The economy might be doing a little better, but many familiesare taking a conservative approach to investing money. And planningfor the future – retirement, educational expenses, a new car orhouse or maybe a long-anticipated vacation – requires carefulstrategy to make sure you have the money you need, when you needit.

When looking for ways to conservatively invest your money, makesure you investigate purchasing a certificate of deposit,or CD. This long-term investment typically has better interestrates than savings accounts, but requires you to keep your moneyinvested for a specified amount of time.

Some reasons you might want to invest your money in CDsinclude:

* Security – You will receive your investment back, plus theearned interest without any financial risk.

* Higher interest rates – CD rates tend to offer higher interestrates than savings accounts. And the longer the term of the CD, thebetter the rates should be. For example, investing in a one-year CDwill probably give you higher interest earnings than investing in asix-month CD.

* The ability to reinvest – As your CD earns interest, you havethe option of either reinvesting the interest into the current CD’sprinciple, rolling it over into a new CD, or using the money for adifferent investment program.

* Plenty of opportunity to shop around for the best rate – Banksand credit unions all offer CDs with varying rates. When you shoparound, you will be able to find the best interest rate. And everytime your CD comes due, you can take another look, just to makesure you’re getting the best value for your money.

* A great future planning tool – If you have long-term plans,investing in CDs workwell because you can determine when you want to have the money (andinterest) available, and you will know exactly how much money willbe available at that time. This might help if you know that youwant to start retirement in two years, or plan to take a vacationin six months, for example.

VisualEconomics.com is a great information site to help youdetermine the best financial plans for your family and the future.It has information about certificates of deposit, as well asarticles, diagrams, charts and graphics on everything ranging frominterest rates to stretching your family’s dollar. The site alsocan connect you to institutions offering you the best CD rates.

Courtesy of ARAcontent