All those who are fiscally responsible with investments were probably not too pleased to see that the Bank of Canada had dropped it's prime rate by another .25%, bringing it to 2.25%. However, for those like me with a negative net worth, this announcement last week made our day.All of my debts are floating and so a lower prime rate, means lower interest payments. In my case, .25% is marginal but every penny counts!
Here are my new and improved interest rates -
Visa #2, Prime + 6.9% = 9.15%
Line of Credit, Prime + 5.75% = 8%
Student Loan, Prime + 2.5% = 4.75%
Some banks are increasing interest rates on lines of credit but (knock on wood), this hasn't happenned to me yet. It seems pretty unethical to raise interest rates on lines of credit but I guess ethics isn't the strong point of the banks these days. If you haven't had a chance yet, listen to Juan Enriquez the chair and CEO of Biotechonomy, a research and investment firm helping to fund new genomics firms, speak about the economy and our economic & technological future. Really Citibank? You loaned 47x the amount of cash you had? They say payback is a bitch but in this case, it was obviously leverage.
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Yeah. I heard about that. It's a shame about my savings accounts. But I am SO happy about it cause it means less for loans and debts. More money can be paid against my principal. I am so determined to pay everything off soon.
ReplyDeletei totally agree about the BS of them raising rates... my LOC raised by 2 points a few weeks ago, and i was all fired up and ready to switch but when i went in my banker pointed out that my rate overall was still lower than it was when i signed up with them 9 months ago... so that kinda shut me up. she explained that unsecured loans are different than secured ones and it made sense, although when i asked "so what happens when rates go up?" she said "yeah, they couldn't answer that when i asked them either...". anyways, i'm being thankful for the lower rates now and am hoping to make significant payoffs while they're low instead of worrying about where they'll be in a year.... maybe foolish, but thats the plan!
ReplyDeleteIt sucks being a saver in this economy where our money would earn almost as much under our mattresses!
ReplyDeleteGlad to discover your blog! When I saw the title, I knew the way you'd written cheque you had to be Canadian :-)