Lock in guaranteed return before rates fall [Video]

It’s generally wise for long-term investors to ignore market-watchers’ near-term prognostications. After all, if you’re saving for a goal decades in the future, it doesn’t much matter what stocks will do over the next six months.

But chances are you have some short-term goals, too. If you’re saving to purchase a home, car or even a fancy vacation in the next three to five years, things like inflation and the direction of interest rates can make a big difference to the price you eventually pay and how much you’re able to save.

With inflation finally beginning to cool of late, experts expect the Federal Reserve to begin trimming its benchmark interest rate. For consumers, that generally means lower rates on debt, from car loans to credit cards to mortgages.

For savers, it means earning less on interest-paying vehicles such as bonds, cash accounts and certificates of deposit. But right now, there’s plenty of yield to be had. Versions of all three vehicles currently offer …