Rising rates may mean it’s time to put more money in savings accounts, certificates of deposit and Treasury bills
4 min
Stop dwelling on what you’ve lost thanks to rising interest rates and take advantage of the opportunities they present.
High rates are expected to linger for a while and they are having a corrosive impact on some parts of our finances. Taking out a $500,000 mortgage to buy a home today will cost you about $400 more a month than it would have a year ago in a standard 30-year mortgage. That is not to mention higher rates on credit cards, personal loans and other products for borrowers.
The high-rate periods can also bring juicy, high yields on savings accounts, certificates of deposit and Treasury bills—that is, banks are paying you to let your money sit there. And anyone can take advantage, regardless of income.
Dena Bashri opened a SoFi savings account last fall. It now yields 4.5% a year. She wanted a higher return than she was getting at her local credit union.
Bashri, 25 years old, is a senior director at a fundraising firm and makes roughly $92,500 a year. She saves money on rent by living with her parents in Virginia so she’s able to contribute about $4,900 each month to her savings account. She’s already earned close to a few hundred dollars in interest and hopes to continue building her rainy-day fund, she said.
“Emergency savings offers me the flexibility to take risks but also financially anticipate any life changes that may happen,” Bashri said.
Here’s a financial road map for making the most of great yields while staying on track with your short- and long-term money goals.
Living paycheck to paycheck is now the norm for most Americans.
Financial advisers urge those holding large amounts of debt to first pay down high-interest balances. About half of people carrying credit-card debt allow those balances to roll over into the next month, according to a recent Bankrate survey.
Credit-card interest rates are at record highs, making that debt even more expensive to maintain. Putting money in a savings account with a 4.5% rate will help little if you haven’t paid down your Visa balance with the current average rate of 22.16%.
“Although you may be able to set aside a certain amount of money in a savings account, if you’re potentially offsetting that with not paying off higher debt, that’s an important consumer consideration,” said Courtney Mitchell, head of consumer deposits, products and payments at TD Bank.
For avid debit-card users, high-yield checking accounts are worth consideration, financial advisers say. These accounts can be found at credit unions and online banks and are yielding up to 6%. That interest can then be linked to a high-yield savings account. This is a good option for debit-card users who want to get a start on their emergency fund.
But try not to keep more than one month’s worth of expenses sitting in a checking account, said Rob Williams, managing director of financial planning and wealth management at Charles Schwab. Research shows money sitting in a checking account is more likely to be spent than money in a savings account.
For those who can sock away at least a little bit each month, even putting $25 in a high-yield account can make a difference, said Mitchell.
If you contribute $25 a month to a savings account yielding 4.5%, you will have roughly $300 in a year including interest.
Putting that money toward emergency savings? Liquidity is key so that when something unexpected happens, like a flat tire, you can get the money quickly. High-yield savings accounts are the best places for emergency savings because they allow easy withdrawals, financial advisers say.
“You really need emergency savings to be in something you can get at as soon as possible and also without a penalty,” said Mark Hamrik, senior economic analyst at Bankrate.
Financial advisers recommend building up six months to one year of expenses in an emergency-savings account. Homeowners should save a little more for unexpected repairs.
Once you’re comfortable with your emergency savings, you can set aside money for holiday gifts, vacations and other short-term goals such as a down payment on a car.
The run of interest rate increases has made certificates of deposit popular again. If you are comfortable locking money away for a period of time, consider a CD for some of these short-term goals. Many six-month to one-year CDs are offering yields above 5%.
It can be helpful to divvy up your high-yield savings for coming expenses.
Erin Confortini, 24, is a freelance marketing consultant based in Pennsylvania who made about $120,000 last year. She has three high-yield savings accounts for her short-term savings goals.
Each month, Confortini puts $150 aside for car insurance, $300 for coming vacations and $200 toward Christmas and birthday gifts, she said.
“It’s really great that now that rates are increasing, we do have an option to earn a little bit of money,” Confortini said.
You’ve got at least one month of expenses in your checking account, you’ve beefed up emergency savings and you’ve set aside buckets of money for anticipated expenses.
Maybe it’s time to get more money out of high-yield savings. Keeping all of your money in savings isn’t a strategy for wealth building because the interest gained on high-yield accounts likely won’t outpace inflation in the long run, said Kyle McBrien, a certified financial planner at Betterment.
One simple way to take advantage of rates and get out of high-yield savings is Treasurys.
Take Victor Cipolla, a 33-year-old entrepreneur in New York.
Cipolla moved $30,000 from his high-yield savings account into a Treasury bill after he noticed that rates were going up. The bill currently yields more than 4% and he reinvests the money in another Treasury bill every six months when it matures, he said. The average yield on a six-month Treasury bill is 5.3%.
“We’ve always had this low interest rate environment, so this is a new area to navigate,” said Cipolla.
Copyright 2020, Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. LEARN MORE
BNW Developments has established a Sydney presence, joining Arada and Sobha Realty among the growing number of UAE developers pursuing Australian buyers and development opportunities.
The Australian leather house has opened an immersive four-day pop-up in Manhattan, unveiling its Bloom Collection and redefining what a product launch can look like.
