Poll: Do you still maintain a savings account?

[BigDave]

I have had two savings accounts for years. One of them used to get pretty decent interest - it was around 3% before the economy went in the tank. Now, they get .2% (that's two-tenths of a percent) and .1% (1/10 of a percent) respectively. I don't even see the purpose of it any more.

[RWNJ]

Same here, been thinking about just putting the money under the mattress. Only reason I keep one in another state is so I can just transfer money into my daughters account when needed. Also waiting for my CD account there to come to it's end and considering doing the same thing. Bought a small safe a while back, time to put it to use, just can't find a good place to hide it:)

[Once]

Yes. I have two, but because of the practically non-existent interest issue, they have essentially become accounting tools. I use them to separate money for specific purposes and even then, for relatively short terms. One is for vacations. The other is for tracking an alternate source of income to see how I'm doing... It isn't very efficient, but it gets the job done. I agree with you though that for the purposes of actually getting any decent interest off them, they aren't useful.

I have had two savings accounts for years. One of them used to get pretty decent interest - it was around 3% before the economy went in the tank. Now, they get .2% (that's two-tenths of a percent) and .1% (1/10 of a percent) respectively. I don't even see the purpose of it any more.

[cwtcr hokie]

Exactly, it is my emergency money and I want it to be very liquid. I realize I get very little interest off of it but if the job goes poof then I don't have to extract it from anywhere, it is just there.

Yes. I have two, but because of the practically non-existent interest issue, they have essentially become accounting tools. I use them to separate money for specific purposes and even then, for relatively short terms. One is for vacations. The other is for tracking an alternate source of income to see how I'm doing... It isn't very efficient, but it gets the job done. I agree with you though that for the purposes of actually getting any decent interest off them, they aren't useful.

I have had two savings accounts for years. One of them used to get pretty decent interest - it was around 3% before the economy went in the tank. Now, they get .2% (that's two-tenths of a percent) and .1% (1/10 of a percent) respectively. I don't even see the purpose of it any more.

[BigDave]

Exactly, it is my emergency money and I want it to be very liquid. I realize I get very little interest off of it but if the job goes poof then I don't have to extract it from anywhere, it is just there.

Why not just keep your extra money in checking?

If you have monthly expenses of (I'm making up a number for the sake of it being round) $5000/month and you keep two month's worth of expenses ($10K) in savings at .1% interest, that's $10/year you're earning in interest.

Why not instead put $5000 of that (one month's worth of expenses) in checking and add the other $5000 to an investment account? If you lose your job, you've got one month's worth already in your checking account and you can let the rest earn money for you.

$5000 invested in, say, GE would give you $150/year in dividends, plus it has pretty decent growth. Or, you could find a nice mutual fund. I like TGMNX. It never lost more than 10% of its value, even in the worst of the recession, and pays around 3.5%/year in dividends.

[cwtcr hokie]

not that money, I have been burned in the past on sure fire investments so no there is some money that I keep out of that realm. I have money in investment accounts. Just the way I am

Exactly, it is my emergency money and I want it to be very liquid. I realize I get very little interest off of it but if the job goes poof then I don't have to extract it from anywhere, it is just there.

Why not just keep your extra money in checking?

If you have monthly expenses of (I'm making up a number for the sake of it being round) $5000/month and you keep two month's worth of expenses ($10K) in savings at .1% interest, that's $10/year you're earning in interest.

Why not instead put $5000 of that (one month's worth of expenses) in checking and add the other $5000 to an investment account? If you lose your job, you've got one month's worth already in your checking account and you can let the rest earn money for you.

$5000 invested in, say, GE would give you $150/year in dividends, plus it has pretty decent growth. Or, you could find a nice mutual fund. I like TGMNX. It never lost more than 10% of its value, even in the worst of the recession, and pays around 3.5%/year in dividends.

[Bay_area_Hokie]

I have had two savings accounts for years. One of them used to get pretty decent interest - it was around 3% before the economy went in the tank. Now, they get .2% (that's two-tenths of a percent) and .1% (1/10 of a percent) respectively. I don't even see the purpose of it any more.

I haven't had a savings account in probably ten years. Besides checking, I have retirement and non retirement brokerage accounts.


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