When it comes to savings, interest is what it's all about. Interest is what a borrower pays a lender for the use of the lender's money. Of course, the institution then charges that loan customer an even higher interest rate to more than recover the interest it's paying you.
Interest is calculated as a percentage of the amount of the loan.
The difference between rate and yield is determined by how frequently interest is paid, and how it is paid. Rate is the nominal, or stated, interest rate on the investment. If you have a CD with a 5-percent nominal rate, then interest is calculated by multiplying 5 percent by the amount invested and by the fraction of a year the money is invested. Let's say interest pays annually. When an investment pays interest annually, its rate and its yield are the same.