Reply #8: Have you looked up your bank on bankrate.com ? [View All]

[CoffeeCat]

Bankrate.com has very extensive documentation on banks. Bob Brinker recommends bankrate.com , it is
a great resource. Your bank will have a rating and a very lengthy explanation of why that rating was
given.

My bank is rated extremely low. We are in the process of removing money out of that bank and putting
it into a credit union. I asked one of the bank Vice Presidents about their low bankrate.com rating. She
insisted that "everything is fine!" and she even said she wasn't aware of the poor rating.

Excuse me, bankrate is an industry standard.

Recently, I've noticed this bank issuing press releases--touting the records they are breaking with new-account
openings.

Bottom line is--do your own due diligence and do not rely on the bank to tell you the truth. They want your money.
They only stay in business if you, and people like you, stay with them. It's not in their best interests to be honest
with you--if that means you pull your money out.

As far as the FDIC goes... I am shocked that so many people just assume because our government tells them that something
is insured--that we no longer need to make tough decisions. We can just avoid research or thinking about what is
going on around us---because the big FDIC will give us our money back. Really?

When Washington Mutual failed, many stories contained a line or two about the FDIC's resources being stretched--to the
point of nearly failing to cover all Washington Mutual deposits. WaMu was a big bank; the nation's largest. However,
it was ONE bank. And their resources were "stretched"? What is more banks fail simultaneously?

I've also heard that it's not lickety split that your money is returned. A poster in this thread said it took 9 months.
If all of your money is gone, will you be able to survive 9 months--waiting for a check from the government? If there is
widespread collapse, nine months might be a best-case scenario.

Look at how this government has failed us. Look at how this government is ripe with corruption. How can anyone believe
that our institutions are completely safe? Didn't we just give nearly a trillion dollars to American banks, and now
they refuse to tell us how they are allocating it? These people are not our friends!

As for having money in a mattress--it's not only smart to have cash at home, it's ESSENTIAL! How can you not have
emergency cash at home? Basic emergency preparedness dictates that you have some money at home--in case banks are
closed due to an earthquake, flood or other natural disaster.

Furthermore, you can purchase inexpensive safes for home use that are fireproof. When people say "in the mattress" I think
most of them mean that the money is in a safe place in the home. I can't imagine NOT having a portion of my money
at home--given today's volatility and given that most MMs or CDs are paying dirt-low interest. What's the loss of having
it at home? There's so much uncertainty now. When things ease up, or at least--when we have a more clear picture of where
this economy is going--people need to have some cash at home. How much is up to you.

However, to sail along in a fool's paradise--with all of your money in the banking system, and relying solely on the kindness
and solidity of the FDIC and the banking system--seems a bit reckless.