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Want to make a few hundred bucks or more for an hour of your time? If you have some cash sitting at the big bank paying you nothing, here are a few ideas to take advantage of surging interest rates. Rates are as of June 10, 2024, with the amounts they translate to in annual interest for each $10,000 invested.
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1. High-paying money market accounts
These are great options if you want to earn more but also want immediate access to your cash, such as by writing a check. Money market accounts come in two types: those issued by banks or credit unions and those from investment companies such as Fidelity, Schwab and Vanguard. Both come with limited check writing so you’ll have immediate access to your cash.
The best rates on such accounts at banks and credit unions can be found on sites such as DepositAccounts.com and Bankrate.com. The highest annualized money market rate on DepositAccounts.com was 5.35 percent; on a $10,000 deposit, that equates to $535 a year in interest. These deposits are guaranteed to at least $250,000 per institution by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) or National Credit Union Association (NCUA).
Brokerage firms and mutual fund companies also have money market mutual funds, which are not insured by the federal government. You want to make sure you have a federal money market fund that invests in securities issued by the U.S. Treasury or an agency of the U.S. government. Otherwise, you could lose some of your principal or find out you can’t get your money back for a while. Don’t settle for a low rate — you should shoot for at least a 4 percent annual yield.
2. High-yield savings accounts
These accounts at banks and credit unions are also backed by the FDIC or NCUA. They are like bank money market accounts except that you don’t have check-writing privileges. Because of that, they typically pay a bit more than money market accounts. Using the same two websites noted for money market accounts, the top yield on June 10 was 5.55 percent, so that amounts to interest of $555 a year on $10,000.
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