My uncle's CD ladder advice cost me $1,400 last year

My uncle Rich told me to put $20,000 into 6-month CDs back in January 2023. He said rates would keep dropping and I should lock in 4.5% before they disappeared. Instead rates kept climbing and I missed out on 5.2% HYSA rates for the whole year. Did the math last week and I lost about $1,400 in interest just sitting there. Anyone else get bad advice from a well-meaning relative about timing rates?

2 comments

2 Comments

marywells10d ago

Isn't it funny how we trust family financial advice more than we trust bank websites even when the numbers are right there? Feels like people always double down on whatever worked for them in the past and forget that rates can actually go up.

averym8210d agoTop Commenter

Isn't it wild how Uncle Bob's stock tip from 1998 carries more weight than a live interest rate chart from yesterday? My dad still swears by his "buy and hold forever" strategy even after watching his tech stocks tank twice in twenty years. Guess it's easier to blame the banks than to admit your own financial guru might be running on old data.