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I know that CD ladders are good ways to invest in the past, when you could get 5 to 7 percent and such.. but with the highest im seeing right now is like less than 1% for 3 month to 1 year...
So if i put 200k into CD ladders, im gonna make less than 2k..... for that, i would just keep my money in my checking account.
OR am i missing something
One thing you may be missing: we are currently in a "rate inversion", which means that long-term rates are lower than short-term rates. This means that while a CD rate may be comparable to your checking account, your checking account will soon have its interest rate dropped, whereas the CD is locked in for the term.
But you're missing something else, more important:
Deposit accounts are not, and have never been good investments. You can ladder your CDs all you want, you're still losing out to inflation. If you're going to keep lots of cash, higher interest is better than lower interest, but don't call it an "investments".
CD ladder or no, the only reason you would keep a large amount of cash deposits is 1) You will need it in the next year, or 2) you get an irrational feeling of safety from it. (And I don't mean to discount this second reason; I do it myself). But in any case, it's not an investment.
Consider some alternatives that achieve the same purpose: Money Market Funds (e.g.: IUSXX) are comparable to CD rates, but with no penalty for withdrawing (within reason).
Also, if you have lots of cash and you're ok with all the hassle of setting up and organization required for laddering, consider "account bonus churning" instead, which can return up to 4%.