so, do i do MORE ‘bank roulette’?
January 9, 2008i’ve done more money-moving in the past few months. i’m currently set up with the following:
- checking account at lake michigan credit union; 5%
- checking account at 5/3
- online savings account at HSBC direct; 4.25%
- 3 month CD at 5/3 (which is why i still have the checking account there too); coming due in march
- 12 month CD at mutual bank in IL, coming due in october
- ROTH IRA and brokerage accounts at TD ameritrade
- 401(k) at merrill lynch, for work
and now i’m debating a third CD at a local bank, to lock in a 5.25% rate for 11 months. my mom thinks i’m crazy, but the extra 1% interest is hard to turn down! (i’d move money from the HSBC account, which has had the rate drop like clockwork after every fed rate announcement…)
anyway. on a related note, it’s extremely hard when you know people that financially sabotage themselves constantly - whether it’s shopping for things when they don’t have the money to spend in the first place, people who buy houses that they CLEARLY can’t afford w/o putting themselves in a very risky position, having maxed out credit cards, insanely high rates for loans, etc. i don’t know how people can be like that - i suppose it has to deal with the fact that my parents were always financially “with it”, and i watch the suze orman show religiously, but still. it’s pathetic, because in one way i want to help them get out of the bad situation, but there’s really no point because they’ll never “get it” unless something bad enough to get their attention happens…