Today I cashed in my small CD and put it into a savings account.

[Paper Roses]

This is no great deal of money but it is all I have left and the way things are going, I may have to access these funds. The penalty for early withdrawal from CO is more than the interest I gained in the year. It was.059%. Silly and not even worth the paperwork for the bank. I'm wondering as I watch things develop, if I should put this, the last of my funds into the safety deposit box. The interest on the savings account is about the same as a CD. I think I would rather just have it sit there in case I need access.

I wonder how many old timers like me find themselves in the same position. I'm about done, don't even know what to do any more.
Can I be more discouraged for the state of the country? No!

[ZombieHorde]

1. ...

:hug:

[EV_Ares]

2. Wish I had words to say to you that would make things better for you & would help the worries of the

future to stop. However, want you to know I am thinking of you and so many of us going through this crap that was totally unnecessary except for the greedy rich who have now become wealthier on the backs of the poor and working class.

Hang in there and remember we have a board here where people hear you and support you in any way we can. We all need to stick together through this and we just might win in the end.

[knowbody0]

3. I can only afford to be alive for 16 more months

[kickysnana]

4. It is suggested by many experts that you have access to 3 months money

and they also suggest that banks may not be the safest place but it is probably better in a safe deposit box than deposited anywhere in our imploding economic system.

That seemed reasonable to me but then I was a born worry wart.

My cousin was talking this week about consistantly getting 12% on a specific Ing Sharebuilder Fund but there are fees associated with putting in and taking out money about $8 I think.

If you are just looking for more interest I found this site this week.

http://ratenerd.com/4-01-checking-account-offer-daily-deal-3467

You might want to check out the bank on bankrate.com before jumping but at least there are some options.

[eridani]

11. I'm reasonably confident about the 3 credit unions I belong to n/t

[Newest Reality]

5. I don't know about others ...

but the experience scrapes a few layers of of your ideas about life. Of course, one always consider that there are many people of all ages pathetically struggling for not much more than sustenance.

When the sense of relative stability and security starts to fade due to the circumstances, what you enjoyed doing or thinking about takes a back seat to an encroaching and dire sense of survival itself.

You might be alright mentally and even able to cope to some degree, but the icy waves that start to slam against the walls of your life can rapidly erode your defenses and rationalizations. There's that imaginary specter that softly moans about homelessness and gets you thinking about what that would be like; that's the one that you find difficult to distract yourself from, so you go over your options again, even the fantasies about what could happen to better your situation.

When you are older and have little resources left, (and they, too are evaporating) you might try to live in the moment and even resort to hope, yet, awaiting some form of lucky event is not very comforting as you get closer to the street.

[northoftheborder]

6. Anyone know whether it's possible to open savings accounts in foreign banks?

I noticed that Bank of Scotland offers higher rates than banks here (might not be if count the exchange rate) but anyway perked my curiosity.

[jtuck004]

9. Yes

Do some reading, googling, and be aware that conditions change, so don't use just one basket for all the eggs, eh.
Remember they operate under different laws, so you need to make yourself aware - that's not a bad thing, just something to
be aware of.

Here's one link, but not the only way to do it.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1101/p13s01-wmgn.html

[Art_from_Ark]

10. If you open a foreign savings account, bear in mind

1) You have to report it to the Treasury Dept. every year if there is at least $10,000 in it at any time during the tax year (or if the cumulative total of all your foreign bank/financial accounts reaches or exceeds $10,000 at any time during a year)

2) You have to pay attention to service charges and exchange rates. For example, I was interested in a New Zealand Dollar time deposit that was being offered by a Japanese bank. The interest rate was 5%, which is 4.99% higher than what Japanese banks pay. So it seemed like a good deal on the surface. However,

a) The Japanese government would take 20% of the interest right off the top in taxes, resulting in an effective interest rate of 4% APY.
b) The time deposit was only for 6 months, resulting in an actual interest rate of 2% for the deposit period.
c) The bank was going to charge 1.5% to convert Japanese yen into New Zealand dollars, and another 1.5% to convert the NZ$ back into Japanese yen.

Adding that all up, I realized that even with a supposed interest of 5% APY, I would have actually have LOST money investing in that 6-month time deposit, if the exchange rate remained the same! And if the NZ dollar had been down at the time of maturity, I would have lost even more!

[northernlights]

7. PaperRoses, I went through the last of my savings 2 years ago...

At age 57, I've been living on student loans, plus a small salary from a part time job, a small gift from my sister ever since...I have enough to get through the summer barring any catastrophes, I think. I graduate in June and will take board exams and get work as soon as possible after.

I own my home outright, for what that is worth. Have been trying very unsuccessfully to sell it for 2 years. If I could sell it, I'd be all right. I could pay off the student loans, downsize the life and be sort of on track again. As it is, not so much.

[jtuck004]

8. The savings account is likely insured by the FDIC, so that is about as

safe and liquid as you can get, anywhere this side of anarchy.

And if that happens there is no guarantee that you will be able to retrieve the contents of a safety deposit box.

'Cause if the guarantee of the FDIC fails, it might be part of a broader social collapse.

The far more insidious problem is the cost of things inflating, especially things we can't do without, like fuel and food.

Is there a survival forum that addresses this? 'Because there are going to be some problems with pension funds coming, as well as more downside in housing, might be a good way to connect with like-minded people, which is the way we will survive.

[barb162]

12. I cashed my CDs out late last year.

To simplify things and it almost makes no diff what you do right now, other than staying liquid. I think the stock market is way overpriced.