If you're a saver coping with the lowest CD rates in more than four years, you have to be ready to move when rates rebound.

Yields on longer-term CDs are beginning to climb. After bottoming out on April 9, the 5-year CD is up more than a half-point, according to Interest.com's national averages, and the yield on the 1-year has risen a quarter-point. The new rates reflect the survey results from July 2.

Shorter-term CDs like the 6-month continue to struggle but are showing small signs of resurgence.

Although the Federal Reserve is expected to begin raising rates within a few months, which would push rates on CDs and other deposit accounts higher, it hasn't yet begun.

On June 25 the Fed paused its rate-cutting campaign for the first time since it began in September. It is expected to hold rates steady for a few months to allow the lower rates to move the economy upward.

When that happens we could see a series of interest rates hikes that would boost CD rates and allow us to make more money.

Our 5 smart moves for buying certificates of deposit will help you earn the best possible returns on your savings now and in the months to come.

Smart move 1. If you have money to invest or own a CD that's about to mature, go short.

Use our extensive database of CD rates to find the best six-month CDs you can.

That way, you'll be positioned to cash in on potentially higher rates in the fall or winter.

Shy away from deals that require you to open a checking account to get the special rate. You probably don't need a second checking account, and it's just a way for the bank to recoup some of the interest it's paying through fees.

Look for deals like the ones on six-month CDs being offered by Ascencia, a division of PBI Bank of Louisville, Ky., which is paying 3.66% with a $500 minimum and Zions Bank, which began serving customers in Salt Lake City in 1873. It's paying 3.60% to online customers and requires a $1,000 minimum.

These rates won't make you rich, but when measured against Interest.com's national average of around 1.9% for a six-month CD, they look pretty good.

Smart move 2. Go for odd-term CDs.

The best short-term rates are often available on CDs that mature in four, five, seven, nine or 10 months. Banks offer odd terms so they don't have to pay those high rates to repeat customers when they renew traditional three-, six- and 12-month CDs. But you have to really look for these deals.

Take IndyMac Bank, for example. It is paying 4.10% with only a $5,000 minimum on a special 10-month CD. But you have to apply online to get that great rate. Buy it at one of its branches in California and you'll earn 3.75%.

AmTrust Direct, the online division of Amtrust Bank, based in Cleveland, Ohio, is paying 3.76% on a nine-month certificate with a $1,000 minimum.

And Imperial Capital Bank, a subsidiary of Imperial Capital Bancorp, headquartered in San Diego, is offering a nine-month CD at 3.70% with a $2,000 minimum.

Smart move 3. Don't hesitate to use Internet banks. They often have the highest rates. In fact, the banks listed above are either Internet banks or Internet divisions of traditional banks.

Internet banks are the new kids on the block, and they offer great rates to get noticed and get you to invest with them.

Once again, we cite IndyMac Bank, with branches throughout the Los Angeles area and a big Internet presence. One of its Internet-only specials is a 12-month CD that pays 4.35%. You can't beat that!

Internet banks are just like their brick-and-mortar cousins, except they don't have all those expensive branch offices. Transactions are done electronically using your computer or an ATM machine, the phone or the good old U.S. mail. The Internet allows virtually any bank to do business online, and that expands the pool of investors they can attract -- usually by offering higher rates.

Signing up is easier than you think, and the federal government insures those deposits, just as it does at most other banks. Don't sign up for any CD that isn't FDIC-insured, no matter how good the rate.

If you've never worked with an online bank, our guide to getting started with online banks will answer your questions and show you how to open an account.

Smart move 4. Take full advantage of local credit unions.

They sometimes offer better rates for loans and deposits than commercial banks.

For example, Alliant Credit Union, based in Chicago but open to employees of dozens of large companies nationwide, is offering 3.75% on a one-year CD for a minimum deposit of only $1,000.

Credit union membership used to be limited to employees of a certain company or trade, but today's rules are more liberal. And there are regional credit unions for those living in specific counties.

Credit unions are the one exception to the FDIC rule. The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) insures credit union deposits under the auspices of the federal government.

Here's how to find a credit union in your area.

Smart move 5. Don't ignore the deals right in your neighborhood.

Local banks often have great specials because they need to compete with the big national banks for deposits.

Grand Mountain Bank in Granby, Colo., is offering a 3.50% APY on a 10-month CD with just a $1,000 minimum deposit. And Tennessee Commerce Bank in Franklin, Tenn., is offering 4.0% on a 12-month CD with a $5,000 minimum.

Check the business section of your newspaper and look at signs in front of banks or in their windows when you're driving around.

Finding these kinds of rates takes some doing after the Federal Reserve spent eight months driving rates down in an effort to keep the economy out of a recession.

The government-chartered superbank does that through the money it lends the commercial banks we deal with every day.

Between September and April, the Federal Reserve lowered the cost of those loans -- and the interest rate that banks charge each other for overnight loans -- seven times.

In theory, that allowed banks to charge less for the loans they make to us, encouraging us to borrow more, spend more and keep the economy growing.

Unfortunately, it also meant banks could pay less for deposits, because the Fed was providing them with cheap money.

Now, economists think the Fed may have to raise rates again to fight inflation.

Boosting rates makes us less likely to borrow and spend, reducing the demand for goods and services, making it harder for everyone from General Motors to the corner grocer to raise prices.

A lot could happen over the next few months, but there's a growing sense that the Federal Reserve could act in late October. That notion got a boost when a regional Fed president recently suggested that increases could come "sooner rather than later."

If that happens, CD rates will begin climbing again.

You want to be ready for that.

By Carolyn Siegel

Interest.com Associate Editor

Have a question about your finances? Ask us at editors@interest.com.