Once an investor decides they want to engage in a savings strategy such as a CD ladder, they will find there is no shortage of options for finding where to buy them. Even in this era of low-interest rates, CD rates are advertised prominently by any bank or credit union. However, online banks have become viable banking sources. These banks do not have the physical costs of a brick-and-mortar bank and therefore can frequently offer higher yields. These online banks, such as EverBank, can offer highly competitive interest rates and may even offer a wider variety of products such as step-up CDs, bump-up CDs, or IRA CDs. Most CDs require a minimum deposit that increases along with the yield. And as stated before, although the funds in a CD are FDIC insured, they come with early withdrawal penalties.