A generational savings opportunity for Americans has finally emerged, but savers aren’t loving the float back down to reality. With the Fed’s super-sized 0.50% cut last month, once-lucrative 5% yields on bank deposits, certificates of deposit (CDs), and money-market funds are now a thing of the past. And with further cuts on the horizon, the days of high-interest savings could soon be numbered — leaving savers little time to plan what to do with their cash.

• The average yield on the largest money-market funds dipped to 4.69% in mid-October, down from 5.10% at August’s end — a harbinger of things to come for CD rates.
• Experts predict the Fed’s benchmark rate could plummet to just below 3.5% by the close of 2025, signaling a continued downward trajectory for savings yields.

Time to jump ship? While the allure of CDs may be dimming, they’re not ready for the financial graveyard just yet. Some neobanks, like SoFi, still offer over 4% on bank deposits, and a handful of banks continue to offer six-month fixed-rate CDs with yields around 4.5%, which isn’t too shabby in the grand scheme of things. Wealth Enhancement Group’s Gary Quinzel believes, “If you’re looking for a place to invest emergency money, then short-term CDs are still a great option. With rates decreasing, they should pay higher rates than money-market accounts.” However, investors with a longer time horizon might want to look into bonds.