Strong family financial planning can help reduce taxes and support younger generations. From intrafamily loans and asset gifts to inheritance disclaimers, strategic cooperation can create meaningful financial benefits—when families have the trust and structure to make it work.
4 min
Happy is the family whose members—parents, grandparents and grown children—trust each other enough to cooperate on shared goals, especially financial ones. When that is truly the case, Uncle Sam’s tax rules can help as well.
This matters especially now that mortgage rates are above 7%, and many families are looking for ways to help younger members. If the elders have resources and are confident younger ones can cooperate, a family loan could make homeownership possible while providing the elders with a useful income stream.
Other strategies can actually lower taxes, such as when funding 529 plans or Roth IRAs, or when someone inherits a traditional IRA with required withdrawals larger than they will need.
Here are three strategies useful for functional families.
It is perfectly legal for families to lend money to a relative for a down payment or even a private mortgage.
But it is important not to cut corners, says Ryan McKeown, a CPA with Modern Wealth Enhancement in Minnesota. If the loan is for a down payment, be honest with the mortgage provider and have a formal agreement. The lender owes tax on the interest payments received.
If the loan is for a private mortgage, both sides should have legal representation with a formal written agreement, including payment terms. The lender owes tax on the interest, and the borrower often can deduct it if he or she itemizes.
To avoid IRS trouble, the interest rate shouldn’t be lower than the agency’s Applicable Federal Rate at the time of the loan. Currently that is about 5% for loans longer than nine years; about 4.5% for loans three to nine years; and about 4% for loans three years or less. Currently, traditional mortgage rates are generally above 7%.
In addition, the lender could use the $19,000 annual gift-tax exemption (described below) to forgive some or all of the interest or principal annually. If both lenders and borrowers are married, that is up to $76,000 a year. There is no tax for the borrower on such forgiveness, because it is from a gift.
If you’re going this route, McKeown advises against having a fixed plan to forgive the debt. Instead, do it in one-off letters specifying the amount—and keep careful records. Otherwise the IRS might try to treat the loan as a taxable gift.
Powerful tax-saving moves for families often use gift-tax provisions. Under current law, anyone can give anyone else up to $19,000 of assets annually, free of gift tax. That means a married couple with three grandchildren could give them a total of $114,000 in 2026.
The gifts can be cash or other assets, like stock. For noncash gifts, the cost basis—which is the starting point for measuring taxable gain after a sale—“carries over” to the recipient. So if someone buys $1,000 of stock and gives it away when it is worth $5,000, the recipient’s cost basis is $1,000. If the recipient later sells the shares for $8,000, the taxable gain is $7,000.
Here’s an example showing how gifts could save a family taxes. Grandma is a widow of modest means, while her child and spouse have prospered. The couple has two children, and they want to contribute $5,000 to a 529 college-savings plan for each—but they need to sell stock to do it. Their tax rate on the sale would be 18.8%, and they would need to sell about $11,000 of stock.
However, Grandma’s federal tax rate on the stock sale is 0%. If the couple gives $10,000 of shares to Grandma, she could sell them, pay no tax, and fund the grandchildren’s 529 plans. This saves about $1,000 of tax.
These moves are legal, and they could be used in other ways, such as to help a young person fund a Roth IRA.
But trust among family members is essential: Under the law, givers can’t put conditions on a gift. Grandma could use her stock proceeds to take a cruise, but she makes 529 contributions instead.
Mark Sellner, a retired tax attorney and CPA living in Sarasota, Fla., uses this strategy. His children sell stock he gives them and fund 529 plans for his grandchildren.
The family’s tax savings aren’t huge, but he likes other benefits. The sales by his children don’t boost his adjusted gross income, which in turn could raise his Medicare Irmaa premiums or his 3.8% surtax on net investment income.
Sellner doesn’t worry about his children using the funds for another purpose.
“There can’t be any strings attached to gifts. Of course, it is up to us to decide whether to make them in the future,” he says.
Two caveats: The “kiddie tax” applies to most children under age 24, and it is levied at the parents’ rate on investment income above $2,700 in 2026. Consider this before making gifts to a young person.
Investors who give away stock also forgo the step-up, an important provision that exempts assets held at death from capital-gains tax.
Sellner knows he’s losing a step-up, but says, “The children could use a little more now. Why should they wait 20 years to get it?”
A disclaimer is a highly useful strategy in which one heir renounces an inheritance in favor of another heir. Assuming family members cooperate, this can save taxes.
Here’s one example. Dad died and had a large traditional IRA that he left to Mom. She has enough assets and income to cover her expenses, and she lives in a state with a stiff estate tax. The inherited IRA would put her estate over the threshold.
Also surviving are three young-adult children. If Mom disclaims all or part of Dad’s IRA within nine months of his death, that amount could go directly to the children. They will have 10 years to empty the account, and the family as a whole will likely save estate and income taxes.
Disclaimers have many key details, especially regarding beneficiary documents. Although heirs have great freedom in choosing what assets to disclaim, the rules about who gets disclaimed property are rigid. It is best if the original owner names tiers of heirs so that if one disclaims, the next recipient is clear.
