Comments on: When Will I Double My Money?

By: sara l

sara l — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 04:44:36 +0000

That’s a great rule to keep in the back of your mind. If anything it reaffirms the importance of continually adding to your savings, because at 2.75% it would take my entire lifetime to double my money.

By: Mia

Mia — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:14:41 +0000

Mary, the current “high interest” CD rates being offered by banks like B of A may not be eye-popping compared to “growth” stocks but they also have far, far less risk because they come with a guaranteed payoff at a guaranteed date and they are insured.

Every investment’s return must be evaluated relative to its risk and inflation. In a credit crunch like we have right now, we would expect banks to actually offer good rates relative to these factors. That is because, in a credit crunch, banks must compete for consumer deposits to boost their finances, so they are offering more for CDs than they would under non-credit-crunch circumstances.

By: Mary@SimplyForties

Mary@SimplyForties — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 17:29:56 +0000

That’s a handy calculation of which I’d never heard. Really lets you know where you stand with a “high interest” savings earning a 2.75% or whatever the current rate is!

By: ms

ms — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 07:59:41 +0000

You bring up a good point though…it’s amazing how many people I talk to that do not have any idea about the whole “high risk=high reward” concept!

Plain Scared, I bet a lot of people just plug #s into the calculators without thinking about the increased risk of the assets that offer fast doubling, just how long it takes to double their money.

By: Plain Scared

Plain Scared — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:14:21 +0000

Your last point was a good one, SM.

I’m also thinking maybe all those financial companies like Fidelity and American Century with time value calculators on their retirement websites should probably just pull the calculators offline for a while.

Wishful thinking won’t help anyone.