Personal Finance and Investing

As I said I am not a financial person, I was always a technical person forced to work in management no matter how many times I changed jobs, I would get promoted to management because of my pleasant accepting and non-threatening nature.

Here is what I have


Long term investments in stable stocks, Keogh basic fixed interest bank CD, IRA in fixed interest bank CD, one 401 K invested in bonds.

I invest in a savings bank that is well rated and stable and a commercial bank CD I am not happy with their changing of rules constantly.

On the Keogh and IRA CDs, they were bought at a time of rising rates, I bought them for 6 years, the interest rates went up, the banks (multiple) encouraged me to close the particular CDs before their maturity date and use that money to purchase new ones at a higher rate of interest. I have not done this for a few years since interest rates went down. Sadly some are now coming due with low rates available. I have talked to the bank manager and she assured me that I could still take out a 6 year Cd - best rate - Which I can close before maturity without any penalty and reopen at a higher rate at most once a year. Since I was encouraged to do that by a bank manager at one bank and other managers seem agreeable to it, I assume it is legal and at one point I did find a description of that in a bank web site but do not remember which one it was.

I think it is worth trying to get people to maximize their interest rates and wanted to share this experience here, but as always check with your bank first. My bank manager said it was a federal law but did not tell me which one. Could just be ERISA, don't know.