Only 1% Interest On Our Savings?

As I was looking at my interest the other day, I wondered why it was so little. I called the bank to find out and was told my e-savings account is now only earning 1%. Immediately I thought about my dad and how he had all his money in a savings account only earning 1% interest. He was adamant about not tying his money up for a long period of time so I told him about the short-term options available at Dollar Bank and eventually convinced him to let me put some of his savings into a rising interest CD for a year so he could at least get more than 1% interest.

That's why I decided to check at the bank to see if there was a better place for my savings that would earn more. When I opened my e-savings, I was getting 5% interest on it. Funny, they don't tell their customers that better options are available. Anyhow, they did have a new account that gives 2% for 90 days and after 90 days they advised me to switch it to a free money account which would at least be a little more than just 1%. Both my husband and I had to physically go to the bank to sign papers to change it and couldn't just do it on the phone or online.

If you haven't checked out different options at your bank recently, you may want to just to see if you could be getting a bit more with your savings account. My dad did not want to have to fuss with remembering when CDs came due and have to make decisions all the time about what to do with his money. He did, however, let me handle it for him his last year or two. I wish banks would just give their customers the highest interest possible on their savings without making them monitor it constantly and investigate what all the different options are. It seems sometimes that there are unwritten rules of procedure somewhere that tell companies they are not allowed to make things simple for the customers.

I can certainly understand why my dad didn't want to fuss with switching his accounts all the time and moving money in and out of different CDs. He just didn't think it was worth the hassle. I think banks hope people will take that attitude so they don't have to pay as much interest. What do you think?

My dad taught me early about banking by giving us a little extra as interest if we put part of our allowance in his "bank." I didn't trust banks and mentioned that I didn't see why anyone would put money in a bank so he wanted to teach me the value of doing that. I also had a real savings account as a kid and when I got birthday money from relatives, some of it went into my savings. I think parents should teach their children about saving. When dad died and I had to clear out his house, I was very thankful that he was one who did not have money secretly hidden all over the place. It made things a little easier knowing that I knew where all his money was.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.
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A Poem For You, Dad

This is the 3rd year anniversary of my dad's death. It is getting easier but I still miss him and wish things had been a bit different.

I love that you made so many things for me
And that today many of them in my house I see.

I love that you let me mess up your black hair.
I hate that it turned gray and isn’t there!

I love you giving me piggy back rides.
But oh, I hate how fast the time flies.

I love that you were so nice to my friends.
Even though you wished the noisy parties would end.

I love that you accepted my husband, Gerard,
Even though he finds making and fixing things hard.

I love that you took in all those cats,
Loving them in spite of their elusive acts.

I love that you helped me complete my projects,
Whether in science, Awana, paintings or other objects.

I love that you were so protective, driving us all over the place,
Although at the time I preferred to ride with someone with a different face.

I love how you planned fun family outings,
Including my friend coming along with us always!

I love the pictures of when we were younger,
But also sweet memories of us growing older.

I love you were able to make or fix anything—just great!
Even eager to learn the computer at age 88.

I love that you were honest, generous, and kind,
Helping others without charge, paying no mind.

I love how you took care of mom when she was sick.
Insisting that by her side you would stick!

I love that you were self-sufficient to the end,
But hate that I found you in the bathroom dead.

I love that you didn’t have to go to a nursing home to die,
But hate that you died all alone without me close by.

I want you to know long ago I decided if I ever did have a boy,
I would name him Harry!

I hate that you’re gone, and still miss you terribly!

Check out these Related posts: Day Dad Died

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.

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My Secret Blog Giveaway--And The Winner Is . . .

I read The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch and one of the bits of advice he gave is that when someone does something nice for you, you should do it for someone else. I was so surprised and happy when I found out a while back that I won a set of Snoopy towels in a free blog giveaway that Mountain Woman did that I thought I would have one too and hopefully make someone's day a bit brighter. So, for Valentine's Day this year I decided to show my top commenter during the past year some appreciation by sending her an autographed copy of my book.

I visit this person's blog regularly and is one of the first bloggers that I "met" through Entrecard. The winner is Jude at "Mature But Not Senile." She left me 20 comments over the year which was the most by any one person. Runners up were Homestay Mama at Amazing Journey, Amazing Grace (16) and Sandee at Comedy Plus (15).

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.
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My Earliest Memory--A Mouse In the House!

Kathy at The Junk Drawer had a post "What Was Your Very First Memory" which I commented on and thought it might be good to post about it here.

We used to live in Garrettsville. This is a picture of our first house that my mom and dad worked together on building. As you can see, it was pretty much in the boonies with just open field all around.

I don’t remember much before I started school but I do remember this because I was afraid my mom was going to land on me and squish me! (She was not a small person.) I must have been 4 years old sitting on the couch one night. All of a sudden, my mom screamed really, really LOUD and jumped on top of the couch right next to me!

She saw a mouse in our house! She was terrified of the cute little things and told my dad, she couldn't live there anymore. She can't live with mice in the house. Harry, being the loving husband that he was, put the house up for sale and we moved to Parma (a suburb of Cleveland). Here is a slide he took of mom and me at out new home playing a word game also dated 1958. I've always enjoyed playing games, all kinds. This is probably why--she started me early.

I found this slide which was taken after the house was sold and dated 1958. Harry was great at labeling things and a very detailed person which sometimes got on my nerves, especially when he'd explain things like I was a 2-yr.-old sometimes. Anyhow, because he dated that slide, I am able to figure out how old I was at the time. The one of my mom and me he listed both our full names as well as described the type of game we were playing. I'm glad he did now even though it may have seemed silly at the time.

Tip: Always label the back of your pictures with names and dates. Years later, it helps bring more meaning to the people who find them.

One of Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop prompts this week is: Explain a time there was an emergency. What “mode” did you go into? Freaking out, calm and collected, etc. I modified it a bit by sharing about my mom freaking out in what she considered to be an emergency.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.
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