What to avoid if your CD account matures this August

We may receive commissions from some links to products on this page. Promotions are subject to availability and retailer terms.

Certificate of deposit (CD) accounts have a variety of beneficial features in today's unique economy – elevated returns, fixed interest rates and protection for your principal in a way that investments fundamentally can't provide. These features come in exchange for locking your money into the account for an extended period until it matures, at which point your interest earnings will become available alongside your initial deposit.

But what you do with that money at that point is arguably just as important as what you did with it before getting started with the CD. And that's especially true in the economic terrain millions of savers find themselves navigating now with inflation sticky, interest rates keeping borrowing costs elevated and market uncertainty making investing decisions difficult.

If you have a CD account with an August 2026 maturity date, then, you should start contemplating your next moves now, before the grace period prior to a CD rollover commences. And while there are important moves to make before your money gets locked back into a new account, it's equally important to know which mistakes to avoid to ensure continued financial success and security. Below, we'll break down three specific ones to know for those with a looming CD maturity date on the calendar.

Start by seeing how high your current CD rate offers are here.

A CD maturity date in today's high interest-rate climate shouldn't be viewed as the end of your interest-earning cycle and, instead, should be leveraged to continue to take advantage of big returns while still readily available. To better position themselves to do just that, savers with a CD that's set to mature this August should specifically avoid doing these three things:

Savers will have a limited grace period after their account matures in which they can move the funds without penalty. It will then be automatically rolled over into a new account, potentially with a different rate, if savers do nothing. But they should also avoid simply auto-renewing it with the same bank without first taking the time to explore other institutions.

While a 3.95% CD rate may feel competitive and comfortable, for example, savers may be able to find one over 4% by simply shopping around online now. And that differential could prove to be substantial over time. However, they won't know what's available – or be able to earn more interest – if they simply tell their current bank to renew the account. Don't