Category: 
I was at home deciding what topics to include on the blog in the future 
But there were other things going on in the meantime and here is a short list:
Moving money out of our joint CD account
Our 6 month CD account expired at the end of July, bringing 4.75% compounded annually. We didn’t want to renew the CD account as the rates on 6-month CDs at WaMu are at less than 4% (currently at 1.98%). We decided to proceed with a different strategy so read below…
Opening a new Money Market account at Everbank (4.75% introductory APY rate for 3 months, 3.75% after)
Reason: The main reason is that we don’t want to keep all our (financial) eggs in one basket. We still have some left over money at WaMu, but the majority of our life savings will be in Everbank which does not experience the same financial risks as WaMu currently. Read more about the (sorry?) state of WaMu here: http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2008/07/death-spiral-financing-at-wamu-merrill.html
Even though our savings are less than what would be covered by FDIC we don’t want to have to rely on this last resort process if we can help it. If WaMu fails, which is still unlikely, it may take some time to transfer all your assets to a new institution, change your direct bill payments, etc. etc.
In addition to providing alternative place to store our cash at Everbank offers some financial tools which no other bank currently offers and having an account open with them might prove to be beneficial if we are to use some of these instruments in the future. More specifically the ability to purchase gold, International CD accounts, Keep money in alternative currencies, etc.
Reading “The Complete Tightwad Gazette”
Unfortunately some of the tips in the book are a bit outdated for this day and age and a lot of the other tips we already use in our life or we have decided AGAINST using them because they do not apply to the way we want to live our lives.
By living frugally we currently save more than 50% of our income on one person’s salary. No special goal for this effort, other than the possibility of Early Retirement maybe?
We expect to have a huge expense in the summer next year because of a planned trip to go back to our country of origin to visit our relatives.
For two adults with two children we are looking at close to $6000 just for the airfare!!!
I’m hoping the price of airfare will go down just a bit in the next months. If anyone has tips on how to save on International airfare please do not hesitate to comment
