If you find yourself looking for safe and profitable homes for your money this month, you likely aren't alone. An inflation rate now at its highest level in three years, combined with a high Federal funds rate that's unlikely to change anytime soon, not to mention the possibility of interest rate hikes later this year, has left many savers contemplating their next move. And just keeping it in a traditional savings account, with an interest rate of just 0.38%, doesn't make financial sense. Neither does a short-term certificate of deposit (CD) account, which will mature in a year or less. In today's economy, long-term protection for your money has taken on special importance.

A long-term CD account, however, can still be valuable, especially if you have a large, five-figure amount of money to safeguard. If you have $10,000 that you want to protect, for example, and can afford to keep it in an account for multiple years without risking an early withdrawal penalty, now could be a smart time to get started. To best determine the value of an account, it helps to know the interest-earning potential. And that's simple to calculate thanks to the fixed rate CDs come with. So, how much interest would a $10,000 CD earn over the next three years? That's what we'll calculate below.

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How much interest would a $10,000 CD earn in 3 years?

CD account rates will vary by term and lender, though they tend to be similar if not identical. Here's how much interest a $10,000 deposit into a CD account will earn over the next three years, calculated against the top three rates tied to this term and the assumption that no early withdrawal fees are issued against the account over the next 36 months:

• $10,000 3-year CD at 4.05%: $1,264.87 upon maturity
• $10,000 3-year CD at 4.13%: $1,290.88 upon maturity
• $10,000 3-year CD at 4.15%: $1,297.38 upon maturity

Savers can earn between $1,265 and $1,297, approximately, with a CD account of this size over the next three years, or just over $420 per year. But it's not just the return that they should be focused on, as the long-term protection of the principal is also key, especially in today's turbulent financial terrain. 

And while money market and high-yield savings accounts will also keep that $10,000 protected, the interest earnings with either will evolve as the interest rate climate does because of their variable rates, unlike the guaranteed return the CD account provides. So, if you can afford to part with the money for the full three years and are looking to protect it from today's market volatility, this could be the right account, term and amount for you to pursue today.

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The bottom line

The earnings on a $10,000 3-year CD account won't make you rich now, nor would they have in the slightly higher interest rate environment of 2024 and 2025. But they're not insignificant, either, and combined with protection on your principal and FDIC-insurance up to $250,000 per account, this could be an account worth serious consideration in today's economy. Just be comfortable with your ability to keep the funds frozen for the full term, as an early withdrawal fee here could be costly and may even wipe out all of the interest you've earned with the account up to that point.