The average return on 24-month CDs fell to a record low of 1.34% APY this week.

In doing so, it became the last of the five CD rates we follow on a regular basis to set a new record for miserly returns since last summer.

Indeed, the average rate on 1-year certificates of deposit also fell to a new low this week, and the rate on 3-month and 6-month CDs held steady at previously set record lows.

The previous record low for 2-year CDs was 1.36% APY in July 2003.

All in all, a sorry state of affairs for the nation’s savers.

Bankrate’s weekly survey of large banks and thrifts found the average annual yield for a:

3-month CD remained at 0.40% for the fourth week. That’s the lowest average since the survey began tracking 3-month CD rates in March 1989.

6-month CD remained at 0.56% for the second week — the lowest average since the survey began tracking 6-month CD rates in January 1984.

1-year CD fell to 0.88% from 0.89% the previous week — the lowest average since the survey began tracking 12-month CD rates in October 1983.

2-year CD fell to 1.34% from 1.39% the previous week — the lowest average since the survey began tracking 24-month CD rates in March 1989.

5-year CD fell to 2.19% from 2.20%. That’s only slightly above the 2.15% reached in July, which was lowest average rate since the survey began tracking 60-month CDs in January 1984.

With average rates like this you can’t settle for average returns.

Use our extensive database of CD rates to compare the best deals from scores of banks.

Interest rates on the safest and most popular types of mortgages fell to record lows this week.

The average cost of a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 5.06% in Bankrate’s latest weekly survey of major lenders — the lowest average since the survey began in 1985.

In every market we checked, we found lenders offering these loans for 4.75%, with no points and fees of $2,000 or less.

The average cost of 15-year mortgages also reached a record low 4.72%, and jumbo loans are averaging less than 6% for the first time in more than four years.

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The best 24-month CD rates are a little higher this month than they were in October.

Last month you could earn 2.40% APY to 2.50% APY with the top-paying, 2-year certificates of deposit. Now you earn from 2.50% APY to 2.60% APY.

That increase came in spite of the fact that the average rate on 24-month CDs fell from 1.43% APY to 1.39% APY — the lowest they’ve been since July 2003.

The best nationally-available deals currently available on 24-month CDs are:

2.60 APY with a minimum deposit of $1,000 from The Jacksonville Bank, with five locations in Jacksonville, Fla.

2.55% APY with a minimum deposit of $50,000 for “Silver CDs” from Frontier Bank, which has 50 branches in Washington and Oregon.

2.50 APY with a $5,000 minimum from Hudson City Bank with dozens of branches in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. Those in their service area need only a $500 minimum.

Click here to compare these deals with the best CD rates from dozens of other banks in our database.

Bank of the West is paying a $100 bonus for opening a new checking account.

Although the offer is available nationwide, we wouldn’t recommend it to anyone outside the 20 states where Bank of the West has more than 700 branches.

That’s because it doesn’t provide free use of ATMs at other banks — a great perk many of the best checking accounts now offer.

Without a Bank of the West machine nearby, ATM fees could gobble up your bonus in a matter of months.

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Congress has extended the popular tax credit for first-time homebuyers and created a new tax break for homeowners looking to trade up.

When President Obama signed the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 into law earlier this month there was an audible sigh of relief from the real estate industry.

The first-time buyers’ tax credit that was set to expire Nov. 30 has been credited with causing the modest bump in home sales we’ve seen the past few months.

Under the new law anyone who hasn’t owned a home in the past three years can continue claiming a credit worth 10% of a home’s purchase price, up to $8,000.

The new act also includes a tax credit of up to $6,500 for individuals and families who have lived in their homes for at least five years and want to move.

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A small north Florida bank has shot to the top of our rankings of the best, nationally available CD rates.

The Jacksonville Bank is now paying the best rates on three different terms:

2.60% APY on a 24-month certificate of deposit. That beats the 2.55% APY from Frontier Bank.

2.25% APY on a 12-month CD. That beats the 2.10% APY Amboy Direct and UmbrellaBank are offering.

1.75% APY on a 6-month CD, tying First Century Bank for the top rate.

You don’t need much cash to take advantage of these rates, either — the minimum deposit is only $1,000.

The bank has five branches in Jacksonville, Fla. and provides an online application for savers in other states.

The only catch is that deposits must be made by an electronic funds transfer.

Click here to compare these deals with the best CD rates from dozens of other banks in our extensive database.

With CD and savings account rates plunging to record lows every week, it may be the time to consider a more lucrative alternative — social or peer-to-peer lending.

This is where you loan money directly to worthy borrowers through a Web site, rather than putting your money in a bank and allowing its loan officers to pick the investments.

It’s possible to earn a better return than you’d ever get from a bank.

Lending Club, for example, says the net annualized return for its investors has been over 9.5% since 2007 — and yes, that includes the losses on loans that don’t get repaid.

For the rest of this month, Lending Club is also offering a $50 bonus to Bankaholic readers who sign-up to be new lenders.

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A small bank in central Kentucky has two odd-term CD rates that are well worth considering

Century Bank Direct is paying 2.25% APY on a 15-month certificate of deposit with a $1,000 minimum deposit.

This beats the 2.10% APY you can earn with the best, nationally available 12-month CDs from Amboy Direct and UmbrellaBank.

Century Direct is also offering 1.70% APY on a 5-month CD with a $1,000 minimum deposit.

That’s competitive with the 1.75% APY on the top-paying 6-month CD from , and you need a $10,000 minimum deposit to earn that rate.

Century Bank Direct is the online division of Century Bank, which has a single office in Lawrenceburg, Ky. But it’s offering these rates to savers nationwide and has an online application.

Click here to compare its deals with the best CD rates from dozens of other banks in our database.

How long does it take 16 of the biggest names in sports to make as much as you do in an entire year?

Go to ESPN Salary Crunch, pick your favorite star, enter your annual income and prepare to be humbled.

If you’re not a grossly overpaid bank executive you’ll need a stopwatch, not a calendar, to measure the result.

Let’s say, for example, you make $70,000 a year and want to see how long it takes New York Giant’s quarterback Eli Manning to pull down a similar paycheck.

Four minutes into the season opener Manning has made as much as you do in an entire year.

We love the final stat that shows how many years you’d have to work to make Eli’s annual salary — 232 in this example.

And he isn’t even as good as his brother.