Today's Best Rates read and submit comments for this post

Here are some of today's best 5yr CD rates:

• Capital One FSB - APY=4.45% min=$5K
• Virtual Bank - APY=4.35% min=$10K
• ING Direct - APY=4.10% no min

Here are some other of today's best CD rates:

• World Savings - 3.61% APY on 7-Month CD $10K min

And some of today's best Money Market and Saving Account rates:

• Emigrant Direct - APY=3.25% no min FDIC insured
• Capital One FSB - APY=3.10% min=$10K
• ING Direct - APY=3.00% no min FDIC insured
• Virtual Bank - APY=2.60% no min

One thing to keep in mind when shopping for CDs is the penalty for early withdrawal. For 5yr CDs some banks have a 6 month penalty in which you lose 6 months of interest for early withdrawal. However, many online banks have a higher penalty of half the interest that has been accumulated. So if you request an early withdrawal at 4 years into a 5 year CD, you'll be charged with 2 years of interest penalty.

Later posts will provide more information and tools to help you decide about the right duration of CDs to maximize your returns.