Financial literacy - Grow your bottom line Safe places to park
your cash  Pros and cons: CDs provide interest income with
relatively low risk and are insured for up to $250,000 by the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, or FDIC, through Dec. 31, 2013.
On Jan. 1, 2014, the standard insurance amount will return to
$100,000. Likewise, CDs purchased at most credit unions are
insured by the National Credit Union Administration, or NCUA for
the same amount.If you try to cash out your CD prior to
maturity, you will incur a penalty, such as the loss of interest
for a quarter. Federal law requires a minimum penalty of at
least seven days' simple interest on amounts withdrawn within
the first six days after deposit. The law doesn't set a maximum
penalty, so banks can charge as much as they want. Another
downside: Earned interest is subject to income tax.   Caveats:
Things could get complicated if you buy a CD through a broker
and the bank listed on the CD fails. You may have to wait until
the FDIC sorts through broker reco