Money for the Rest of Us

There is been much talk in the blogsphere lately about HSBC’s “new money” offer. The deal is that any new money you put in an existing account, or all money you put in a new account will earn 6.00% interest now through April 30, 2007. Many people seem to be debating whether or not it is worth it to transfer their money over. The general consensus is that if you already have your money in a high interest bank account (like at ING or Emigrant) then it’s not worth it to transfer the money over. I would probably agree with this. Unless you are considering transferring accounts anyway, then 1% for three months isn’t going to make much difference. But that’s not the point.

The HSBC 6.00% offer is a great deal and anyone interested in personal finance should be taking advantage of the offer. How?

Use the HSBC offer to educate people. Tell your family, friends, co-workers, anyone. Even if you have previously told these people about high-interest bank accounts, tell them again. A 6.00% interest rate is enough to get even the laziest people off of their feet and to actually do something. So, while the HSBC offer may not be worth it to you, it is worth it to many other people. Use your power of persuasion to convince others to put away their money in a high-interest account.

I personally bank with HSBC for two reasons: 1) They give you an ATM card. If I ever need to dip into my savings for emergency cash quickly I can. 2) There is a branch office near me. This means I can deposit money and not have to wait 2-3 days for an online transfer. Also, if needed, I can get cash from their ATM without fees. 3) I travel internationally a lot. HSBC has branch offices in a number of different countries and I can take cash out of their international ATMs without a conversion fee.

As a final note: If you are one of those people who keeps thinking about or talking about getting a high-interest bank account and has yet to do it—NOW IS THE TIME. Spend the 20 minutes applying for an account. Don’t pass up on a 6% rate.