A Friendly Public Service Announcement
By Jim Bauer
@porwest (91088)
United States
September 28, 2024 8:19am CST
This is just a friendly, and hopefully helpful public service announcement by myLot's money guy. Me. Okay, I will never suggest that I am the premier money guy on this dandy old site, but I am pretty sure I am one here who probably talks tips, advice and information about money more than any other myLotter here.
As you know, the Fed lowered the Fed rate recently by 50 basis points.
What does that mean for you? Well, if you have CDs maturing soon, you should consider that renewal rates will likely be lower. Is the new yield still worth it? On top of that, high yield savings accounts will also yield lower returns.
For example, my Ally account dropped from 4.35% to 4%. It will likely be in the threes in the coming weeks.
The time is now to evaluate your savings and savings goals and find a way to lock in the best returns you can. That means shopping around for one year CDs offering the highest one year returns, or even moving cash into higher yielding dividend stocks.
The bottom line is that you will earn less money on all of your savings, so now is the time to do a little homework and see where you can make some adjustments to compensate for it.
11 people like this
9 responses
@luisadannointed (6187)
• Philippines
28 Sep
Thank you for the tips, but I don't think no matter how I budget my earnings it ended the same way, maybe I just need to get more serious in adding another source of income to increase my savings.
2 people like this
@porwest (91088)
• United States
28 Sep
You are doing it backwards. You increase your savings to increase your income. I am going to get this THROUGH one of these damn days. lol
If you SPEND your money you GUARANTEE your LOSS. If you SAVE your money, you GUARANTEE your GAIN. It's not rocket science. 
Save ENOUGH money and you won't need to worry about an income. Your MONEY will provide your income FOR you.
Save ENOUGH money and you won't need to worry about an income. Your MONEY will provide your income FOR you.1 person likes this
@luisadannointed (6187)
• Philippines
28 Sep
@porwest I think it will apply if your income is above your bills. Right now mine is still a big no.
1 person likes this
@porwest (91088)
• United States
29 Sep
@luisadannointed If your income is below your bills, you're still doing it wrong. In fact, bigly. lol
@moffittjc (121604)
• Gainesville, Florida
1 Oct
I anticipated the drop in the interest rates by the Fed, so I actively started shopping around for good deals still out there. I found my local credit union offering 4.95% on a 1-year CD. Moved some money from my savings account into that CD since I know that the rate will soon be dropping on my savings account.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121604)
• Gainesville, Florida
7 Oct
@porwest I invest aggressively in stocks and mutual funds, but the money I keep in CDs and savings is more geared towards emergencies, so I am much more conservative with that money. Wait...emergency funds in CD's? That crazy! Yes, but not if you do it right. I have all my CDs set up so that there is at least one maturing every month. So that if an emergency does take place, I have both my checking and savings accounts to draw from first, and then worst case scenario is a 30-day wait for one of my CDs to mature.
1 person likes this
@porwest (91088)
• United States
8 Oct
@moffittjc Cash is always for emergencies, isn't it? lol. Hmm. And for leverage and to be prepared. Here's my take if you care to have a gander... NOT MONETIZED, MYLOT.
Your browser isn’t supported anymore. Update it to get the best YouTube experience and our latest features. Learn moreRemind me later
1 person likes this
@porwest (91088)
• United States
3 Oct
It's always a good idea to look ahead even if you can't time things or even mostly accurately predict things, but having a good gauge about what may happen next is always helpful. I will likely be moving some of the cash into higher yield ETFs that I find to be "risk averse."
1 person likes this
@marguicha (223107)
• Chile
28 Sep
Although your advise is not for me, I do take care of my money and find it important to do so. More people should be like you.
1 person likes this
@marguicha (223107)
• Chile
29 Sep
@porwest I do!!! I have enough money to live well but I have at interest the money I don´t need right now. I am happy if the interest pays for some small luxuries I buy, such as the cake you must have heard me talking about.
@LindaOHio (178877)
• United States
29 Sep
Our annuities are earning a good rate. The bank account, what's left of it, isn't. Have a good day.
1 person likes this
@JimmyDeen (252)
•
17 Oct
Thanks for the announcement. Is discover savings account a good account for decent interest
1 person likes this
@everwonderwhy (7358)
•
29 Sep
@porwest Thank you!
My hubby and I don't have stocks, bonds and any other investments.
We both have paid off (debt-free) our first property and house of 4.5 hectares. And now snowballing (down to $35k) to paying off our current residence in the semi rural suburb.
We both have Superannuation savings/investment (which was doing so well 5 years ago).
Are both earning good salaries.
He wants to retire, but I'm just "starting" from being a marvelous housewife and home-maker :-) (since 2022 after lockdowns).
To modestly and gratefully consider our way of life-- we are comfortably living our lives. By the way, my wonderful husband has a collection of vintage CDs of artists of 1950s, jazz, pop, classicals. :-D And is still buying them from all over the world.
Also, he collects a library of great books of photographers' published works he admires... and still counting.
Imagine his resilience!
@Beestring (14563)
• Hong Kong
28 Sep
Yes, I am considering withdrawing some money in my savings account and buy some US and Japanese stocks. But unlike money in savings account, buying stocks involves risks. That's why I am still considering.
1 person likes this
@porwest (91088)
• United States
29 Sep
There is always risk. The thing about stocks is that you have to know how to mitigate them. You do that by learning the ins and outs of the markets and learning about alternative investment strategies that will serve you and your money better. At the same time, the more risk, the more potential reward there is. But that reward only comes with knowledge.
1 person likes this
@RevivedWarrior (2254)
• India
29 Sep
The other way to look at it is , this is better to refinance or take new loan as the base rates have been decreased. This is only if you are really in need of something and you need a loan to help you out. Loans are something that needs to be closed at the earliest and not allow them to eat away from earnings and savings. It is much capable of doing that . Seen many who have their wealth eroded just because they never bothered to close the loan or do pre-payments. Once base rates are down , you are right we earn less with our CDs . So go for the next best asset class. Definitely a good tip as usual!
