Saving Money is Back In Style
Monday February 4, 2008
Saving is back in style. Banks are advertising credit and debit cards with a savings account as a rewards component.
If you have a few years under your belt, or possibly over your belt, you may remember the Christmas club. For those unfamiliar with the concept, it was a bank account that was opened at the beginning of each year. You elected to put a set amount in each week or month. It was a contract between you and the bank. You could not get your money out until the appointed date, usually late November or early December, as I recall. The bank paid interest on the deposits and you had money to spend on Christmas gift, provided you were faithful in making your deposits. I am not sure if political correctness or the fact that no one saves, or what might have ended the program, but I never hear anyone talk about getting a Christmas club check anymore.
With the credit crunch in full swing, saving is once again becoming popular, at least the ad agencies with advertising accounts with banks would like get that message out. American Express has the One® card from American Express which offers a savings deposit as the rewards program. The One card is currently offering a competitive Annual Percentage Yield (APY), of 4.50% (variable rate as of 12/4/2007). The Savings Accelerator (SM) Plan contributes 1% of eligible purchases into an FDIC-insured High-Yield Savings Account in the card holders name. The other day I heard a commercial from another bank offering to make a savings deposit with each purchase using a check card. A check card is another term for debit card. So it seems that in this era of banks with shrinking reserves and less funds to lend that savings is once again back in vogue. I think this is a good thing. It's a pity we ever let it slip in the first place.
Let me take this opportunity to plug a couple of other publication with ties to JwrBlog 2.0.1. Bankruptcy and Family Law in Texas is a blog that I do a little consulting with regard to the technical side of the publication. Time permitting I hope to contribute and article or two. My latest publication to fight the doldrums of winter and to celebrate the endless summer is Tropical Embrace is about trop rock dreamin' and the music that has come to define the trop rock genre. Probably the most famous artist in this genre is Jimmy Buffett, but there are many others that fall into this niche.