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Money · Guided lesson

Compare annual yields correctly

About 7 minutes · 3 reading + 4 practice and checks
Time includes reading, practice, and questions. Extra videos or further study are optional.
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A time-matched savings comparison with annual yield, fees, early-exit costs, insurance checks and a maturity calendar.

Keep your working files in your own notebook or software. Save a private description, checklist, and work link in My Proof.

What to include

  • A dated savings-use allocation and product-eligibility screen.
  • A one-year APY comparison with principal, interest and ending balances.
  • An after-cost savings comparison with itemized recurring fees and exit deductions.
  • A product-type and official-insurance verification sheet.
  • A maturity ladder with cumulative available principal and renewal actions.
  • A before/after savings allocation with a quantified early-access gap.

Review and revise

Use these criteria to check your work and choose what to improve.

  • All supplied records reconcile and the decision uses the named case rules.
  • Calculations show units, intermediate values and a second check.
  • Changed-input practice revises the affected result and identifies uncertainty.
  • The final project combines six lesson records, separates fictional assumptions from current rules, and states a supported next step.
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Before you begin

The idea in everyday life

This is an original fictional practice case. No account, payment, personal record or outside participation is required. Hold $3,000 for one full year, no fees. Option A APY 4%; option B APY 5%. Rates are fictional and fixed for this comparison.

The idea

APY already expresses a one-year compounded yield; do not compound it again as though it were a nominal monthly rate.

Follow along

Compare annual yields correctly — worked practice

APY already expresses a one-year compounded yield; do not compound it again as though it were a nominal monthly rate.

Use paper or a local table; label all amounts as fictional USD unless the case names another unit. Hold $3,000 for one full year, no fees. Option A APY 4%; option B APY 5%. Rates are fictional and fixed for this comparison.

Annual yield comparison

Paste at A1.

AInput or recordBSupplied value
Principal USD3000
Full holding period years1
Option A APY percent4
Option B APY percent5
Fees USD0

Copy as plain text
  1. 1. Step 1: Record principal and one-year APYs

    Record principal and one-year APYs.

    You should see: $3,000; 4% and 5%.

    APY already expresses a one-year compounded yield; do not compound it again as though it were a nominal monthly rate.

  2. 2. Step 2: Calculate each one-year interest amount

    Calculate each one-year interest amount.

    You should see: A earns $120; B earns $150.

    Keep this intermediate result so the final decision can be checked.

  3. 3. Step 3: Calculate ending balances

    Calculate ending balances.

    You should see: A $3,120; B $3,150.

    Keep this intermediate result so the final decision can be checked.

  4. 4. Step 4: Explain the comparable yield difference

    Explain the comparable yield difference.

    You should see: B ends $30 higher for the same year under the stated no-fee assumptions.

    Keep this intermediate result so the final decision can be checked.

Now change one thing

Option B APY changes to 6%. Its one-year interest?

Your work

What to finish

A one-year APY comparison with principal, interest and ending balances.

Common mistake

Watch for this

Treating APY as a nominal monthly rate and compounding it a second time.

How can I tell I understand it?

Calculate comparable one-year ending balances from stated APYs on a new supplied case, with a visible intermediate check and no unsupported real-world promise.

Try 3 questions

Quick knowledge check

Answer all 3 questions. Get at least 2 right and the lesson completes automatically.

Not yet passed

You’ll get an explanation for each answer. Signed in? Your results save to your account.

1$2,000 at a stated 5% APY for a full year, no fees: ending balance?
2A nominal annual rate is compounded monthly. What is needed to compare it with APY?
3A variable account advertises today’s APY. What does a one-year projection mean?
0 of 3 answeredApply the lesson to a short question, then review the explanation.
2
Finish this lesson

Pass the check. We’ll save the progress.

Answer all 3 questions above and get at least 2 right. You can review the explanations and try again.

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Sources and further reading

Explore the references behind this lesson.

SEC Investor.gov — Certificates of Deposit (CDs)
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Official page opened/read during Money expansion authoring; checked the relevant concept and access state. These sources do not establish funding eligibility.

Access: Readable official webpage inspected with the web reader on 2026-10-01. No interactive-tool operation is claimed.

Reuse: Original fictional practice, questions and calculations; paraphrased concepts with a source link. No source exercise copied.

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