Here's Where Twitter Thinks Are the Best Places for Cash Deposits

Despite the avalanche of advice that comes your way, you have to pick and choose what works best for you. 

When real estate investor and media personality Graham Stephan asked his followers on Twitter where they're getting the highest APY on their cash deposits, most answered with uninsured investments, although a few suggested FDIC-insured accounts. Here's a sample of where Stephan's followers are stashing their cash:

• Robinhood, a commission-free investing and trading app. Robinhood also offers IRAs with a 1% match. 
• Wealthfront, an automated investment firm, currently paying an APY of 5.00% on savings accounts. 
• Capital One, currently paying a generous APY on online CDs.
• Tellus, an online fintech platform that uses depositor's money to make real estate loans. The company claims to pay far more interest than the average savings account. 

Where you stash your cash depends on how much risk you're willing to take. If you're aiming for returns paying much more interest, such an investment comes with risks. For example, if the investment firm you work with goes bankrupt or otherwise loses your money, you have no recourse. There is no federal insurance to protect the funds. 

On the other hand, if you're seeking safe places to store your cash and either make money or save money, here are three ideas. 

1. CDs

Certificates of deposit (CDs) are available through most financial institutions. And some are paying a pretty great rate. For example, Barclays currently offers an APY of 5.00% for a 1-year CD. Like deposits into your checking or savings account, CDs are federally insured.

2. I bonds

Series 1 savings bonds, also known as inflation-protection bonds (I bonds), set an interest rate tied to inflation. The idea is to preserve your purchasing power by helping you stay ahead of inflation. While the rate paid on I bonds gets reset every six months, they've become a go-to for investors throughout the pandemic. To give you an idea of how well they pay, the composite rate for I bonds issued from November 2022 through April 2023 was 6.89%. I bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. 

3. Pay down high-interest debt

Let's say you're paying 15% interest on a credit card or personal loan. Ridding yourself of that debt frees up more money for the things you want to do, like building an emergency savings account. If you don't want to focus on debt because it will distract you from investing, compare the two interest rates.

Which one is costing you more? Unless an investment earns a higher interest rate than you're paying toward debt, it's best to focus on getting rid of that debt.

Public forums, like Twitter, are interesting places to find advice. You have to be careful to weed the bad advice out from stellar advice. It's all about weighing what works best for you and your financial future.