Which is better, let it mature, or close the CD and invest the funds elsewhere?
Answers
Quick calculations (presuming that the rates listed are all the interest rates, rather than APYs and that all are based on a 365 day year). Presuming you could move the funds tomorrow, for every $10,000 in the CD, you would earn the following interest through the original maturity date (August 19):
Current CD: $61.11 (44.9 cents/day)
Account paying 2%: $74.52 (54.8 cents/day)--or $13.41 more than the existing CD
Account paying 2.3%: $85.70 (63.0 cents/day)--or $24.59 more than the existing CD
That works if you can transfer directly from the current institution to the new one. But there are some circumstances that might not work (ACH transfer limitations or availability). If so, you might have to go through a hub account, which may result in losing some days of interest (depending on transfer speeds). If, for example, it takes 3 days to transfer the funds, then the differences decrease accordingly (to $11.77 and $22.70, respectively).
The question of when you will want the money (along with the question of whether you want to place your risks on interest rates going down or up) may have bearing on how much the transfer is worth. If you go into a new CD, you're potentially committing yourself for a longer period of time (because as of now, you can break the CD penalty free). If you go into a savings account without a time guarantee, you risk the bank lowering the rate (either due to a general market decline in rates or the bank's own decision).
