More Savings Account and CD Rate Cuts

For the online savings accounts, I think it is safe to assume all banks will eventually drop below 4% sometime this year. Thanks Bank Guy for keeping us well informed.

One United still holding up okay so far. They are still my go to bank until they go below 5%. Not sure where I will go after that. Some AAA rated muni's now paying over 5% which I guess is the result of the insurance scare. Unusual to see muni bond rates going up while cd's and other rates are droping like a rock. I guess these are just unusal times. Keep up the good work Banking Guy.

Just stay diversified, and keep laddered. Stuff goes up, stuff goes down. It's the nature of any market.

Yours,

Bozo

Countrywide goes any lower and I'm outta there although I am happy they have held up better than the rest. I'm not sure how a mass exodus of money would fare for them right now and that's why I think they have held rates higher.

I hope they don't remove the graphic. I applaud their honesty.

What graphic, where?

I'll stick w/Countrywide (just opened SavingsLink there) as long as they remain above Vanguard's money market fund (the balance is rather large so the interest adds up). But if they ever dip below and it's past the 90 day limit, I am out of there!

"What graphic, where?"

The one from GMAC Bank that Banking Guy gives a link to in his article.

Indy-mac is advertising 18 and 24 mo cd's at 2.65%. Some othe banks are under 3.00%. I trust most if not all of the people who use this site are too smart to buy any of those. I can't imagine anyone tying up their money for 2 years at those rates. Banks will continue lowering rates as long as they keep geting deposits. When they need money they will stop lowering rates and things will swing in the other direction. Things will get better.

Hi Bank Guy. This is off topic...but hopefully you have the answer. I wrote a check and mailed it; however, it's now lost. If a person were to get a hold of my check (it was a temporary check), could anything happen? I plan to contact my bank ASAP...but I am wondering if I should also close my account. Can people still make purchases with only a checking account number/routing number? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

I am still invested in stock and whatever cash is in RC @5.26%, WAMU @6.5% and at Wachovia @ 10% deals.

I guarantee OneUnited will drop their rate, especially once the Fed lowers the rate again next month.

Countrywide will also keep lowering their rates (and for sure once the B of A buyout is complete in the fall).

PinkSprinkle, you should call your bank and place a stop payment on that lost check, just in case.

And yes, if someone had one's account number, one could put through a debit, but it would be an unauthorized debit, so you'd be protected. Yes, you'd have to file a police report and a claim with your bank, but eventually your bank would give you back the stolen money.

jhTo the hot shot that is still invested in stocks so am I but what does that have to do with cd interest. If you want me to beleive the rest of your post you will need to be more specific. Are you saying you can get 6.50 at wamu an .10% at wachovia on FDIC insured products today. Maybe you can be big man on campus and let us all in on your secret. Us poor people can use all the help we can get. Will be waiting with cash in hand to get in on that 10 % action at wachovia.

That is one flaw imo about old fashion checks. Having the account number on the bottom of the check. Where I do the majority of my banking I seldom see them ask for id. Someone could go in and clean me out just by getting the number off my check, because all my accounts have the same number except for a suffix designation for CD's, savings, etc.

[quote]jhTo the hot shot that is still invested in stocks so am I but what does that have to do with cd interest. If you want me to beleive the rest of your post you will need to be more specific. Are you saying you can get 6.50 at wamu an .10% at wachovia on FDIC insured products today. Maybe you can be big man on campus and let us all in on your secret. Us poor people can use all the help we can get. Will be waiting with cash in hand to get in on that 10 % action at wachovia.

7:20 PM, February 15, 2008[/quote]

Yeah, you got to love the bigshots that like to shoot off their mouths, yet never give any advice...

I think the 10% at Wachovia refers to their Way-2-Save account described here:
http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/2008/01/wachovias-new-way-2-save-account.html
(It has a 5% APY plus a 5% bonus after the first year.)

The 6.5% WAMU account is their Savings for Success Account described here:
http://bankdeals.blogspot.com/2007/07/wamus-new-700-savings-for-success.html

Both accounts limit the maximum deposit to a very trivial amount and impose other conditions. But it's still a way to pick up some chump change if you are up to the hassles.

I think the 10% at Wachovia is their Way2Save account. It pays 5% (which is a variable rate) plus a 5% bonus. You can only add $100 per month plus $1 per bill payment. Not going to amount to a lot of interest. Plus the 5% rate is sure to drop soon.

Thanks Bank Deals Guy! This site is awesome. I wish I had found it earlier. Thanks for helping us get the most out of our money in these uncertain times.

Regarding the Way2Save account:
While the monthly limit is $100, you can open 5 accounts per SS#. So, $1200/year = $60 bonus/acct.

Plus, avg balance of $600/year = $30 int. Multiply this times 5 accounts x number of household members = nice bonus.

The $100 monthly transfer to Way2Save checking linked to Way2Save Savings can be automated, so no muss or fuss.

For me, easy $900 bonus (15 accounts x $60 bonus each).

Not a 10% APY, rather ~7.5% or so. Still decent...if Wachovia maintains the 5% APY on the savings account thru the year. *smile*

Since WAMU was mentioned here I guess this is a good place to ask if anyone has closed a CD there. I just spent 40 minutes on the phone closing a $1000 CD that matures today. I was put on hold, transfered around like a ping pong ball, hung up on and etc. I have a larger CD maturing on 2/23/08 and another small one on 3/4/08. I asked to set up closing of these CD'S on their maturiy dates so I don't need to go thru this ordeal again. Told no. Ask to be able to close them online. Told no. Ask for a direct line or ext no so I could get thru to someone who can help me next time. Told no. Was told the proceeds from CD'S cannot be transferred to linked account. Must be by check. There is a one business day waiting time to get a check issued. So in this case the first business day is Tues which means the check can'T be issued until Wed. Assuming they mail it thur I doubt I will get it before mon. The amount and lost interest here is small and I do not need the check but for an online bank 10 days to get your money does not cut it for me. While I was being bounced around on the phone I had a strange feeling I had entered a roach motel, Easy in but it is hell to get out. Would be interested to find out if others have had this problem with WAMU or if it's just stupid me. WAMU will have to bait their hook with some very high interest rates to hook me again.

Alliant Credit Union has 4.9% for CDs.

When closing out a CD at muturity and cashing out of the bank that holds that CD, I always follow a telephone call up with a letter stating the same instructions as to closing the CD. There are a few banks out there that will accept nothing but a letter to close out a CD at muturity. I believe Flagstar is one of them.

I also think that banks would love to roll over maturing CDs to new CDs with much lower interest rates, especially the longer term CDs. So a letter to the bank is just added insurance as to cashing out on time without penalties before a roll is done and the grace period expired.

WAMU does bust chops when it comes to closing out a CD. They will not accept instructions in advance, even to move funds into a checking account.

Clearly , an attempt to get you to roll over or forget about the due date.

THe best thing to do is have a free checking or savings acct there, and go in person on the maturity date, and move the money in directly. I had this done the last time.

Thanks for the feedback on WAMU. I have two more CD'S too close out there and I will be done with them. I never was fond of CD'S but when it was apparent rates were falling I decided 5% plus cd's was the place to be not giving much thought to problems of closing them out. Live and learn I guess. Maybe other banks will go better. Thanks to all

Amboy eSavings is down to 3.56%