A lot of savers with idle cash are griping about the low rates on savings accounts and CDs from banks. Well, Clark wants to offer a possible solution. It's been a while since he's talked about Series I savings bonds, which were a fantastic deal in the 1990s up to about 2001. They're a great deal once again if you buy them before the end of April. Over the next 6 months, you'll get a return of 4.28% APY. Beginning in October, the rate will bump up to 6.06% for the following 6 months. That's a very competitive rate.

Series I bonds are an unnecessarily complicated product. The "I" stands for inflation, and they're like the cousins of the original savings bonds. I bonds offers a fixed rate of interest for as long as you own them, plus a floating rate based on the rate of inflation. You can own I bonds for a minimum of 1 year and a maximum of 30 years.

I bonds give you the opportunity to benefit from what's harming you. As high inflation erodes the value of your savings, I bonds give you the rate of inflation and a guaranteed return. That guaranteed return is puny, but earning anything about the rate of inflation on something that's 100% safe is great.

You can buy I bonds online from the U.S. Treasury at SavingsBonds.gov for as little as $25 or in-person from some banks and credit unions for a minimum of $50. The maximum amount you can buy is $5K per Social Security number. Be sure to pick them up now before the rates reset on May 1. You should plan on holding I bonds a minimum of 18 months until October 2009. If you surrender them before 5 years, you'll forfeit the last 90 days interest. So you don't want to cash them in a year from now and forfeit the 6.06%. The trick is to bail out when rates are bottoming out.