Can I Get a Loan In The Current Economist Climate?
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Now that I am on a path to healing and independence after my divorce, the first things I have in mind are getting grounded in a new job and quickly following that up with the purchase of a townhome in the community where I lived when I was first married. I have a good bit of money saved and prices have come WAY down for local housing – so I thought things were looking up for me.
And now, here we are with a huge kink in the national financial situation. Massive banks are failing, especially those that were focused on selling mortgages. Lenders are logically going to go back to the days when it was just plain harder to get a loan, even with good credit and a steady paycheck. Times may be tough for first time home buyers, which would include me.
I suppose I will plan as I go, get my head up and continue to squirrel away my pennies, as I have been doing for the past couple of years. But then, there is the question of how safe my bank is right now. I use a credit union and a major national bank. Are they safe? Do I withdraw my money now and hide it in a firebox in a hole in my backyard?
While more banks are expected to kick the proverbial dust in the coming weeks, most are indeed safe. Even if your bank goes belly-up, your money is actually safe because the FDIC insures most deposits. You are insured for $100,000 per bank, per person for checking, savings, money market and CDs. So, if you happen to have $200,000 in an individual account, it might be a good time to at least diversify.
Retirement accounts are insured up to $250,000.
Still, I actually had a dream last night where I was standing in a line at the ATM and I was at least 100 people from the front of the line. In the dream, I was fearful that there would not be any cash left by the time I got to the machine – even though in all actuality ATM withdrawals are limited by a per day limit. Still, my underlying fear about banks now was driving my dream.
As an aside, let me just say I wish more people would listen to Glenn Beck. When that man goes out on a limb to make a prediction about money or politics, he tends to be spot on.
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