How worried should I be about my bank accounts in this crisis?
Cnn Money says that this is the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and that during the Great Depression everyone lost their savings when banks closed. Is that at all likely to happen this time? I don’t own a house, but is there anything else I should do to protect myself financially? Say, keep my money under the mattress? 🙂 I have accounts with Bank of America and several small credit unions. Thanks.
October 7th, 2010 at 9:19 pm
As long as your account balances are under the FDIC limit of $100,000, you don’t have too much to lose any sleep over. The mattress isn’t really a good alternative to the bank (think of all of the dust mites all over your cash!!). Make sure your balances are within the FDIC limits, and you should be okay. As far as your credit unions, check with the administrator and find out what type of protection you have against loss. Also, ask them for a website or some hard documentation to prove that the money is insured. Don’t take anyone’s word for anything.
October 7th, 2010 at 9:35 pm
If your bank is not run by members of the Obama/Biden Fan Club, one should not worry!
October 7th, 2010 at 10:28 pm
During the Great Depression banks were not insured. As a result, the government created the Federal Depositors Insurance Corporation to insure depositors accounts up to $100,000.
So check to see if your bank is insured by FDIC. If it isn’t, then your money is at risk. Move it immediately to a bank insured by FDIC.
So the US tax payer is guaranteeing your account up to $100,000. If you have more than $100,000 in an account, take the amount above $100,000 and open an account in another bank.
October 7th, 2010 at 11:19 pm
Hmm.. when the economy of a country has gone kaput, the currency of that country will depreciate significantly and 100k can possibly become only 1k (although one still called it as “insured for 100k”).. so, my logical choice during a definite collapse would be …change the fiat money to tangible item with real value — precious metals that is.. gold – the so called immutable money