Kiplinger\'s Personal Finance - 04.2020

04/2020 KIPLINGER’S PERSONAL FINANCE 53

TO PREPARE FOR A LOSS OF
income or a large, unex-
pected expense, the stan-
dard advice is to set aside
at least three to six months’
worth of living expenses.
But only 41% of U.S. adults
have stashed away enough
to cover just a $1,000 emer-
gency, according to a recent
Bankrate survey. Instead
of tapping savings, 16% say
they’d use a credit card, 14%
would borrow from family
or friends, and 7% would
take out a personal loan.
An emergency fund in
a dedicated account offers
more freedom and less stress

than a loan when you need
money fast. If you keep the
funds in a bank money mar-
ket deposit account, it may
come with a debit card or
checks, providing easy ac-
cess to your money. If you
prefer a savings account,
look for one that allows
large, quick transfers of
money to your checking
account, says Ken Tumin
of DepositAccounts.com.
One way to achieve that is
to open both a savings and
a checking account with a

*Fund is waiving all or a portion of its expenses. †Internet only. #Money market deposit account.

^TotalDirectBank offers a similar yield. & ‡Live Oak Bank and Merrick Bank offer a similar yield.

Must be a member; to become a member, see website. **Financial Partners CU offers a similar

yield. SOURCES: Bankrate, DepositAccounts, Money Fund Report (iMoneyNet).

YIELD BENCHMARKS

*To earn the maximum rate, you must meet requirements such as using your debit card several

times monthly and receiving electronic statements. †Portion of the balance higher than the

listed range earns a lower rate or no interest. #Must be a member; to become a member, see

website. ‡Requires spending $1,000 or more in CCU Visa credit card purchases.

SOURCE: DepositAccounts

Consumers Credit Union (Ill.)# 5.09%‡ $0–$10,000 myconsumers.org

La Capitol FCU (La.)# 4.25 0–3,000 lacapfcu.org

One American Bank (S.D.) 3.50 0–10,000 oneamericanbank.com

Evansville Teachers FCU (Ind.)# 3.30 0–20,000 etfcu.org

High-Yield Checking

TOP CHECKING ACCOUNTS

Must meet activity requirements*

Annual

yield as

of Feb. 14

Minimum

amount

Website

(www.)

Savings and Money Market

Deposit Accounts

CFG Bank (Md.)†# 2.15% $25,000 thecfgbank.com

BrioDirect ( N .Y.)†^ 2.00 25 briodirectbanking.com

MemoryBank (Ky.)†#^ 2.00 50 mymemorybank.com

BankUnitedDirect (Fla.)†#^ 2.00 2,500 bankuniteddirect.com

Annual

yield as

of Feb. 14

Minimum

amount

Website

(www.)

Certificates of Deposit

1-Year

ableBanking (Maine)† 2.20% $1,000 ablebanking.com

Marcus by Goldman Sachs ( N .Y.)†‡ 2.15 500 marcus.com

USAlliance Financial ( N .Y.)&‡ 2.15 500 usalliance.org

Rising Bank (Mo.)†‡ 2.15 1,000 risingbank.com

Annual

yield as

of Feb. 14

Minimum

amount

Website

(www.)

Certificates of Deposit

5-Year

Fort Bragg FCU (N.C.)& 2.99% $25,000 fortbraggfcu.org

Transportation FCU (Va.)& 2.78 1,000 transfcu.org

Hiway FCU (Minn.)& 2.71 25,000 hiway.org

Pen Air FCU (Fla.)&** 2.60 500 penair.org

30-day

yield as

of Feb. 4

Taxable Money Market

Mutual Funds

Website

(www.)

Minimum

investment

Vanguard Prime MMF (VMMXX) 1.68% $3,000 vanguard.com

Meeder Prime MMF (FFMXX)* 1.55 2,500 meederinvestment.com

Vanguard Federal MMF (VMFXX) 1.55 3,000 vanguard.com

Gabelli US Treas AAA (GA BX X) 1.54 10,000 gabelli.com

As of February 14, 2020.

● EE savings bonds purchased

after May 1, 2005, have a

fixed rate of interest.

● (^) Bonds purchased before
May 1, 1995, earn a minimum
of 4% or a market-based
rate from date of purchase.
● Bonds bought between
May 1, 1995, and May 1, 2005,
earn a market-based rate
from date of purchase.
Yield
Month-
ago
Ye a r -
ago
U.S. Series EE savings bonds 0.10% 0.10% 0.10%
U.S. Series I savings bonds 2.22 2.22 2.83
Six-month Treasury bills 1.56 1.57 2.51
Five-year Treasury notes 1.42 1.63 2.48
Ten-year Treasury notes 1.59 1.82 2.66
Vanguard Muni MMF (VMSXX) 0.91% 1.20%/1.40% $3,000 vanguard.com
M Stanley T-F Daily Inc (DSTXX)*0.77 1.01/1.18 5,000 morganstanley.com
BNY Mellon Ntl Muni (MOMXX) 0.75 0.99/1.15 10,000 bnymellon.com
Fidelity Muni MMF (FTEXX) 0.68 0.89/1.05 1 fidelity.com
30-day
yield as
of Feb. 3
Tax eq. yield
24 %/35%
bracket
Tax-Free Money Market
Mutual Funds
Minimum
investment
Website
(www.)
Great Accounts for
an Emergency Fund
BANKING
Website
(www.)
Annual
yield as
of Feb. 14
Balance
range†
TOP-YIELDING SAVINGS
single bank—transfers
within an institution are
usually immediate and free,
says Tumin.
Whichever type of account
you choose, look for one that
doesn’t charge a monthly
maintenance fee. If your
account tacks on a monthly
fee when the balance falls
below a certain level, you
may end up being charged if
you make a big withdrawal.
Ideally, the account will
have a track record of offer-
ing a high interest rate and
require a low minimum
balance to earn interest.
Saver-friendly accounts.
Tumin recommends three
online savings accounts that
fit the bill. The ALLY BANK ON-
LINE SAVINGS ACCOUNT (www
.ally.com) yields 1.6%, the
MARCUS BY GOLDMAN SACHS ON-
LINE SAVINGS ACCOUNT (www
.marcus.com) has a 1.7%
interest rate, and the SFGI
DIRECT SAVINGS ACCOUNT yields
1.86% (www.sfgidirect.com).
Among money market de-
posit accounts, check out the
SALLIE MAE MONEY MARKET AC-
COUNT (www.salliemae.com/
banking), which comes with
check writing and offers a
1.75% rate. REDNECK BANK
MEGA MONEY MARKET (https://
redneck.bank) yields 1.75%
on a balance of up to $50,000
and offers a debit card and
checks. LISA GERSTNER
[email protected]
RATE UPDATES
For the latest savings yields
and loan rates, visit kiplinger
.com/links/rates. For our top
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