Banking Archives - MoneyWatch101

Don’t Keep Coins in a Piggy Bank for Long

What is the basic fundamental thing we all want for our money? For it to grow I suppose is the primary reason why we invest it, right. Recently I used to keep my coins in a wooden jar aka old dude piggy bank, and cash them in once a year. But now something changed, as my current bank got rid of the free coin exchange machine. I’m assuming they want to avoid operational fees or are attempting to bypass legal issues of some sort. I was always a bit skeptical at the coin counting abilities of said machines, and the likelihood of it not doing that job accurately. Even though I had my doubts I would still exchange coins and make a huge deposit of around $50-100 dollars in coins every year. But because now my banking institution decided to take away another perk (Way to go Banks), now I don’t keep coins in a piggy bank for long.

I woke up the next day after hearing this news and decided to make a financial habit change. I will now take a small amount of coins to the bank with every deposit I need to make. (Yes I still walk into a branch- I’m Old School) I will do this to save time, and to compound my money at a faster pace. This habit change will keep the coins in my home at a minimum, and put them in hustle mode. Because If I take the coins from the piggy bank and invest it into a financial account, it will elevate the compounding effect. Now those quarters will not collect dust at home. Why wouldn’t you want to put the loose currency to work in the markets as early as possible?

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The Recession Aftermath

All the media channels talk about the great recession on a daily basis, when they try to explain the current state of the economy. Should we cut or raise rates is being beaten with a stick by all the economists. I’ve heard Janet Yellens name at least a million times since she took the Chair of The Federal Reserve Bank. Now I want to talk about how the recession aftermath is still lingering and the economy is not as rosy as it may seem. Do you know that the labor market is still not doing particularly well, and many employers are padding their numbers in tactical ways? The housing market is better and people are supposedly buying again. Every time I hear the numbers I question what percentage of those new housing purchases are rich investors? In any event the recession has not fully gone away and I want all of you to get ready for a possible inflationary period to hit your wallet.

The recession aftermath is influencing major changes to corporate America, where blue chip companies are buying each other with reserve cash flow. The M& A markets are on fire in the past 2 years, and it is primarily due to all the extra cash these companies have on the side line just sitting on the bench. These companies are buying revenue instead of trying to grow revenue. What does that really mean for the average person? When a big company merges with another big company the first thing to happen is a reduction in jobs. They are eliminating more jobs without offshoring them, and nobody seems to bat an eye. To explain further, just recently Microsoft revealed it will reduce its workforce by 12K jobs, due to the merger they had with Nokia. On the drive in to work Fox Media placed a buy bid for Time Warner for 85 Billion dollars and a few seats on the board of Fox. What is the first thing they will do if this purchase gets approved? How many people can we skin? They call a reduction in jobs a corporate synergy to mask the real threat to America’s citizens. If the government keeps allowing these mergers and acquisitions to take place it will systematically reduce available labor positions by millions. When big companies get even bigger, they reduce operating costs, raise prices to justify the purchase of the smaller company, and monopolize the markets.

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How Banks make Money off your Money?

Hey guys today we will discuss how banks make money off your money? In addition to that we will discuss where is the best place to park those funds. The big banks are a multi- billion dollar business and are basically too big to fail as the government has labeled them as such. Obviously you want flexibility with how you manage money so we all should consider what that means in our lives.

But if that flexibility is staying with a bank that charges you $12 dollars a month in checking account fees, maybe that is not the best route for your hard earned dollars. There are many options in the banking industry to stash your cash, for example, Big to fail banks, Credit Unions, Online Banks, and Brokerage Companies. These are the most widely used options where people maintain their money in a flexible liquid account.

Now that you understand the choices behind where you can place your money, would you care if Bank of America made $300 dollars a year off your money or if a credit union made $150 dollars a year off your money? I guess you might be thinking that it all depends if any of the money is coming from your pocket or from the imaginary money tree inside the bank? Well I hope to inform you today with the details behind how these banks operate, and then you can make a decision. See below for the 5 levels on how banks make money off your money.

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