Hi, Shrewd!        Login  
Shrewd'm.com 
A merry & shrewd investing community
Best Of RIBest OfAll BoardsThe Shrewd’m WeeklyLearn to InvestHow to Become Shrewd
Search
Shrewd'm.com Merry shrewd investors
Search
Best Of RIBest OfAll BoardsThe Shrewd’m WeeklyLearn to InvestHow to Become Shrewd


The week's question
In December 2024, in the thread "Re: BRK: Why Not XOM?", BreckHutHigh asked the members: "What about the long road trips with kids?" This week it is put to everyone again. The button below opens the small thread re-asking it - read what others have said so far, then give your own answer as an ordinary reply.
Answer this questionContinue to Shrewd'mThis note won't appear again
Personal Finance / Retirement Investing
Unthreaded | Threaded | Whole Thread (9) |
Author: bacon   😊 😞
Number: of 1281 
Subject: Re: 5% savings account
Date: 12/10/24 9:54 AM
Post New | Post Reply | Report Post | Recommend It!
No. of Recommendations: 3
Chasing that asterisk:

This product is not currently available for residents of CT, DE, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, and RI. Rate for this product will be based on the residential zip code entered when account is opened within online application process. This is a variable-rate account....

The one makes me wonder what there is about this offer or those States that make it only spottily available. The big red flag for me, though, is that variable rate bit. Depending on how much it varies and how frequently, the same hassle you're thinking about for switching into that account is the same hassle that will keep folks from switching back out. The size and frequency of variations makes me wonder about how long that high rate will last and how far it will fall.

Also, I recall some while ago, warnings that turned out to be valid in too many cases, that banks that offered rates so much higher than the industry average were doing so because they were that desperate to attract capital (savings), and they were in trouble. Santander has been around for a long while and seems sound. It subsidiary Openbank not so much. I'm also paranoid (perhaps excessively so) about banks that exist only in the æther of the Internet.

There're also these two bits from their "Who's eligible:"

You must have an active U.S. mobile phone number
You must have a mobile device (smartphone or tablet) with face- or fingerprint-recognition capabilities, on which you can download and use the Openbank app —which you’ll set up your trusted mobile device.


For me, those are absolute deal breakers. I will have no financial connection via my cell phone.

Eric Hines
Post New | Post Reply | Report Post | Recommend It!
Print the post
Members reply directly to bacon here — and replies get answered. Reading is free; so is joining the conversation. Join Shrewd'm »
This community has written 1,207 posts about Retirement Investing. The article-length ones it recommended most:
The Case for Long-Term Buy and Hold Investing · 49 recs · 2025
Transferring assets to the next generation · 20 recs · 2025
Retirement Year 8 · 17 recs · 2025
(nearly) year one of retirement has been good · 11 recs · 2026
Buying Treasuries Via Vanguard · 10 recs · 2023
Unthreaded | Threaded | Whole Thread (9) |


Announcements
Retirement Investing FAQ
Contact Shrewd'm
Contact the developer of these message boards.

Best Of RI | Best Of | Favourites & Replies | All Boards | Followed Shrewds | Open Questions | Moving a community