locks up all funds, making it harder to access money or reinvest at higher rates if conditions change, though large CDs sometimes offer slightly better rates. Choose multiple CDs for liquidity and strategy, or one large CD for ease if you don't need the money soon and find a great rate.
“We can drop interest rates to a level, and that's one thing we do want to do,” said Trump. “That's natural. That's good for everybody. You know, the dropping of the interest rate, we should be paying a much lower interest than we are.”
For his part, Chip Lupo, analyst at WalletHub, says “CD rates will likely be a bit lower than they are now, if they change at all, in January 2026. Rates have already been drifting lower since late 2024, as CDs usually follow the direction of the Federal Reserve's rate decisions.”