Money Tips Network

If you're currently stressed about money, you are certainly not alone. However, you don't have to stay stuck in a state of financial stress.

In the Trump era, Twitter has become the de facto way that the White House communicates with the American public. But @realDonaldTrump isn't the only government social media account out there.

It doesn't matter how high your income is — if you have bad money habits, your savings will eventually whittle away to nothing.

What bad money habits have you successfully quit? What was the turning point that convinced you it was time to kick this habit to the curb?

When circumstances are normal, budgeting really isn't that difficult. For the most part, you can predict your expenses, income, and your day-to-day activities with relative ease.

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Interest rates are on the rise.

The Federal Funds Rate – which sets the market for most interest rates – was up to 1.51% as of March 2018, its highest mark since the stock market crash in 2008.

And while this does mean higher interest rates on mortgages and other loans, it also means that you can finally earn a reasonable return on the money you have in savings accounts and CDs, if you know where to look.

So, are savings accounts and CDs suddenly smart investments? Should you be putting some of your long-term money into these accounts?

The answer depends on what your goals are and what you’re investing for. Let’s figure it out.

The Primary Purpose of Savings Accounts and CDs

Before even considering the idea of using a savings account or certificate of deposit as an investment, let’s take a step back and remind ourselves how these accounts are primarily meant to be used.

The following is a guest post from Bernz JP who writes at Moneylogue.

More importantly, Should You?

When “life happens” it can be extremely tempting to use retirement accounts as emergency savings accounts. And while in an ideal world, you would never need to do this, sometimes it may be necessary. Statistics state that a little over 30% of 401K investors in the last decade have cashed out before reaching the minimum age of 59½ that let them avoid the 10% early distribution penalty.

IRS rules do make room for retirement plan loans if the maximum amount of the loan is either under half of the amount of your vested balance or $50,000, whichever amount is smaller. This means you won’t be able to borrow more than $50,000 from your 401K, no matter how much your plan is worth.

So, the question is, what counts a necessary and what doesn’t?

It's very common these days for young people to move from job to job.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm self-conscious about aging. Not so much the number (which is climbing to a hearty 37 years old this year) but rather that I can physically see the youth exiting my body as life experience replaces it.